WALES 64 NEW ZEALAND 36
IAN GOLDEN, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Monday

IN a ranking match with two notable milestones, it was nip and tuck for a while before Wales pulled through.

Jodie Boyd-Ward became the first wheelchair player and female to reach 50 international caps, while Wales fielded a father and son at the World Cup for the first time in Martin and Matthew Turner.

But it was the skills of player of the match Stuart Williams that saw Wales through and he took just 54 seconds to give Wales the lead. Andrew Higgins kicked the first of his ten goals.

Following that, Higgins added a try and two further goals for Wales in the first half, with Williams scoring his second. Matthew Turner got Wales’ fourth which he converted himself.

Nikia Fa’atau got New Zealand on the board on six minutes. Ryan Charles and Kauri Murray added further first-half tries, with Charles converting three times. A Joshua Hirini-Barclay try and goal levelled things at 24-all just before the break.

New Zealand led a match for the first time in their history thanks to a Jamie Tapp try on 47 minutes. Hirini-Barclay improved, before adding a try and goal on 62 minutes to level the scores at 36-all after a Stuart Williams double.

But Wales scored five more, the last being Williams’ fifth. Boyd-Ward marked her milestone with a brace of tries, with Higgins and Mark Williams also scoring one each.

Wales will next face Scotland in a play-off for fifth place.

WALES: 10 Mark Williams, 2 Fionn McCabe, 7 Stuart Williams, 4 Andrew Higgins, 5 Jodie Boyd-Ward. Subs (all used): 12 Martin Turner, 9 Matthew Turner, 1 Sid Ramsey

Tries: S Williams (1, 18, 53, 58, 76), Higgins (10, 67), Matthew Turner (25), Boyd-Ward (69, 71), M Williams (74); Goals: Higgins 9/10, Matthew Turner 1/1

NEW ZEALAND: 7 Dan Scott, 5 Jayson Hooker, 6 Kauri Murray, 3 Nikia Fa’atau, 2 Ryan Charles. Subs (all used): 4 Joshua Hirini-Barclay, 9 Pele Sulusi, 10 Jamie Tapp

Tries: Fa’atau (6), Charles (20), Murray (28), Hirini-Barclay (37, 63), Tapp (49); Goals: Charles 3/3, Hirini-Barclay 3/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 12-6, 18-6, 18-12, 24-12, 24-18, 24-24; 24-30, 30-30, 36-30, 36-36, 42-36, 48-36, 54-36, 60-36, 64-36

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Players of the Match
Wales: Stuart Williams; New Zealand: Kauri Murray

Penalty count: 4-1; Half-time: 24-24; Referees: Maxine Godinet and Laurent Bonnet; Attendance: 400