Australia held on to secure a tense 10-4 victory over the Kiwi Ferns at Eden Park.

The match was an epic defensive struggle with points hard to come by.

Abbi Church's try early in the second half proved to be the difference, with New Zealand able to pull within six but unable to produce an equaliser.

The scores were tied for 31 minutes before the Jillaroos broke the deadlock through Jess Sergis. It was a big moment late in the half after the Kiwi Ferns had done so much work to deny their opponents, only to concede late.

After being a late call-up when superstar fullback Tamika Upton suffered a calf injury at training, Church scored a try on debut from a well-placed Jesse Southwell grubber.

Kiwi Ferns fullback Apii Nicholls put her body on the line to try clean up the kick, but she wasn't able to gather the ball. Church was on the spot to pick it up and score the try.

The 27-year-old has been superb in her first international match, producing a number of dangerous runs and crucial defensive plays. 

New Zealand will look to claim the upper hand after the break as they look to topple the world champions

The two teams now have just seven days to regroup before they do battle again in the Pacific Cup final at CommBank Stadium next Sunday.

Annessa Biddle put New Zealand back in the match after ttaking advantage of a momentary lapse in concentration by the Jillaroos to score in the 50th minute.

Play briefly broke down and all the Australians stopped to look at the referee. Biddle took off, breaking straight through the defensive line before holding off Ali Brigginshaw to run 70 metres for the try.

The Kiwi Ferns were denied another try soon after when Raecene McGregor produced a chip into the in-goal and Isabelle Kelly attempted to knock the ball dead, but she didn't get much on it.

Abigail Roache was chasing and desperately dived for the ball, the centre got her hands on the ball but grounded it on the line and Australia survived.

Another opportunity went begging for the Kiwi Ferns in the dying minutes after Mele Hufanga found space down the left edge. The centre's pass, however, was behind Biddle and she couldn't reel it in.