Wales Women narrowly lost out 25-19 to the Wallaroos in a tight affair at Mount Smart Stadium.

Wales' lineout maul was a force to be reckoned with against the Australians but it wasn't enough to put away their opponents as they finished the maiden WXV tournament winless. Despite receiving a red card just after the second half restart, the Wallaroos were not dispirited and ploughed on remarkably well.

The first score was thanks to the dancing feet of Australia fly-half Carys Dallinger, whose quick stepping and perfect offload helped spread the ball wide. Winger Maya Stewart was on the end of the move and touched down for the first five-pointer.

Wales replied 15 minutes later through a fantastic lineout maul. Welsh legs kept pumping towards the line before hooker Carys Phillips expertly picked her moment and dived over the whitewash to level the scores.

Dallinger was heavily involved again just a few minutes after the Welsh try. She capitalised on an infringement at the ruck from Ioan Cunnigham's team by nailing an important penalty.

Wallaroos blindside Siokapesi Palu was shown a red on 41 minutes after a high tackle on Jasmine Joyce, with no mitigation.

Wales showed exactly how to execute a maul once again as they powered towards the Wallaroos' try line after the break. This time they were awarded a penalty try after an infringement from Australia, who received a yellow as further penalty.

Wallaroos tighthead Eva Karpani showed a masterclass in carrying as she got her side back within a point, through a series of hand-offs and a neat touch down. In the next score, Australia went through the backs after some sustained forward carrying, Dallinger launched a neat cross-field kick which was eventually dotted down by replacement Lori Cramer.

Another perfectly-timed offload from Dallinger with eight minutes to play put Australia into acres of space, with Cecilia Smith finding Ivania Wong to put the Wallaroos into a 25-14 lead.

Wales replied quickly through a third lineout maul move, with replacement hooker Kelsey Jones peeling off the blindside of the maul and diving over. That wasn't to be enough however, with Wales eventually losing out by six points. Frustratingly, it was Wales' third consecutive defeat in the WXV as they ended the new competition without a win.