Kiwi Ferns go down in close battle against Jillaroos

The Kiwi Ferns came close to pulling off a great win over the Jillaroos in a thrilling encounter at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday.In the end New Zealand went down 26-24 against the world champions, but it was a display that showed plenty of determination and passion as they fought their way back from being 12-0 down early in the game.During the first quarter the Kiwi Ferns were outclassed and looked to be heading towards a horrendous defeat.But it turned out to be a nail-biting match and  while the Kiwi Ferns defence was still prone to
lapses, on attack they continually opened up Australia.With five tries scored by each side, it came down to the better goal kicking from Australia's Chelsea Baker."It was a tough game and we can say it was one that got away, but there were moments in the game that got away from us a bit," Kiwi Ferns coach Kelvin Wright said."The start, the first 10-15 minutes, maybe that came back to haunt us at the end of the game,"You can't take anything away from my girls' efforts, they left everything out there."Kiwi Ferns captain Honey Hireme said while they had the backs to the wall for half of the first period, she was confident that they could get back into the contest.