Blues go Dancing in the Rain

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New South Wales (W) v Queensland (W)

The New South Wales Women's State of Origin side won Game 2 and also the series after a dominant performance on a drenched ground and with rain pouring down in the closing stages of the match, downing Queensland 26-6 in Sydney.

The Queenslanders were the first to get on the board, after just five minutes when Lauren Brown, just a metres from the Blues line, put in a crafty grubber from dummy half. Olivia Kernick tried to pick the slippery ball up but failed to do so and Tamika Upton fell on the ball to score. Brown converted.

The Blue's capitalized 11 minutes later after a poor kick from Ali Brigginshaw, which came off the side of her boot. It allowed New South Wales to start their set on halfway. A few plays later and Simaima Taufa went on a barnstorming run, changing her line just as she received a pass, busted through the line and then slid over despite the tackle effort from Upton. Jesse Southwell converted to level the scores.

In the 28th minute, the Blues looked certain to score when Tiana Penitani threw a rushed pass as she was tackled. The ball bounced in front of Jaime Chapman and into touch.

Two minutes later though, Kernick slipped out of a low tackle and then brushed off the cover defence to score a strong solo try under the sticks. Southwell converted.

After a little bit of a scuffle, the siren sounded and the Blues had a 12-6 lead at halftime.

The Blues came out of the sheds with a lot more intensity and intent in the second half and after 4 minutes of play, they extended their lead. Southwell sent a great cut-out pass to Isabelle Kelly, who drew and passed to Jayme Fressard in space and she scored in the corner. Southwell's sideline conversion failed.

The points kept coming for the Blues, when seven minutes later they produced some nice ball movement to the right side, finding Jaime Chapman, who stepped each way, eventually wrongfooting Upton, then got ankle tapped but slid across the line and scored a good try. Southwell's conversion attempt was waved away.

The Blues put the icing on the cake in the 61st minute when Kernick powered through two tackle efforts before scoring under the posts. Southwell added the extras and the Blues won 26-6.