Last-gasp Harrison try seals famous Red Roses victory | WXV Global Series
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Zoe Harrison scored a last-gasp try to snatch a famous Red Roses victory in a WXV Global Series classic against New Zealand at Allianz Stadium.
With the score locked at 19-19, the fly-half appeared to have missed her chance to be the hero when a long-range penalty fell short of the posts.
But New Zealand tried to run the ball back and win the game themselves, and Harrison seized her second opportunity by intercepting a loose pass and running in to score the winning try.
It was a fitting end to a thrilling match, in which England scored four tries in total – with Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach also scoring for the hosts.
The Black Ferns led 12-7 at the break through tries from Amy du Plessis and Ayesha Leti-I'iga, while Mererangi Paul later levelled the score before Harrison’s brilliant moment.
The Black Ferns made a fast start and thought they had opened the scoring in the sixth minute, as Leti-I'iga wriggled free of a tackle and burst through a gap to dot down.
But a TMO review quickly found she had not released the ball before jumping back to her feet and ruled it out, much to the hosts’ relief.
The Red Roses then handed the visitors another opportunity inside the 22, as Moloney-MacDonald kicked into touch on the full but a Black Ferns handling error following the line-out saw them escape.
England had to wait 10 minutes for their first period of pressure inside New Zealand’s half and it resulted in the first try of the match. From a well-executed line-out, they went to the backs and Kildunne slipped in Moloney-MacDonald to dive over in the corner.
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Zoe Harrison then added the extras with a brilliant conversion from near the touchline to put the hosts 7-0 up.
The Black Ferns responded quickly and Breach was required to make a brilliant touchline tackle on Leti-I'iga to prevent a try.
However, the visitors finally broke through in the 25th minute as Du Plessis chased back to recover a Lucy Packer kick, saw some space behind England’s defence, kicked ahead and won the footrace to score.
The conversion was missed but New Zealand soon took the lead, as Hannah King sold a brilliant dummy and then popped up a pass for Leti-I'iga on her left shoulder, and the winger ran through to score.
The Red Roses survived some more Black Ferns pressure before half-time and trailed at the break for the second time this autumn.
However, they regrouped quickly and regained the lead five minutes after the restart with two quickfire tries.
Firstly, with the ball inside the 22, Breach did brilliantly to get it away to Kildunne down the right, while being tackled by two players, and the full-back sprinted away to score.
Harrison added the extras to put England 14-12 ahead.
The Black Ferns were then temporarily reduced to 14 players, as Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu was penalised for head-on-head contact on Marlie Packer and shown a yellow card.
The Red Roses took full advantage, with an excellent scrum followed by a fine pass from Packer to Breach to dot down in the corner to make it 19-12.
John Mitchell made several changes in the second half, and Hannah Botterman made an immediate impact by winning a crucial turnover inside her own 22 after some sustained Black Ferns pressure.
However, New Zealand levelled the score shortly after, as Du Plessis found Mererangi Paul to dot down their third of the match and Braxton Sorensen-McGee kicked a brilliant conversion.
But England struck the decisive blow in the dying seconds. They earned a penalty advantage inside New Zealand’s half with less than a minute left and settled for a kick at goal to win.
Harrison’s effort dropped just short but New Zealand refused to settle for a draw and wanted to go the length of the field.
But Harrison made amends with a brilliant defensive read to intercept a pass and score the winning try.
In stats
| Clean breaks | 11 |
| Metres gained | 447 |
| Defenders beaten | 14 |
| Turnovers won | 6 |
When are the Red Roses next playing?
Next up is a trip across the Atlantic to face Canada in Toronto on 17 October. It is the first of a three Tests in October, with England facing Canada twice before taking on the USA in New Jersey.
Reaction in brief
Player of the match Maddie Feaunati said: "This is like ultimate Test match, it was one of the best I've ever been in.
"We train for moments like this. Those moments at the end, we train so hard and work so hard to get to those moments - it's all worth it.
"These matches bring us pressure and you also find out what you need to work on and where you're at."
