Black Ferns v Wallaroos: Sylvia Brunt shows signs of star power in 50-0 victory

Sylvia Brunt scored two tries in a player of the game performance in the Black Ferns' 50-0 win over the Wallaroos. Photo / Getty Images

Fleet-footed and explosive, Sylvia Brunt announced herself at the expense of the Wallaroos.

Making her debut for the Black Ferns in 2022 at just 18 years old, Brunt got a taste of the test environment with limited involvement in the Pacific Four and Rugby World Cup campaigns.

But with incumbent second-five Theresa Fitzpatrick returning to sevens, Brunt has wasted no time in staking her claim to the No 12 jersey. The 19-year-old was the standout performer in an impressive outing for the Black Ferns in a 50-0 demolition job in Brisbane on Thursday night, scoring two tries and tormenting the Wallaroos’ defensive line in their opening match of this year’s Pacific Four tournament.

New Black Ferns coach Allan Bunting has said he wants to rotate the squad throughout the three-test series, which also includes Canada and the United States, as he looks to see what everyone in the squad can offer, but Brunt has set a high bar to those trying to be the long-term option in the position.

“She’s electric,” Bunting said of Brunt. “She’s really courageous and she was outstanding. Her build-up in the last few weeks has been outstanding so it’s awesome for such a young lady to go out there and represent her family like that. It’s awesome.”

Brunt was one of several impressive individual performers in the Black Ferns’ return to action. First-five and reigning World Rugby player of the year Ruahei Demant was a force at both ends, pulling the strings on attack and putting some big shots on in defence. Fullback Renee Holmes worked her way into the attacking line nicely as a secondary playmaking option, while Kennedy Simon, Tayna Kalounivale and Liana Mikaele-Tu’u all make their presence felt.

But as a collective, it was an impressive outing. There wasn’t a weak link in the defensive line, and they smothered the Wallaroos at the breakdown. Any time the Australians looked to be on a roll and set to score, the Black Ferns would get over the ball or force an error.

For the most part, it was a performance to savour, but Bunting admitted the excitement of being back on the pitch got the better of his side in the opening moments as handling errors stifled their progress seemingly with every attack they tried to launch in the opening 10 minutes.

“It was massively pleasing, especially for our ones that wore the jersey for the first time,” Bunting said of the result.

“Watching them go out there and play quite free was awesome; I think we were a little bit excited at the start and made about 12 errors in the first half, but I think that was just excitement.

“In that second half, our composure, the way we played, I’m just really proud of our defence; our effort on defence, our line speed, the effort on attack, our set piece – it’s a good starting point for us and I think we can only get better.”

The match also saw six of the nine uncapped players in the squad for the Pacific Four tournament make their debuts; right wing Mererangi Paul and reserve halfback Iritana Hohaia both getting on the score sheet as well.

The win sets the Ferns up well for the rest of the tournament as they head to Ottawa for matches against Canada and the United States over the next two weeks. Next weekend’s clash against Canada is likely to be a tougher test for the Black Ferns, with the Canadian side looking impressive in a 50-17 win over the United States when they kicked the tournament off back in April.

A top-three finish in the competition will secure them a place in the inaugural WXV 1 tournament, where the best of the Pacific Four take on England, France and Wales in Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland in October. The second match in the Laurie O’Reilly Cup against Australia will be in Hamilton in September.