Australia record first home test win

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Australia’s debutants took the spotlight in the windy conditions, scoring three of Australia’s six tries.

Australian Captain, Grace Hamilton was named player of the match for her dominant performance which was frequently the lynchpin for the Wallaroos in attack and defence.

The win means that Australia has taken a 1-0 lead in the Japan Series with the next match to take place Friday 19 July at North Sydney Oval.

The “Buildcorp Wallaroos” took the lead early in the first half with Queensland based hooker Avery Mitchell crossing over the line on debut in the opening exchanges of the match, giving the home side an early lead.

Japan controlled the next stages of the first half, hammering the Australian defensive line for multiple phases as they continued to ask questions of the Women in gold.

After a back and forth contest, the home side’s next points came at the hands of Ariana Hira-Herangi who crossed over the line in the 38th minute. Samantha Treherne added the extras giving Australia a 13-0 lead at the break.

Australia started the second half in similar fashion to the first with Trilleen Pomare crossing over two minutes into the second stanza. Fellow Western Australian, Mhicca Carter followed closely after to extend Australia’s lead. Debutant, Eva Karpani was next to cross the white line, taking the side to a 29-0 lead in the second half.

Australian forward Liz Patu was given a yellow card for repeated infringements late in the second half.

After battering the Wallaroos line and with a with a one player overlap, Japan’s Maiko Fujimoto crossed for the sides first try of the series. Australian winger, Samantha Treherne would have the final say for Australia crossing over in the corner and closing out the match 34-5.

Australian coach, Dwayne Nestor said: “Its fantastic to get a win to start the series off and our girls were amazing.

“We've said to the girls that we want to play them in a way that is playing to their strengths and they did that today.

“We'll go through the video and see how we want to play next week and if we can make any changes that will help our game and we'll pick accordingly for next week’s match.”

As it Happened: 9 min: Averyl Mitchell try AUS 5-0 JPN; 38 mins: Ariana Hira-Herangi try Samantha Treherne con AUS 12-0 JPN; 42 mins: Trilleen Pomare try Samantha Treherne con AUS 19-0 JPN; 53 mins Mhicca Carter try AUS 24-0 JPN; 58 mins Eva Karpani try AUS 29-0 JPN; 68 mins Liz Patu Yellow Card; 70 mins Maiko Fujimoto AUS 29-5 JPN; 74 min Samantha Treherne AUS 34-5 JPN

Match Notes: Averyl Mitchell Test Debut – Wallaroo #167; Michaela Leonard Test Debut – Wallaroo #168; Ariana Hira-Herangi Test Debut – Wallaroo  #169; Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea Test Debut – Wallaroo  #170; Eva Karpani Test Debut – Wallaroo #171; Lori Cramer Test Debut – Wallaroo #172; Georgia Cormick Test Debut – Wallaroo #173; Shannon Mato Test Debut – Wallaroo #174; Arabella McKenzie Test Debut – Wallaroo #175

Australia:1. Emily Robinson (17. Liz Patu 25 mins blood & 50 min),  2. Averyl Mitchell (16. Ashley Marsters 50 min), 3. Evelyn Horomia (18. Eva Karpani 42 mins) , 4. Michaela Leonard, 5. Alisha Hewett (19. Rebecca Clough 64 min), 6. Millie Boyle (vc), 7. Emily Chancellor (20. Shannon Mato 64 min), 8. Grace Hamilton (c), 9. Cobie-Jane Morgan (21. Georgia Cormick 59 mins), 10. Trileen Pomare (22. Arabella McKenzie 64 min), 11. Mhicca Carter (23. Lori Cramer 54 mins), 12. Ariana Hira-Herangi, 13. Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea, 14. Samantha Treherne, 15. Mahalia Murphy

Japan:1. Makoto Ebuchi (18. Yuka Igarashi 14mins and 17. Sachiko Kato 53 mins), 2. Maiko Fujimoto, 3. Saki Minami, 4. Kie Tamai, 5. Wako Kitano (16. Airi Muakami 45mins), 6. Misaki Suzuki (22. Moe Nagaoka 75 mins), 7. Kyoko Hosokawa, 8. Maki Takano (19. Ayano Nagai 57 mins), 9. Megumi Abe (21. Moe Tsukui 47 mins), 10. Mana Furuta (20. Minori Yamamoto 10 mins), 11. Anna Kasai (23. Komachi Imakugi 46 mins), 12. Ayaka Suzuki, 13. Hinano Nagura, 14. Erko Hirano, 15. Ria Anoku, *replacements in brackets