England beat New Zealand 26-19 in the WXV Global Series at Twickenham on September 26, with flyhalf Zoe Harrison scoring the winning try after the full-time siren. Harrison intercepted a pass from Amy du Plessis and raced over, then converted her own try.

Harrison finished with 11 points. “I nearly suffocated at the bottom of the pile-on, screaming for them to get off because I still had to kick,” she told the BBC. The Black Ferns chose not to kick out for a draw, instead attacking from their own 22 in the 81st minute. New Zealand led 12-7 at halftime but squandered their chances.

The win extended England’s unbeaten run to 41 tests. It came a week after Canada ended their 39-match winning streak with a 26-26 draw. The crowd of 59,871 watched a tense finish at Twickenham.

England coach John Mitchell said it was important to learn how to win tight test matches. New Zealand coach Whitney Hansen said she was proud of her team despite their first loss in eight tests.