Black Ferns Esther Faiaoga-Tilo, Maiakawanakaulani Roos and Tanya Kalounivale during a training session in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
Black Ferns Esther Faiaoga-Tilo, Maiakawanakaulani Roos and Tanya Kalounivale during a training session in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
The Black Ferns are set for a change.
It’s been a common trend for the side over the past couple of years. For the third time in as many years, the Black Ferns have undergone a rotation at the helm as Allan Bunting is tasked with steering the ship followingSir Wayne Smith’s departure after winning the World Cup.
Bunting has brought a new crew into the fold; Tony Christie, Steve Jackson and Mike Delany have come aboard as assistant coaches, with Whitney Hansen (Matatū head of rugby) and Wes Clarke (New Zealand under-20s and Kobe Steelers assistant) moving into roles elsewhere.
“We’ll all bring our own flavour to this Black Ferns set-up,” Jackson said of the new coaching group. “You will see some change, and that’ll just be around mainly some of the things that we’ve seen.
“We’ve been training a fair bit and we’ve had a good look at the teams that we want to look at – hence the reason you’ve seen some change within the playing group as well.
“We’re looking for players that can dig a little bit deeper and give us a little bit more. The one thing I will tell you is it will be an exciting brand of rugby.”
Change will be a theme of the wider group this year as well. With some players moving back into the sevens realm or retiring from the game, the Black Ferns have nine uncapped players for the upcoming Pacific Four and Laurie O’Reilly Cup tests.
The side will have their first run of the season next Thursday against Australia, before making the voyage to Ottawa for meetings against Canada and the United States in early July.
The Black Ferns will get to play on home soil again after that, with another test against Australia in Hamilton in late September, before their likely involvement in the new WXV1 competition, which will be held in Auckland, Dunedin and Wellington in late October.
A new initiative from World Rugby, the WXV tournament will see the top three teams from the Six Nations – England, France and Wales – take on the top three teams from the Pacific Four, contested between New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Allan Bunting is the Black Ferns' new director of rugby . Photo / Photosport
The year ahead shapes up as the first step in a long-term plan, looking to build a foundation before putting more focus on defending their World Cup title in 2025.
“We’ll be trialling some things in the Pac Four which should give us an opportunity to build them into the games at the end of the year,” Jackson said.
“This first year is all about getting to know people, getting connected, building relationships, then building the foundation of our team and then moving forward into year two and three where obviously, we crack in a little bit more of the World Cup stuff and preparation.
“The first thing on our mind is the Pac Four and making sure that we give opportunity to everybody.”
It’s a plan that has been clearly laid out to the playing group, lock Maiakawanakaulani Roos said. While just 21-years-old, Roos is something of a veteran of the squad, having been a part of each of the last three coaching regimes and a key member of last year’s World Cup triumph.
Roos said after winning the World Cup last year, it was now up to the team to play to their potential again.
“It’s just about how good we can get. In the World Cup, we just won the semifinal and just won the final.
“So we have three good years. This will be a really good building year, and then as we continue on to the next World Cup, that’s the goal – keep growing, building, and seeing how good we can get as a team.”
Black Ferns upcoming fixtures
v Australia, Thursday June 29, Brisbane.
v Canada, Saturday July 8, Ottawa.
v USA, Saturday July 15, Ottawa.
v Australia, Saturday September 30, Hamilton.
WXV1 tournament schedule
October 20-21, Sky Stadium, Wellington.
October 27-28, Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
November 3-4, Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, Auckland.
