England's Harrison Scores Last-Gasp Try to Secure WXV Victory Over New Zealand

Zoe Harrison scored a try in the 81st minute to secure a dramatic 26-19 victory for England over New Zealand in the WXV Global Series at Allianz Stadium. The win prevented England from suffering a second successive draw in the tournament.

With the scores tied at 19-19, Harrison intercepted a pass from the Black Ferns as they attempted a counter-attack and ran in for the decisive score, celebrated by her teammates. This result ended New Zealand's new head coach Whitney Hansen's unbeaten run, marking their first defeat under her leadership. The match drew a crowd of 59,871.

New Zealand had established a halftime lead with tries from Amy du Plessis and Ayesha Leti-I'iga, which canceled out Claudia Moloney-MacDonald's opening try for England. England responded with tries from Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach, but Mererangi Paul's converted try leveled the score in the 70th minute.

England, ranked second in the world, had their 39-game winning streak broken by a 26-26 draw with Canada the previous week. New Zealand, who last defeated England in the 2022 World Cup final, also saw their undefeated streak under Hansen concluded. The Black Ferns had been dominant for much of the first half, with Du Plessis scoring a try after finding space behind England's defense. Leti-I'iga also caused problems before having an earlier try disallowed.

Despite not leading at halftime, England found momentum. Individual efforts from Kildunne and a yellow card for a high tackle on Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu provided an opportunity for England. Breach's try followed shortly after.

The Black Ferns, however, continued to pressure England's defense, which is now being influenced by coaching consultant Shaun Edwards. In a similar situation to their previous match against Canada, where they opted to turn down a kickable penalty, England faced a choice. Harrison attempted a long-range penalty but fell short. Unlike Canada's decision to kick for a draw, New Zealand attacked from deep, leading to Harrison's interception and England's victory.

England's tries came from Moloney-MacDonald, Kildunne, Breach, and Harrison, with Harrison converting three. New Zealand's tries were scored by Du Plessis, Leti-I'iga, and Paul, with Sorensen-McGee adding two conversions.

England will travel to Canada for the final match of their three-Test series, while New Zealand is scheduled to play France in Hamilton.

England: Kildunne; Breach, Jones (capt), Rowland, Moloney-MacDonald; Harrison, L Packer; Carson, Field, Bern, Talling, Ives Campion, Matthews, Kabeya, Feaunati. Replacements: Campbell, Botterman, Muir, Burton, Packer, Hunt, Heard, Sing.

New Zealand: Sorensen-McGee; Paul, Brunt, Du Plessis, Leti-I'iga; H King, Joseph; Viliko, Ponsonby, Mahutariki-Fakalelu, Roos, Bayfield, Mikaele-Tu'u, E-P King, Olsen-Baker. Replacements: Lolohea, Robinson, Taumata, Vaipulu, Sae, Turner, McGregor, Saili.