Katelyn Vahaakolo celebrates her try against Ireland. Photo / Photosport
The Black Ferns have beaten France 39-14 at BC Place, Vancouver off the back of a Katelyn Vahaakolo hat-trick.
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE: Watch: Black Ferns bounce back, Vaha’akolo hat-trick puts France to sword
The Black Ferns are prepared to wear some short term pain for long term gain, as their Rugby World Cup title defence creeps closer.
Following Monday’s 49-31 defeat to England in Langley, the Black Ferns are now winless in their last three tests, and are out to avoid four in succession when they face France in Vancouver on Sunday (NZ time).
However, when looking at results in context, 2024 has largely been a year to forget.
Aside from two defeats to England in less than a month - one in a one-off test and another as part of the WXV1 series - the Black Ferns have also been beaten by Ireland and Canada for the first time.
Given the turnover of players and director of rugby Wayne Smith following the 2022 World Cup, a downturn in results is understandable for the Black Ferns - even if it is unwanted.
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 Sir Wayne 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 both 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 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.”
'It was scary. We were young … we didn't know how to handle it and it's changed us.'