Rugby World Cup: England take confidence from 2021 tests despite ‘transformed’ Black Ferns, says halfback Leanne Infante

England halfback Leanne Infante featured in both tests against the Black Ferns in 2021. Photo: INPHO / Photosport

When the Black Ferns and England meet in the World Cup final at Eden Park on Saturday night, it will be a tale of redemption — one way or the other.

The Black Ferns have bounced back well after dropping all four tests on last year’s northern tour and defending their World Cup title would be a fairytale finish to the season. For England, it’s 30 tests since they last lost — that loss being in the 2017 final against their Kiwi counterparts.

England held the lead at halftime in that test, but the Black Ferns came home strong to stun the Red Roses. It left a feeling that England halfback Leanne Infante won’t soon forget.

“I know how much that heartbreak was on the pitch for those players,” she told the Herald.

While Infante was a non-playing reserve in that final, she has been an integral part of their campaign this time around with her distribution and vision — exemplified in a pinpoint long pass sparking one of the tries of the tournament in their semifinal win over Canada.

The 29-year-old also featured in her side’s two wins over the Black Ferns late last year, and said while England knew they would be meeting a different side in Saturday’s final, they could still take confidence from those two impressive wins.

“We’ll take a lot of confidence in the way we beat them a year ago. They’re not the same side, but that was a really proud moment for us as a squad and we won’t forget that,” Infante said.

“They’ve transformed their game since we last played them. They look really dangerous with ball in hand so we’ll be looking at that this week and coming up with ways to counteract their strengths. It’s good for the game and really good for them; hopefully not too good for them and we can kill that off next weekend and come away with the right result.”

There will be many interested to see how England go about addressing the attacking style of play the Black Ferns have adapted in recent times, particularly after Canada caused some problems for them in that area during the semifinal.

After tough, physical tests against France and Canada during their campaign so far, the English side have learned a lot about how their own performance matches up with the world’s elite, and Infante said those experiences were important as they head toward their biggest test since 2017.

“We’ve been tested a few times in the past couple weeks and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. We’ll look back at those performances as well and keep fixing up what we need to fix up. A lot of it will be focusing on us over them.

“It will definitely be a tough game for us. It will be physical, it will be powerful, it will be a full 80 minutes. It won’t be done in the first half and it probably won’t be done halfway through the second half. We’re going to have to put together a full performance, and that’s what we’ll be aiming for on Saturday.”