The Black Ferns celebrate victory. Photo / Dean Purcell
The Black Ferns celebrate victory. Photo / Dean Purcell
Kendra Cocksedge thought she had completed her fairy tale ending earlier this year, when winning the Farah Palmer Cup in her 100th and final match for Canterbury.
Little did she know the fairy tale would have a second chapter.
Cocksedge was on the field as the Black Ferns clinched their sixth World Cup title with a 34-31 win over England last night, an incredible accomplishment given where they had come from 12 months earlier, and the might they were up against.
Having been thumped by England and France last year, the Ferns turned the tables by conquering both their northern rivals at home at the World Cup. Cocksedge played a prominent role in the team that went through those lows, and then also the highs, so the retiring Black Ferns great she knows as much as anyone just how special their achievement is.
“It means so much. I’ve just had the fairy tale ending of winning a World Cup – that’s more than I could have asked,” she told Spark Sport.
“This team’s been through some struggles in the last 12 months, and to be a part of it [is incredible] - winning a World Cup at Eden Park with an amazing crowd.
“This crowd has lifted us, week in, week out, not just the crowd but the people back home, everyone’s fallen in love with the Black Ferns and we’ve just fizzed off it for the last six to eight weeks.”
Ending England’s 30-test winning streak required beating them at their own game at the end, stealing a lineout and disrupting their daunted rolling maul to seal the victory.
“The last five minutes were just about being patient, we wanted to play down their end because we knew we played well down there, and I was always conscious that they’ve got good goalkickers and they’re good at mauls,” Cocksedge said.
“To actually upset them at something they’re really strong at was a really good way to win the World Cup.”
The Black Ferns celebrate victory. Photo / Dean Purcell
Black Ferns captain Ruahei Demant paid tribute to England and the bar they had set for everyone to match.
“That was an 80-minute slog, right to the death, and we expected nothing less. They came into the tournament as tournament favourites and they hadn’t lost a game since 2019. So while this wasn’t the one to lose, massive congratulations to them, they were an awesome team to play against and I hope they celebrate as well.”
Demant said there were many factors that contributed to the turnaround – including the players of years past who weren’t at the World Cup, and the sold-out crowds that got behind the team.
“The way that players have turned themselves around – there’s a lot that’s unseen and so many players who have been a massive part of this team that aren’t even here who helped get us to this stage.
“It’s been so overwhelming, we’re not used to so many fans. But we hope that we’ve made our country proud and we hope that we’ve inspired the next generation of Black Ferns stars or All Blacks stars here in Aotearoa.
“We’ve sacrificed so much, to get one chance in a lifetime – to win a World Cup at home. And we did it!”
