Rugby's women's World Cup, won by New Zealand's Black Ferns, was on display at Napier's Park Island on Saturday.
Fans at the venue would have been excused if they had thought the Hawke's Bay Tuis had played the Black Ferns instead of the Manawatu Cyclones in their Farah Palmer Cup fifth round fixture when the scoreboard read 86-8 against the Tuis at the final whistle. Many would have been shocked to learn the Cyclones included just one world champion Black Fern in fullback Selica Winiata and their second, halfback Kristina Sue, was on water bottle duty.
They also would have been surprised to learn the Cyclones had only won one of their previous three encounters. The Tuis, as the score suggests, produced a dismal display, although they had promising patches on attack.
"We were definitely better on attack. But there is still more work to be done on our defence ... particularly with our connections and communication," disappointed Tuis coach Te Rangi Maeva said afterwards.
The biggest positive for the winless Tuis at the end of the game, which was called off three minutes early in the interests of safety when the hosts were down to 13 players, was the fact this coming weekend will be their bye. They started the match with just two reserves and with at least four new injuries Maeva and her troops will relish a week off to recover and boost their numbers before their final outing of the season against Tasman in Nelson on October 14.