Eva Karpani’s three-try rampage will dominate the headlines but there needed to be five-star performers across the park to set up the Wallaroos’ most significant victory in a generation.
The magnitude of Australia’s superb 29-20 upset of world No.3 France in Dunedin on Saturday night cannot be overstated in the second match of the WXV 1 series.
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There was power, there was desperation in defence, there were clutch turnovers forced, there were sweeping 60m raids for tries and it was sustained.
It was a soaring victory to pierce the cloud of disappointment swirling around Australian rugby because of the Wallabies’ early exit from the Rugby World Cup.
What did we learn from one of the greatest of Wallaroos performances since they first ran out in ill-fitting cotton jerseys in 1994?
1 NO STOPPING THE K-TRAIN
We’d always seen power and impact from Eva Karpani but only in short bursts early in her career as a prop.
This was 70 minutes of sustained and explosive play from the Adelaide-raised star.
She backed up to score the opening try inside three minutes and was still at full-throttle in the 70th minute when she smashed her way over to seal the game.
There was so much more to her game. She scrummaged well, she was smart with a triple-play pick-and-go when not held by the French and diving on a loose ball late in the first half.
She was a worthy Player Of The Match but other contenders were close behind.
2 GEORGINA FRIEDRICHS MASTERCLASS
The classy outside centre has been a consistent and dynamic force since making her debut for the Wallaroos in May last year.
It’s hard to imagine any player contributing in so many varied ways to the superb try she scored midway through the first half.
She initiated it with a clutch steal, she offloaded later in the play to Ivania Wong, she ducked and twisted through the defence for a clean line break and she got back into the line to finish it with a big left-foot sidestep.
The play swept all of 60-plus metres. There were times last season where the Wallaroos attack was stodgy and flatfooted. Here was a try of real panache and one the team had trained and played for over the past 17 months.
It definitely helped to be playing this game in perfect conditions under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium because wind and rain were regular guests on the team’s visits to New Zealand last year. It helped keep handling errors to a bare minimum and they needed to with the Wallaroos commanding just 33 per cent of the territory in the first half (12-10).
Friedrichs was excellent in defence too and needed to be with the dangerous French outside backs always hunting for weaknesses.
3 WHAT THIS WIN MEANS
Since the Wallaroos rejoined Test rugby in May last year after a lengthy COVID break, the women’s game has always had four nations in the top bracket, world champions New Zealand, England, France and Canada.
This was the Wallaroos’ first victory over a top four nation in that time and a first success over France since the 2010 World Cup.
To give you more perspective, the French upset NZ’s Black Ferns just a week ago to end their 16-Test winning streak.
This truly is a landmark success for women’s rugby in Australia.
4 DESPERATION AND TURNOVER SKILLS
The signs were good when flanker Emily Chancellor backed up the Wallaroos’ fast start by getting over the ball and grabbing her first steal of the night after five minutes.
She had three steals by half-time and seized a loose ball in a command performance.
Best of all, that desperation around the ball was contagious. Rookie prop Brianna Hoy, lock Sera Naiqama, flanker Siokapesi Palu, No.8 Kaitlan Leaney and halfback Layne Morgan were terrific with their tackling, short punchy carries, forcing turnovers or saving dangerous situations.
Hoy literally sacrificed her body under a thundering French player to hold her up over the line midway through the first half. Naiqama and Karpani repeated the feat as a duo in the second half.
Again, this was the Wallaroos stitching together a complete performance not 10 good minutes and a dozy 10.
5 TEEN SUCCESS
Fullback Faitala Moleka is still just 18 but she was up for this from her first crisp left-to-right pass in the opening minutes.
She entered the line to give the attack an extra player and her hands only let her down once with a fumbled kick late in the game.
She is a real find and will only grow in confidence with her role in this historic win.
Even when the Wallaroos have won in 2022 and 2023 the games have been close so it was an upbeat sight to see the players smiling and enjoying the final minutes when they were clear at 29-10.
Leaney just cracked the biggest smile when Chancellor grabbed yet another turnover at the hour mark. It was Australia’s night.
