Wallaroos fall short against Black Ferns after historic first-half lead

The ACT Brumby put in a full 80-minute stint in her sixth Test cap - alongside teammates Shannon Parry and Grace Hamilton - in the forward line during their 23-10 loss on Monday.

For the first time in their 21-Test history, the Wallaroos led New Zealand at half-time - 10-5, before the class of the Ferns outfit, and their bench depth, saw them cross three times in the second half.

Australia coach Jay Tregonning said a number of his players were hurting after the 13-point loss, as they were chasing that first win.

"The whole forward pack played really well in the first half and that helped with our flow of possession," he said.

"Part of that was, obviously, [Michaela] Leonard in the lineout leading and what we're doing there. [Leonard's] a bit of a glue for our lineout. Calls well, clears the space well and defensively reads well, so she was very good out there."

The Ferns levelled the score at the 49-minute mark and stretched their lead out minutes later with another try, before a penalty goal made it 18-10.

Tregonning's side went to the tee for another Lori Cramer penalty goal attempt to reduce New Zealand's lead to within a try.

The fullback sent it too far right, and then increasingly wet conditions complicated the Wallaroos' chase.

The pressure was on the Kiwis to see out the game, until they crossed on the buzzer and extended their lead to 13 points.

The victory increased New Zealand's perfect record against the Wallaroos since 1994 to 21-0.

Wallaroos skipper Parry said her side's performance was a great stepping stone for the world cup in November.

"We know we're not far away and that's the promising thing," she said.

"If we can match it with them for 60 minutes, we've just got to be able to match it with them for 80-plus. So I think there's definitely positives for our squad to take out of that."

One key area Australia will look to shore up before their next Pacific Four match up against the United States is their set pieces.

The Wallaroos capitalised on their lineouts in the opening 40 but could not match it in the second, falling to a 68 per cent success rate.

Australia will also anxiously await scans for key forward Adiana Talakai, after a knee injury sidelined the hooker against the Ferns.

NEW ZEALAND BLACK FERNS 23 (Ayesha Leti-I'iga 2, Kaipo Olsen-Baker, Alana Bremner tries; Kendra Cocksedge pen) bt AUSTRALIA WALLAROOS 10 (Liz Patu try; Lori Cramer con, pen) at Tauranga Domain. Referee: Sara Cox.