The match rounded out 47-10 for the Black Ferns, who raced to a 22-point lead at halftime before the Wallaroos restored some sense of dignity.

"I think we allowed ourselves to get bullied [in the] tackle contest," coach Daniel Nestor said.

"We had way too many balls stripped from us. We didn't nail our tackles, we spoke about sticking our tackles and it just didn't happen."

It was a far sight from assistant Matt Tink's word prematch, highlighting the squad's "professional head and amateur heart". But it's becoming clear that unless something changes in the Wallaroos set up, the Kiwis will remain one hurdle too many.

The Wallaroos haven't beaten New Zealand for 25 years and looked shellshocked throughout the encounter, with the Wallabies' subsequent performance against the All Blacks perhaps mere condolence for the battered rivals.

"We've got to get over the fact we haven't beaten them and I think the girls are allowed to do certain things in club rugby which they get away with, but then when you go and play a team like the Black Ferns, you don't get away with those things," Nestor chastised.

"It's almost like they sit back and let it happen. I think it's a mindset we need to help create.

"Lineout cost us a bit. We concentrated on getting set-piece right. We got it right with the scrum but our lineout let us down.

"It's a contact sport. You've got to go and whack someone and we didn't do that."