Burras Seal the Trans-Tasman Series With a 5-1 Win Over New Zealand in Canberra

The series is done with a game to spare, and the Burras did it in style.

Australia’s U23 men beat New Zealand 5-1 in Canberra on Wednesday, according to WAIS, their biggest win of the week, to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five trans-Tasman series. Shepherd bagged his second of the game a minute from full time to round out the five, which tells you plenty about how this one went. Even at 4-1, Australia kept coming.

That’s the part that matters most. This wasn’t a scrappy series win. A 5-1 scoreline against New Zealand at any age-group level is a statement, and it caps a week where the Burras have grown into the series game by game. New Zealand will get one more crack at them in Friday’s fifth and final clash, but the trophy, such as it is in a series like this, is already decided.

For our money, the timing is just as interesting as the result. These are the players coming through behind the Kookaburras, several of whom are already in and around the senior set-up for Ipoh later this month. A dominant series win over New Zealand is exactly the kind of form that gets selectors talking. Friday’s dead rubber isn’t dead at all for the players still trying to force their way into bigger squads.