NZ begins Women’s Rugby World Cup defense with a win and Brazil debuts

By Canadian Press on August 24, 2025.

New Zealand began its defense of the Women’s Rugby World Cup by scratching a 54-8 win over Spain in York on Sunday.

The Black Ferns were comfortable eight-try winners — with only 13 players for the last quarter — but at the possible cost of flanker Kaipo Olsen-Baker, who suffered a right leg injury and was carried off the field in tears.

Olsen-Baker missed the 2022 home World Cup because of a training injury and lasted only 14 minutes in York.

Other injured players couldn’t be replaced because the bench was already empty, but even with 13 players New Zealand scored two tries though conceded its very first try to Spain in injury time.

Ireland and South Africa achieved their highest World Cup scores in their opening matches.

Ireland overcame Japan 42-14 and, in the second game of the Northampton doubleheader, South Africa overwhelmed Brazil 66-6.

Both teams’ previous best scores were against Kazakhstan: Ireland’s was 40-5 in 2014 and South Africa’s was just 25-10 in 2010.

Brazil’s Yaras became the first team from South America to feature in the World Cup and played only their 18th test ever.

New Zealand 54, Spain 8

New Zealand made all the running, 1,600 meters to Spain’s 348, and committed Spain to a staggering 221 tackles. But last passes by the Black Ferns were frequently missed amid an inspired scrambled defense by Las Leones, who were playing New Zealand for the first time in 27 years.

“There was a lot of excitement out there and some of those passes were not sticking,” New Zealand captain Alana Bremner said. “But first game we weren’t expecting perfection and we’ll look to be more clinical.”

With nine players from the 2022 final and another nine making their World Cup debut, New Zealand didn’t click in its first test in six weeks until Jorja Miller scored from out of nothing from the Spain 22. She stepped two defenders, slipped another, and split two more in a brilliant solo try.

The world’s best sevens player was over again four minutes later, then player of the match Liana Mikaele-Tu’u crashed over and it was 21-0 after 24 minutes. But the Black Ferns couldn’t score another try until the second half.

The halftime injection of Olsen-Baker in place of Miller, lock Laura Bayfield and scrumhalf Risi Pouri-Lane helped New Zealand up the tempo and 21-3 at halftime quickly blew out to 35-3.

The un-retired Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scored to extend her World Cup all-time tries record to 21 but dropping to 13 players slowed down New Zealand.

Spain, coming off a 97-7 warmup loss to England this month, could not exploit its two-player advantage until injury time, when prop Ines Antolinez Fernandez burrowed over from a tap penalty. In the excitement, Amalia Argudo took too long to convert and timed out.

Ireland 42, Japan 14

Both teams, in the same pool as New Zealand and Spain, targeted their tournament opener at sunny Franklin’s Gardens as a key step toward making the quarterfinals. Japan gave away height and weight advantages to higher-ranked Ireland but won their last matchup in 2022 and was buoyed by wins this year over the U.S. and Spain.

Japan had eight visits to the 22, almost as many as Ireland, but wasn’t as good at protecting the ball. Ireland’s ability to break tackles and produce almost 400 post-contact meters was also decisive. The Irish scored six converted tries.

“This is the first World Cup game for most of us but it didn’t feel like it,” co-captain Eden McMahon told the BBC. “The young girls took it in their stride so to be in that environment is very empowering.”

Ireland began its first World Cup match in eight years like it was trying to make up for lost time.

Tries by wingers Amee-Leigh Costigan and Beibhinn Parsons, hooker Neve Jones and first-time test flanker Fiona Tuite gave Ireland a four-try bonus point by halftime and seemingly the win.

But Japan’s try by midfielder Haruka Hirotsu in the first half was added to by flanker Masami Kawamura to start the second and they trailed only 28-14.

Big runs by Kawamura and wing Misaki Matsumura propelled Japan to the Irish posts again and they looked set to score their third try but Ireland center Eve Higgins intercepted and ran 90 meters to the other end for the clincher for Ireland and heartbreak for Japan.

A penalty try to Ireland for a collapsed rolling maul and yellow card to Japan prop Sachiko Kato were ruled out after the TMO revealed Irish obstruction in the lineout.

But Ireland scored three minutes later through replacement back Enya Breen. Dannah O’Brien nailed her sixth straight conversion.

South Africa 66, Brazil 6

Brazil wasn’t fazed by the historic occasion, many of the team having played sevens in the Olympics. Before the game, the music for their national anthem stopped but they kept singing, loudly and proudly.

However, they’d never faced a team as experienced as South Africa, or a player like No. 8 Aseza Hele. Hele was a breakout star at the 2022 World Cup, beating 20 defenders, far more than any other forward. On Sunday, she seemed to beat 20 defenders in just 50 minutes of work as she became the first female Springbok to score a World Cup hat trick.

Winger Ayanda Malinga would have equaled Hele but had a brilliant 60-meter solo try in the 81st minute chalked off due to obstruction.

Hele cleaned up a dropped catch to give scrumhalf Nadine Roos the first try in the fifth minute, and scored the second try by barging through five Brazilians.

Unmissable with a spiky mohawk, Raquel Kochhann kicked Brazil’s first points, and a second penalty in the second half.

While South Africa reached halftime 26-3 up, it was made to sweat for every point by a swarming Brazilian defense that made 130 tackles, alone, in the first spell.

Brazil’s determination to chance whatever ball it got saw it run from behind its own posts. Backs Edna Santini and Bianca Silva were a handful.

But counterattacks led to many of South Africa’s 10 tries, the best of them straight after halftime.

Fullback Byrhandre Dolf ran out of her 22, Roos shimmed to halfway and chipped, Dolf regathered and unselfishly sent Hele in between the posts.

Dolf converted eight of her 10 goalkicks.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Foster Niumata, The Associated Press