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.

Jillaroos overcome injuries to pip Kiwi Ferns in a thriller

Ballinger, who was a member of the Brisbane team which won the inaugural Holden NRL Women's Premiership, was named player of the match in her farewell Test for Australia as the Jillaroos overcome the loss of star St George Illawarra forward Kezie Apps.Jillaroos coach Brad Donald revealed that Ballinger had told team-mates, who included five debutants after Dragons centre Jess Sergis was injured at training on Friday, how Australia had only beaten the Kiwi Ferns in New Zealand once in the third Test of the 1999 series. "She got up and spoke about how we have only ever beaten the Kiwis once here in all the times we have been playing them and those memories from players like Heather Ballinger inspired the team," Jillaroos coach Brad Donald said."Shes been a mainstay of the team for a long time. She was wondering whether she should give it away [earlier] but to end with a Broncos premiership and to be player of the match in a trans-Tasman Test is just outstanding."With the teams scoring five tries apiece, the goal kicking of fullback Chelsea Baker proved the difference but she missed her last two attempts and appeared to be affected by a groin injury.