Black Ferns - 50 Australia - 0
FULLTIME - Click here for a full wrap and highlights
80th min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Amy DuPlessis cuts the defence to ribbons, before popping a pass off the deck for Iritana Hohaia to claim a try on debut.
75th min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Alana Bremner ciuts back oon a beatiful line, brushing defenders aside to go 30m to score.
70th min - Finally, some front foot ball for Aussie in the NZ 22m. But the movement breaks down.
55th min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Chelsea Bremner shows great strength to drive over and wrestle the ball free to touch down. Holmes converts from wide. (NZ 38-0)
49th min - Liana Mikaele-Tu'u bursts from the base of a ruck to earn a well deserved try.
Scratch that, they've spotted a knock-on in the lead-up to the try.
42nd min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Mikaele-Tu'u make a bruising run, pops up a pass for Holmes, who shifts it to Paul to barge over in the corner for her second try.
42nd min - Early mistake and the Aussies are instantly on the back foot. NZ scrum at the 22m.
41st min - Holmes gets us started in the second stanza. Stiff breeze in Redcliffe is now at the Australians' backs.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME
38th min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Fantastic individual effort by Mererangi Paul, who chips, sprints past two defenders and gets enough downward pressure to celebrate her debut with a try. (NZ 26-0)
34th min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Brunt jinks and powers through two tacklers to wrestle the ball free and ground the ball under the crossbar for her second try. Conversion is good. (NZ 21-0)
32nd min - Defensive penalty NZ. Lineout at the Aussie 22m.
30th min - Aussie lose the ball and NZ counter through Demant, who sets off on a brilliant 30m run, leaving defenders in her wake. Another error and Aussie escape.
27th min - Cheeky chip kick is cleaned up by Holmes but she's forced back into her in-goal. Great chance here for Aussie from a 5m scrum.
24th min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Sylvia Brunt breaks out a lethal right foot step to burrow over from close range. Holmes bounces her conversion off the right post and over. (NZ 14-0)
22nd min - NZ threaten with a big overlap but yet again, handling lets them down. Scrum Aussie 5m from their line.
19th min - More big defence from NZ. Penalty puts them on attack. Simon with a superb jinking run to the 22m but her offload goes astray. Scrum Aussie inside their 22m.
13th min - TRY BLACK FERNS - Clever lineout move sees prop Tanya Kalounivale wrapping around the back of the maul and charging 10m over the chalk, sending defenders flying. Demant converts. (NZ 7-0)
11th min - Finally some attacking ball inside Aussie territory. Penalty advantage blown up, Demant takes NZ to a lineout 10m out.
8th min - More big defence from NZ and they win big possession. Vahaakolo sets sail on the left wing but her forced pass back infield is knocked on. Handling errors mounting in both directions.
6th min - Wong looking dangerous on the left edge for Aussie, as they work towards the NZ 22m. Bullocking run by prop Cheatham, who's taken 15m short of the line. Knock on halts their progress.
Sloppy mistake from the base of the scrum by NZ gifts the ball back to the hosts. Another scrum to be set.
4th min - Marino-Tauhinu looks to clear from the scrum but her kick sails out on the full. More attacking ball here for Aussie.
3rd min - Encouraging shape from the Aussie attack but some heavy NZ defence forces a fumble. Scrum NZ at their 22m.
1st min - The Wallaroos kick things off.
Immediately the Ferns go wide, Mererangi Paul with some space on the right edge. Aussie turn it over at the next ruck. Hand in there from NZ, Aussie scrum at halfway.
We're underway...
8:59pm - Typically rousing rendition of their haka Ko Uhia Mai by the Ferns. The challenge has been laid down, let's get into it.
8:57pm - The Wallaroos sing the opening verse to the anthem in the indigenous language. Brilliant stuff.
8:53pm - Both teams are out on the pitch and the anthems about to start. Kick off is just moments away.
8:51pm - It's a chilly but clear evening at Redcliffe, where the NRL newcomer Dolphins will make way for a trans-Tasman XVs showdown.
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Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the opening test of both the Laurie O'Reilly Cup and the Pacific Four series between the Black Ferns and Australia.
The test is the New Zealanders' first since their World Cup triumph against England at Eden Park in November, where they captured the public's imagination with their fairytale defence of their crown.
A new era will dawn in Brisbane, with Allan Bunting taking the reins from Sir Wayne Smith as part of an all new coaching staff to lead a relatively inexperienced squad into battle.
The Wallaroos enter the match game on the back of last month's win over Fiji and will be desperate to make a winning start in an attempt to wrestle the trans-Tasman trophy away from the Ferns for the first time.
The last time the two sides met was in last year's World Cup opener, when the hosts ran out 41-17 victors in Auckland.
We'll have all of the action from kick-off at 9pm (NZ time).
Team line-ups:
Black Ferns: 1-Kate Henwood, 2-Georgia Ponsonby, 3-Tanya Kalounivale, 4-Maiakawanakaulani Roos, 5-Chelsea Bremner, 6-Alana Bremner, 7-Kennedy Simon (co-captain), 8-Liana Mikaele-Tu'u, 9-Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu, 10-Ruahei Demant (co-captain), 11-Katelyn Vahaakolo, 12-Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu Atai'i (Sylvia) Brunt, 13-Amy du Plessis, 14-Mererangi Paul, 15-Renee Holmes
Reserves: 16-Luka Connor, 17-Krystal Murray, 18-Amy Rule, 19-Joanah Ngan Woo, 20-Kendra Reynolds, 21-Iritana Hohaia, 22-Rosie Kelly, 23-Tenika Willison
Australia: 1-Bree-Anna Cheatham, 2-Tania Naden, 3-Eva Karpani 4-Michaela Leonard (C) 5-Annabelle Codey 6-Kaitlan Leaney 7-Ashley Marsters 8-Grace Hamilton 9-Layne Morgan 10-Carys Dallinger 11-Ivania Wong 12-Cecilia Smith 13-Georgina Friedrichs 14-Maya Stewart 15-Faitala Moleka
Reserves: 16-Madison Schuck, 17-Emily Robinson, 18-Bridie O’Gorman, 19-Sera Naiqama, 20-Emily Chancellor, 21-Jasmin Huriwai, 22-Arabella McKenzie, 23-Alana Elisaia
TAB betting odds:
New Zealand - $1.11 Australia - $6.00
New coach Allan Bunting confirms Black Ferns won't change offensive mindset
While the team may be under new direction, new coach Allan Bunting has assured Black Ferns fans they can expect to see the same brand of expansive rugby, when they take to the field for the first time since last year's World Cup triumph.
On Thursday, the world champions will take on Australia at Brisbane in their first match under Bunting, and assistants Tony Christie, Steve Jackson and Mike Delany.
With former coach Sir Wayne Smith at the helm last year, the NZ women captured the hearts of the nation with an attractive brand of running rugby that saw them edge England in a pulsating final at Eden Park to become back-to-back champions.
Kicking was almost an afterthought for the Ferns, who played a possession-based game that took full advantage of their arsenal of explosive attacking weapons across the paddock.
Some of the most potent of those threats have now moved on from that side, including Ruby Tui, Portia Woodman and Kendra Cocksedge, but Bunting suggests that will have no bearing on their rugby philosophy as new era dawns.
"We talk about our DNA and I think [attacking] is in our soul here," said Bunting. "We weren't born with shields, we were born with weapons.
"We were born to attack, so I'd say we'll probably see a bit more of that."
Bunting has named six debutants in his gameday squad for their clash with the Wallaroos in a match that doubles as the series-opener for both the Pacific Four and the O'Reilly Cup - the annual trans-Tasman showdown.
One face familiar to Black Ferns faithful is first-five Ruahei Demant. The 2022 World Rugby Women's Player of the Year was the fulcrum of the Ferns' showstopping exploits during last year's tournament in New Zealand.
Co-captain Demant admits the squad has worked to strike the balance of maintaining their best attributes, while allowing their new coaching leadership group to introduce their own flavour to the mix.
"[Bunting] has been clear on this next period being a period of building depth within our squad. That has come down to the influence of our new coaches, and trying to evolve as individuals and as a team."
After facing the Australians, the Ferns are scheduled to play Canada and the United States in consecutive weeks at Ottawa, before returning south to close out their series against the Australians at Hamilton in late September.
Bunting intends giving every member of his 30-strong squad an opportunity to prove themselves on the field, as the team embark on the start of a new World Cup cycle.
"We're massively excited to hit the field," he added. "It's been a while since we've played a test match, so we're really looking forward to a couple of days' time.
"There's definitely a few things that these ladies held onto through the World Cup that I think really ignited our country.
"There's not going to be really massive changes, but we're certainly excited to see the influence of the new coaches.
"We've had some pretty good ideas that have come through, we're really building the foundations."
