Wallaroos captain defiant after 48-15 loss: 'Against England, we can actually give it'

Australia’s Wallaroos held Women’s Rugby World Cup champions England to a 10-5 half-time deficit in their WXV Global Series 2026 opener at Salford on Saturday, before the Red Roses scored seven second-half tries to win 48-15 — yet captain Siokapesi Palu left the pitch insisting her side had plenty to celebrate.

It was the first time England had trailed at the interval since 2020, a statistic Palu was quick to cite. A Samantha Wood penalty and a converted Faliki Pohiva try gave Australia their midway lead, with Abi Burton — named player of the match — accounting for England’s sole first-half score. The Wallaroos’ more experienced pack made life difficult in the loose and at the set-piece throughout the opening 40 minutes, and their lead was widely considered deserved.

“We’re super-stoked,” Palu said at full-time. “I don’t think that score’s a reflection of the game we produced. We didn’t finish the way we wanted to. We’ll take a lot of positives. That’s the first time England have had to trail since 2020, I believe.”

The result represents a notable step forward for Australia. When the two sides met at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in Brighton, England ran out 47-7 winners despite the Wallaroos scoring first. The gap in the second half on Saturday was similarly wide, but the first-half performance offered a more credible benchmark.

Context from the weeks prior also sharpens the picture. Just a fortnight ago, New Zealand’s Black Ferns beat Australia 66-19 in Auckland in the second Laurie O’Reilly Cup match of 2026 — a result Palu acknowledged directly.

“We responded so much better in that game than we did against the Black Ferns,” she said. “We know what to fix. We’ve just got to string it along. You could see glimpses of it in the first half. We really took it to them. For us, it’s just belief and just making sure that we can compete.”

The Wallaroos’ immediate focus now shifts to WXV fixtures against France and Scotland, with a two-Test home series against Scotland to follow. England, meanwhile, face Canada next weekend in a rematch of the Women’s Rugby World Cup final.