Brighton, England — New Zealand took down Ireland’s 40-0 40-0 on Saturday, creating a Women’s World Cup victory.
In arguably the most anticipated pool play collision, Black Fern rose to the occasion. Ireland was fine, but in the end there were no matches for the five-time champions that day.
Ireland embraced the challenge of New Zealand’s Haka, moving forward before both sides grabbed the ground with tense gazes just as they made the pro Irish crowd a bigger frenzy.
“The bigger they get, the more they fall,” one Irish fan said before kickoff. However, there were no huge killings in Brighton.
Ireland was visibly pumped up, came out quickly and dominated the opening round, but was unable to score any points and left New Zealand off the hook.
The black fern remained calm and won its first attempt at the 15-minute mark. Irish fly-half husband O’Brien couldn’t find a touch from the penalty, and New Zealand moved forward.
The ball peered out to Stacey Waca on the right, and the outer center scored a score, surprising the opponents.
After a while they spent seconds. Chryss Viliko charged from close range after a lineout.
New Zealand showed why they were World Cup masters, making the most of their opportunities and putting pressure on them at the moment. The Irish afternoon was severely worse when fullback Stacey was injured and her right leg was tied to a brace.
New Zealand continued to win at key moments. Their attacks were too smooth and the players were too fast.
18-year-old Braxton Sorensen-Mcgee added her team’s third try just before the break, picking up the 30-meter ball on the right field, defeating three Irish defenders with an epic display of her raw pace and skill.
Close to the image of the mirror in the first half, Ireland got better in the second opening exchange, but the first one scored was New Zealand.
Again, the ball went right and right, and Sorensen McGee left for a walk down the street. Ireland was resilient, but still couldn’t find his point.
They take a lot from the match, but come across a ruthless machine, a black fern that is too clinical.
Sorensen-Mcgee completed his second hat trick in a two-minute game. This time she danced the left wing after another well-worked movement. The Auckland winger is rapidly becoming a tournament breakout star.
If you thought Ireland was finally over, they were wrong. New Zealand made its final move at the bank.
Jorja Miller broke the right wing and off-roaded to Maia Joseph, who scored after the 80th minute mark.
More ruthlessness from Kiwi and another conversion from Lenny Holmes went 40-0.