Australia Crowned WXV 2 Champions with 31-22 Victory Over Scotland
Australia defeated Scotland in a thrilling match at Athlone Sports Stadium, winning 31–22 to claim the WXV 2 championship.
With this incredible win, the Wallaroos will compete in the WXV 2 championship for the first time and guarantee their place in the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, where they will compete alongside Scotland, Italy, and Wales.
At Athlone Sports Stadium, Australia’s thrilling 31–22 victory over Scotland secured the second-level title, causing Scotland to suffer their first-ever WXV 2 defeat.
In the decisive game in Cape Town, the Wallaroos jumped off to a 21-0 lead and held on to win even though the reigning champions had just 13 players remaining when they trailed 22-21 with ten minutes remaining.
At the final siren, both teams were confirmed as qualified for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, joining WXV 2 rivals Wales and Italy in securing their tickets to England.
Earlier, Beatrice Rigoni’s two late penalties gave the Azzurre the victory, ending South Africa’s faint chances of winning the championship 23–19.
Italy finished third in the final standings, surpassing the Springbok Women on the head-to-head rule.
Wales advanced one spot as well, sending Japan to sixth place when they defeated the Sakura 15s 19-10 on Friday after a second-half comeback.
Japan 10-19 Wales
Wales got off to a quick start in Cape Town, knowing that the team who lost the first game would undoubtedly finish bottom of the second division.
Nel Metcalfe charged down Misaki Matsumura’s attempted clearance after applying strong pressure to a Japanese scrum on the Sakura 15s’ five-meter line. He then quickly raced onto the lost ball to score in the left corner.
Keira Bevan failed to convert from the touchline, but in the fourteenth minute, Alisha Butchers and Bethan Lewis’ deft handling freed the scrum-half, allowing Wales to extend their lead.
Before adding the extras, Bevan dashed off and under the posts. Fifteen minutes later, Lewis believed she had scored her team’s third try, but Natalia John was flagged for an infringement by TMO Chris Assmus.
Before Jasmine Joyce used her lightning speed early in the second half to give Wales a dominating advantage, the score was still 12-0 at the interval.
When Joyce picked off Japan’s eighth-ranked player Seina Sato and ran nearly the entire length of the field to score, Wales had been defending from just a few meters inside their own line.
Bevan attempted another conversion, but Japan retaliated by crossing the whitewash twice through Matsumura and Ayasa Otsuka, therefore the try bonus point was never awarded.
Most importantly, though, Otsuka missed both conversions, and the Sakura 15s’ chances of making a comeback were finally dashed.
Italy 23-19 South Africa
Babalwa Latsha gave South Africa the lead early on as they chased the bonus-point victory they needed to keep their chances of winning the championship alive.
The extras were added by Nadine Roos, but the Azzurre quickly capitalized as Silvia Turani dug in after the Springbok Women lost Chumisa Qawe to a yellow card.
While Italy appeared to take control of the game with two tries at the conclusion of the first half, that was the only score the hosts let up while short on players.
Michele Sillari held off one defender on his way to the line after first stepping inside three South African defenders. Then Turani made another crossing of the whitewash.
Italy led 17–7 at the interval after Sillari converted the latter touchdown, but the Springbok Women took the lead early in the second half when Aseza Hele, a replacement back-row, touched down, cutting the margin.
After a superb team play in the left corner, Ayanda Malinga ran the ball closer to the goal posts, allowing Roos to score her second conversion of the game to give the hosts the lead.
However, just as it appeared that South Africa was gaining the upper hand, Unam Tose’s yellow card brought the Springbok Women down to only 14 players once more.
And then Beatrice Rigoni scored the first of the two penalties that finally gave the Azzurre a well-earned victory.
Scotland 22-31 Australia
Australia began the championship match at a fast pace, taking a 21-0 lead halfway through the first half. They needed to win to complete their inaugural WXV 2 campaign as champions.
In the twelfth minute, Desiree Miller showcased her exceptional skills by scoring the first try. She did this by receiving a pass from Maya Stewart, another winger, on halfway and sprinting to touch down.
Stewart showed that he wasn’t going to be outdone and scored in the right corner less than six minutes after edging out Coreen Grant, his opponent.
With under 22 minutes remaining, the Wallaroos were on the rise, and Faitala Moleka’s superb grubber punt found Cecilia Smith to score their third try. With her third conversion, Moleka increased Australia’s advantage to 21-0.
But just before the half-hour mark, Leah Bartlett dived over to put Scotland ahead, and Chloe Rollie added a second try after Siokapesi Palu was sin-binned.
After that, the score was 21–12 at the half. In the second half, replacement prop Anne Young scored the first goal for the defending champions.
However, Lisa Thomson missed her second conversion attempt, putting her team four points down. Scotland also lost momentum when Emma Orr was given a yellow card that was later upgraded to a red one halfway through the second half.
Interestingly, though, it was Scotland who scored next, when Francesca McGhie scored after several phases to give her team their first-ever lead.
At one point, Nelson missed a difficult conversion to give the Scottish lead, and McGhie’s reckless knock-on resulted in her team being reduced to 13 players when she received a yellow card.
In the last play, Ashley Marsters scored a close-range goal before Moleka converted a penalty kick to put her team ahead once more.
