But given the 2022 tournament win came after the tournament was delayed by a year thanks to COVID-19, the Black Ferns have a three-year window to ensure they’re in the best place to prepare for next year’s World Cup in England.
And yet even with the prospect of four straight defeats to end 2024, hooker Georgia Ponsonby maintains experience against sides like England, France and Canada will hold the team in good stead.
“This tour has been everything we’ve needed,” said Ponsonby. “We don’t get a lot of games.
“It’s been so good to get hard competition and see where we stand against these teams.
“Without this tournament, we wouldn’t know that. It’s cool to have a line in the sand, that’s where we stand against England, we’re not there yet.
“But the beauty of it is we’ve still got next year, we’ve still got time to get to where we need to be come World Cup time.”
If it’s any consolation, the Black Ferns’ 2022 World Cup win was built on four defeats to end 2021, and a review that saw Smith take charge after Glenn Moore left the side.
Less than seven months later, New Zealand were world champions.
And while the lessons of 2021 have been learned by the Black Ferns and New Zealand Rugby, dropping four straight games is above the standards set by any team in a black jersey.
As far as the class of 2024 goes, though, Ponsonby maintains the team’s heads have not dropped, and it will look to rectify results when they face France.
“It’s obviously been tough,” said Ponsonby. “Three losses in a row now, it’s obviously not what we came over here to achieve.
“But in saying that, I’m really proud of how the girls have handled it. It’s tough, we wear it hard.
“But the way we’ve come together as a group, united and have had tough reviews, we flush it and move on to the next week.
“I’m really proud of how the team’s done that. We’re just looking to finish on a high, and I definitely think we can do that.”
Monday’s loss against England saw the Black Ferns set more than one unwanted record.
The nine tries conceded is the most by a New Zealand side in a single game, while the 49 points let in is the equal most.
However, the Black Ferns weren’t entirely outclassed, though. While they conceded nine tries, they did score five of their own.
And for the team preparing to end 2024, there is no shortage of confidence in what the team is capable of at their best as they prepare to face France.
“The belief in this group is definitely still here,” Ponsonby continued.
“We created a lot of opportunities in that England game, and we scored a lot of points, which is really promising.
“It shows we’ve got the goods there. We just need to be able to execute when things matter, stay calm under pressure and stick to our basics.
“[We need to] do all those little things that are the small things, but add up. That’s going to allow us to get an 80 minute performance, rather than a 30 minute performance.
“That’s what we’re really striving for this weekend, to have an 80 minute performance that we can be proud of.”
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
