New Zealand women were handed a World Cup "wake-up call" after they had to come from behind to beat debutants Fiji in their opening game.
New Zealand looked set for a comfortable day when Stacey Waaka scored after two minutes, but Fiji grew into the match and struck after 21 minutes. Skipper Sereana Naitokatoka made a clever run from dummy half to find Losana Lutu, who scored Fiji's first women's World Cup try. When Sienna Laing extended the lead five minutes later, the upset suddenly looked on. Waaka scored her second try to close the gap before the break, but Fiji's staunch defence refused to give way after the interval.
The pressure eventually told as New Zealand levelled and then took the lead through Zehara Temara's penalty kicks. The win was not secured until the final minutes, when Raecene Mc Gregor's cross-field kick found Leianne Tufuga to score.
New Zealand player Georgia Hale admitted the side had lost control after being in charge. "Everything was in our control, then we lost it," she said. "It was uncharacteristically ill-disciplined, untidy play." She added that the team had wanted to set the tone through physical, forward-driving rugby, but had strayed from that. New Zealand face France at home in Christchurch next in Group B, while Fiji play Papua New Guinea.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing