You couldn’t wipe the smile off Braxton Sorensen-McGee’s face after the Black Ferns beat the Wallaroos 38-12 in Newcastle final weekend. At simply 18, {the teenager} was rewarded for a shocking debut with Participant of the Match honours, having scored two tries within the Take a look at.
Sorensen-McGee had starred alongside the likes of Ruahei Demant, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Maia Roos throughout the Blues’ run to the Tremendous Rugby Aupiki and Champions Remaining titles in 2025. Alongside giants of the game, the teenage sensation stood tall.
When the Black Ferns unveiled their preliminary squad for the Pacific 4 Sequence, and later the 23 to tackle the Wallaroos, Sorensen-McGee’s title featured closely in headlines as rugby followers waited in anticipation for the final expertise’s worldwide debut.
Sorensen-McGee was named at fullback for the Black Ferns’ first of this Rugby World Cup year, with Director of Rugby Allan Bunting selecting just the one debutant in the 23. Demant and Kennedy Tukuafu were once again tasked with co-captaining the national team.
It took quite some time for the young fullback to get involved, with Sorensen-McGee carrying the ball once for three metres during the first 29 minutes of play. But them, almost out of nowhere, Sorensen-McGee scored a speculator try on debut.
Backrower Kaipo Olsen-Baker was the Player of the Match front-runner deep into the Test, but Sorensen-McGee’s second try swung that honour in the debutant’s favour. New Zealand retained the Laurie O’Reilly Cup, and Sorensen-McGee couldn’t stop smiling post-game.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s a pretty amazing feeling, even getting Player of the Match I wouldn’t think that I’d get it,” Sorensen-McGee told RugbyPass at McDonald Jones Stadium.
“Being able to experience this with the team, with my family that flew over from New Zealand, it’s really good and really special to me.
“It’s been surreal but it’s not really a new feeling. Coming from Blues it was quite similar and that’s what’s made it easy to come into the Black Ferns arena.
“It was really cool. A special moment for me,” she added. “One that I’m going to hold dearly to my heart because having my mum and my sister fly in from New Zealand is honestly special and most people want do that. Them going above and beyond for me, no words can explain how happy I am.”
It was an unforgettable debut from one of the brightest up-and-coming talents in New Zealand rugby, but Sorensen-McGee’s first try as a Black Fern wasn’t without controversy, with replays suggesting the youngster may have dropped the ball.
Sorensen-McGee has done superbly well to even get into a position to score, beating a tackle attempt from Australia’s in-form winger Desire Miller with a stunning somersault finish just inside the right sideline.
Wallaroos players protested the score but the try stood. Sorensen-McGee didn’t hesitate when asked about the five-pointer about 15 minutes after the Black Ferns lifted the Laure O’Reilly Cup, saying with confidence that it wasn’t a knock-on in the act of scoring.
“I feel like I did,” Sorensen-McGee said.
“Little bobble but in the end if you stop it when the ball’s down my hand was on it.”
The Black Ferns have started their season with a bang but it doesn’t get any easier for them, with a shot at revenge on the line this weekend in Christchurch. New Zealand lost to Canada at the very same venue last year, but will have a shot to rewrite history against the same foe.
After that Test on May 17, New Zealand will turn their focus to a Pacific Four Series clash with Ilona Maher’s USA at Albany’s North Harbour Stadium on the 24th. That’ll be another important marker for this team ahead of the Rugby World Cup, which starts on August 22.
