“You learn more about the want. The want, the hunger, the fight, the heart. You obviously know what you’re going to be coming up against, so at the end of the day, it ends up coming down to a mental battle – who next to you can actually go into that dark place and fight for their jersey? It’s pretty incredible when you play against each other.”
While the Black Ferns demolished their Australian counterparts last time out to end their Pacific Four series, it was a tournament that taught them some important lessons.
During the three-test tilt, the Black Ferns were beaten by Canada for the first time and ultimately finished second on the ladder.
The shock loss brought plenty of attention to the team, but Holmes said it did them some favours as they prepare to face England at Twickenham in September and ultimately look to defend their World Cup crown in 2025.
“We’ve had a lot of shifts in this group – leadership-wise, coach-wise, the mindset. So that loss against Canada did us so many favours that, if that didn’t happen, we would have not revisited and gone over a few things that actually weren’t working.
“It was a good reminder that if you don’t speak up at the start of the week or if you don’t think something quite right, to actually leave that room with nothing left unsaid.
“Such great lessons came out of the Pac Four and I’m really excited for the way we’re going to be playing rugby. We’ve got a kicking game up our sleeve now, we’ve got structure up our sleeve and you know the Black Ferns know how to play on top, fast and free, so it’s pretty cool when you know you’re going against opposition knowing you’ve got three different things that you can throw at them and play unpredictably.”
Holmes said developing that kicking game had been a focus for the Black Ferns this year, after what they saw in the data following last year’s eye-opening WXV 1 tournament.
“A couple of percentages and stuff were showing that the teams kicking for territory, finding grass, putting the pressure back on the other team, those actually ended up really sticking out in terms of teams that were winning,” she explained.
“We wanted to go over the summer and do Super Rugby, try and build a kicking game so that was a big focus for Pac Four. We’ve shown that there is a kicking game, but now it’s just finding that balance of when to kick and when to run.”
The side will get another opportunity to work on that balance on Sunday.
While Black Ferns coach Allan Bunting said after their win over the Wallaroos in May, that the side’s focus was now on the clash with England at Twickenham. Holmes said there was plenty to play for this weekend.
“It’s definitely there. That’s what we’re building for, so being able to play games leading up to that is really important,” Holmes said of the Twickenham test.
“This week we’re playing for the Laurie O’Reilly [Cup]. He was an incredible, incredible man; started the Black Ferns, was brave enough to put his hand up and get really behind women’s rugby when people weren’t quite backing it.
So just this week, we’re really focused on playing with a purpose. This week, it’s bigger than just us; we’re playing for that legacy that all our past players and Laurie created.”
Black Ferns (1-15): Chryss Viliko, Georgia Ponsonby, Tanya Kalounivale, Maiakawanakaulani Roos, Alana Bremner, Liana Mikaele Tu’u, Layla Sae, Kaipo Olsen-Baker, Maia Joseph, Hannah King, Katelyn Vahaakolo, Ruahei Demant (c), Sylvia Brunt, Ruby Tui, Renee Holmes.
Reserves: Atlanta Lolohea, Pip Love, Amy Rule, Chelsea Bremner, Lucy Jenkins, Iritana Hohaia, Monica Tagoai, Mererangi Paul.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
