BBC Rugby Union News: Wallaroos Suffer Shock Defeat to USA in Pacific Four Series
The Australia Wallaroos have suffered a devastating 32-25 loss to the United States in their Pacific Four Series match at AAMI Park in Melbourne. This result has likely sealed the Wallaroos’ fate, as they now face an uphill battle to qualify for the elite WXV 1 rugby competition.
Playing their second Test under new coach Jo Yapp, the Australians looked in control at halftime, leading 20-8. However, the Americans stormed back in the second half, scoring four unanswered tries to secure their first win of the four-team tournament.
Layne Morgan was denied a late try that would have leveled the scores, as the desperate Wallaroos couldn’t find a way to overcome the resilient USA side.
The loss means the Wallaroos now need to beat New Zealand, a team they have never defeated, in their final-round match in Auckland and collect a bonus point to avoid finishing last in the Pacific Four. Failure to do so will result in the Australians being relegated to the WXV 2 league in South Africa in September-October, while the USA, Canada and New Zealand join the top three teams from the women’s Six Nations in WXV 1 in Ottawa, Canada.
“It was a game of two halves – in the first half we showed a big improvement from last week and we were playing the way we wanted to play,” the former England halfback said. “Second half we just didn’t get a good foot-hold early on and we didn’t exit cleanly, and unfortunately we ended up chasing the game.”
The Wallaroos fell to Canada in their opening match in Sydney last round, but were confident of bouncing back against the 10th-ranked USA. However, the visitors proved too strong, with Hope Rogers scoring two tries in the opening eight minutes of the second half to level the scores. The Wallaroos briefly regained the lead, but the USA surged ahead and held on for the crucial victory.
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