"South Africa's women were always going to struggle to replicate the Springboks' record-breaking result in Wellington a few hours earlier but, after a stuttering first half, the Black Ferns raised their game significantly in the second to secure their place in next weekend's World Cup semi-finals. The scoreboard tells only half the story of a contest often as notable for collective South African power as belated Kiwi finesse."
"On another great day for hyphen aficionados there was another brace of tries for the prolific 18-year-old Braxton Sorensen-McGee plus a couple more for the industrious No 8 Kaipo Olsen-Baker and full-back Renee Holmes. It was a fascinating clash of styles from start to finish. The Black Ferns possess plenty of impressively lithe athletes but South Africa's set-piece potential was consistently striking. The underdogs duly enjoyed the lion's share of early possession and territory, with the No 8 Aseza Hele leading the charge, and New Zealand's rising penalty count reflected the pressure they were absorbing."
The Black Ferns started slowly and were held to 10-10 at half-time by a powerful, well-coached South African side that dominated early possession and territory. South Africa used strong set-piece play and whole-team lineout mauls to apply pressure, led by No 8 Aseza Hele. New Zealand tightened up in the second half, using flying wingers and a mobile back row to outflank the visitors. Multiple try-scoring came from Braxton Sorensen-McGee (two), Kaipo Olsen-Baker (two) and Renee Holmes (two), with additional tries from Setefano and Vaha'akolo, securing a semi-final spot.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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