24 March 2024
NB: Jersey number does not correlate to position for all players, players will have the same jersey number throughout the entire tournament.
Tries: #1 Amarnee Shepherd, #11 Sade Schaumkel
Conversions: #6 Tamara Ruaporo (2)
Ahi Kā Aotearoa faced the New South Wales Country open women’s side, in their final match of the Harvey Norman Women’s National Championship. This nail-biting game came down to the very last minutes leading up to the final whistle.
The New South Wales side opened scoring seven minutes in, with a barging run from one of their formidable props 5 metres from the try line to score.
The Aotearoa wāhine quickly struck back just minutes later, with a pinpoint kick from #9 Kyla Lynch-Brown, collected well by #1 Amarnee Shepherd.
The fullback beat two defenders with her speed and footwork to cross and get their first points on the board. Halfback #6 Tamara Ruaporo then successfully converted to equalise.
Just before the half, New South Wales capitalised off a well-placed kick to score through their right edge and take the lead again. The halftime score was set at 12-6 to the Australian side.
The first ten minutes of the last half was scoreless, seeing a physical battle for possession and another opportunity to cross the white line.
It was the New South Wales women who put points on the board first, again off the back of a well-executed kick and chase.
Ahi Kā were not to be outdone, creating momentous go-forward down the pitch finished with an excellent grubber from #12 Tiana Thomson, causing errors from the Australian defenders in the in-goal. The loose ball was swiftly snatched and grounded by #11 Sade Schaumkel for her first try of the tournament.
Another successful two-pointer from #6 Ruaporo would be the last of the game, the Ahi Kā Aotearoa team narrowly going down 18-12 to New South Wales Country.
