Black Ferns v England: World Cup benchmark set for Black Ferns in Twickenham loss to Red Roses

Ayesha Leti-I'iga was strong in her first test this year as the Black Ferns fell to England. Photo / Photosport

The benchmark has been set for the Black Ferns.

The New Zealand side fell in a 24-12 loss to England in a stand-alone test at Twickenham on Sunday morning. The visitors had periods of dominance throughout the contest but were made to pay for missed opportunities as the hosts held a comfortable 17-0 lead at halftime.

While the Black Ferns trailed 24-0 early in the second half, they continued to fight through the second half, scoring two tries through left wing Katelyn Vaha’akolo to close the gap.

With the side continuing to build towards next year’s World Cup in England, co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu said there was plenty for the side to take out of the loss.

“I’m really proud of a lot of things we did out there. I think a lot of things we could’ve tidied up; holding on to that ball so we could show a bit more of what we’ve got,” she said.

“Credit to the English girls. They’re a good side, they’re relentless, and we’re just fortunate to have another opportunity come WXV.”

The test was their first in the UK since 2021, and a welcome pitstop before the side head to Canada for the WXV 1 for tests against Ireland, England and France between September 29 and October 14.

“It has been a little while since we’ve been on this side of the world. I think the team has done a lot of growing since the last time we met the English, but I’m excited to be going away, having another training camp and trying to tidy up those errors.”

The Black Ferns weren’t without opportunities. They had 57% of the possession, got on the front foot through their lethal running attack - Ayesha Leti-I’iga making a successful return to test rugby as she caused plenty of problems for the English defence in a 58-minute stint.

“For us, it’s making sure we capitalise on the opportunities we do have,” Tukuafu said.

“Demoralising’s probably not the right word, but it’s somewhat disappointing when you’ve got momentum. Little errors let us down, but it’s exciting that it’s not big errors that we need to go away and chip away at.

“The team’s in a really good physical space. If we get ball in hand and turn possession into points, then it’s a whole different game.”

They were good lessons to learn against the world’s top-ranked team a year out from the World Cup in an improved performance from their 33-15 loss to the English in Auckland late last year.

While many billed the clash as a potential preview of the World Cup final at Twickenham next year, Tukuafu said they were not in a position to be looking that far into the future.

“That’s the pinnacle. That’s obviously the goal. But we need to take it game by game, making sure that we capitalise on every opportunity we get. As we’ve seen, the rest of the world is catching up in terms of their rugby, so we’ve got to make sure we have a good journey to that place.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.