It’s not fashionable to diss the Black Ferns after all their recent success but, as New Zealand’s only worldchampion 15s rugby team, exalted status means more intense scrutiny.
If the Ferns are to beat England in three weeks in Canada at the next WXV tournament (England the titleholders) and at next year’s World Cup, they’ll need more than they showed in this 24-12 defeat after being 24-0 behind.
There is little point showing all your cards when these two sides will soon meet again in more meaningful contexts - but it was a disappointing display at Twickenham, re-branded Allianz Stadium after a staggering $213 million naming deal.
That amount of money always makes you wonder whether sponsors derive real value from it - though you can be sure the report from the CEO to the board will find a way to say so.
However, the 41,000 spectators probably didn’t derive real value from this match, particularly the smattering of Kiwis who saw the Ferns’ running rugby ethic only playing into England’s hands. New Zealand employed the passing game; England played percentages; the percentages won, as they usually do in tests.
If the Black Ferns are cooking up a different game plan for WXV and the World Cup, it will have to be better than this rather naive fare - shovel it wide against onrushing England defence, get crabbed across, and make mistakes like drop-off passes that were dropped or just off.
Pushed into errors, the Ferns showed little or no variation, no dink kicks behind the rush defence, one kick-pass that winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga almost turned into points, and few set moves. They were good at keeping possession for the first quarter of the match – but did little with it.
Their defence was flawed, however; England fullback Ellie Kildunne’s long-legged raids had them scrambling all game. Though the promising Katelyn Vahaakolo scored two tries herself in the second half as England relaxed their grip, her missed tackles were prominent in two of England’s four tries. You couldn’t say the same of fullback Renee Holmes, whose tackling kept New Zealand in the match as England showed they were better at putting people in space and making breaks.
They are a hugely solid outfit, this England team, in more ways than one. Their all-white strip makes them look like a range of well-muscled, highly mobile bathtubs. This is intended to compliment their physicality rather than anything denigratory. The forwards do the basics at pace and with effectiveness; they have athletes on the wing like Abby Dow (her try the best of the game); they can run and pass.
So the Black Ferns will need more. A lot more. Coach Allan Bunting said the women had been working hard on their kicking game. It didn’t show. Few, if any, kicks were contestable; many limply returned possession to the Red Roses, whose own kicking was generally longer and more accurate.
Just after halftime, when they scored their fourth try without answer, a win by 40 points or more looked possible. However, the big forwards began to tire and, with the game won, England started making their own errors in a largely forgettable second half.
Ayesha Leti-I'iga in action for the Black Ferns. Photo / Photosport
With England’s defence in charge for much of this match, the influential Ruahei Demant was kept quiet, raising a question whether second-five is really her position. It wasn’t all bad news for New Zealand - Leti-I’iga showed her paces and, when Ruby Tui came on, she brought much-needed energy and good distribution.
Holmes was perhaps their best apart from one blemish when a misguided kick should have been a pass, Maia Roos and Liana Mikaele-Tu’u hewed away all game in the grunty stuff and new lock Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu looked a more than interesting prospect. The Ferns knew the monstrosity that is rugby’s rolling maul would be coming at them from the big England pack and, other than the first try to Red Roses captain Marlie Packer, they defended it well.
These are big deficiencies, however - kicking, defence and lack of variety - and finding someone of extra pace wouldn’t hurt.
Still, there is one area the Black Ferns are clearly outpointing England - fame, recognition, brand-building, call it what you will. Their impromptu group hug with King Charles went round the world; Australian morning TV proclaimed them one of the TV highlights of the year.
During one of the injury breaks, with music blasting across Twickenham, Tui amused the crowd by playing a bit of air guitar to Hey Jude. It is difficult to imagine a male All Black doing that, even in a “friendly” - an illustration of how women’s unforced naturalness is winning new fans.
Meanwhile research quoted by British media showed that almost two-thirds of English rugby fans cannot name a single player from the Red Roses, in spite of all their World Cup success (but never against New Zealand).
On the field, however, the Ferns have work to do and, with the women’s game an exciting growth and success opportunity, New Zealand Rugby might have to look even harder at more money, more fixtures and more coaching support.
In about a year from now, the World Cup final will also be played at Twickenham; an England-New Zealand fixture perfectly possible. So is the same result as this one, unless a lot of gaps are filled.
