England’s Red Roses beat New Zealand 26-19 at Twickenham on September 26 in a thrilling WXV Global Series clash. Zoe Harrison scored a last-minute interception try and converted it to seal the comeback victory.

England trailed 12-7 at half-time after New Zealand responded to Claudia Moloney-MacDonald’s try with scores from Amy du Plessis and Ayesha Leti-I’iga. In the second half, England regained the lead when Ellie Kildunne burst clear, and Jess Breach stretched it to 19-12.

New Zealand levelled the scores at 19-19 through Mererangi Paul with 10 minutes to play. Harrison’s penalty attempt then fell short of the posts, but she intercepted a pass inside the New Zealand 22 as the Black Ferns countered and raced to the line.

A crowd of 59,871 at Allianz Stadium watched the thriller between the world’s top two sides. The lead changed hands three times before Harrison’s decisive score.

The win extended England’s unbeaten run to 41 matches. It came one week after a 26-26 draw with Canada. England’s last defeat to New Zealand was the 2022 World Cup final.