Harrison intercept try in stoppage time hands England win over New Zealand at Allianz Stadium

Zoe Harrison scored a last-gasp try as England defeated New Zealand at Allianz Stadium in the WXV Global Series on 26 September 2026. The scores were level at 19-19 in the 81st minute after Harrison had missed a late penalty, before she intercepted a pass on the counter and dived over the line.

A crowd of 59,871 watched the match, which followed New Zealand ending a 39-game winning run with a 26-26 draw against Canada the previous weekend. New Zealand, who beat England in the 2022 World Cup final, suffered their first defeat under head coach Whitney Hansen in this fixture.

The Black Ferns took a deserved half-time lead after tries from Amy du Plessis and Ayesha Leti-I'iga ruled out Claudia Moloney-MacDonald's opening score. England responded in the second half with tries from Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach that put John Mitchell's side back in front before Mererangi Paul's converted try levelled the game on 70 minutes.

Kildunne's individual break and a yellow card for a high shot by Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu allowed Mitchell to use his bench with momentum swinging to England, and Breach finished simply on the next phase. England had not led at half-time in any of their Global WXV Series games and Mitchell defended his side's rustiness, noting their season began only two weeks earlier against Australia.

Harrison had earlier taken a long-range penalty attempt late in the game that came up well short, having chosen to kick rather than tap and go. Canada had opted to kick the ball out and accept a draw in their meeting with New Zealand last week, and New Zealand attacked from distance in search of a win before the intercepted pass deep inside the visitors' 22.

Team lists saw England start: Kildunne; Breach, Jones (capt), Rowland, Moloney-MacDonald; Harrison, L Packer; Carson, Field, Bern, Talling, Ives; Campion, Matthews, Kabeya, Feaunati. Replacements: Campbell, Botterman, Muir, Burton, Packer, Hunt, Heard, Sing. New Zealand started: Sorensen-McGee; Paul, Brunt, Du Plessis, Leti-I'iga; H King, Joseph; Viliko, Ponsonby, Mahutariki-Fakalelu, Roos, Bayfield, Mikaele-Tu'u, E-P King, Olsen-Baker. Replacements: Lolohea, Robinson, Taumata, Vaipulu, Sae, Turner, McGregor, Saili. Assistant referees were Ben Connor (Wales) and Beatrice Smussi (Italy) with Quinton Immelman (South Africa) as TMO.

England's late score secured their 14th straight win at Allianz Stadium, and the teams now turn to their next fixtures: England travel to Canada to complete their three-Test series in Toronto and Ottawa, while New Zealand face France in Hamilton.