In scoring 41 unanswered points against Australia in their opening World Cup pool match, the Black Ferns sent an early message about their lethal attack, and they now have a more subtle and diplomatic one for match officials - please help us continue to play at a high tempo.
In a strange echo of the Wallabies' tactics against the All Blacks at Melbourne recently (for which they paid dearly), it was obvious that the Wallaroos were stalling for time during the Black Ferns' 41-17 victory at Eden Park on Saturday.
The Australians may have had due cause given they had skipper and loose forward Shannon Parry and left wing Ivania Wong in the sinbin at the same time early in the second half. However, most among the more than 34,000 in the crowd didn't buy a ticket to watch them dawdle to a set piece or otherwise discover new and tedious ways to waste time.
Some among the Black Ferns players, including Portia Woodman, who scored a hat-trick, made light of it immediately afterwards, but assistant coach Whitney Hansen had a slightly more serious take on it today.
"It’s definitely a tactic that I think teams will use against us," Hansen said. "We're trying to play fast, exciting footy that’s great to watch. Teams are going to try to pull that out across the World Cup because it eats away the minutes of us doing exciting things.
"Hopefully it’s something the referees will look at and police. We’re certainly practising how quick we can do it [set scrums]. At training's we’ve got it down to about 10 seconds, so bring on the opposition, we’d welcome any challenges around that."
Few teams will be willing to try given the Black Ferns’ reputation for running rugby and the way they cut the Wallaroos apart in the second half with five tries, including two for Woodman and a late Ruby Tui brace, the second of which was an individual stunner from near halfway.
Starting again against Wales at Waitakere Stadium on Sunday, it’s something the Black Ferns still need to refine, however, because their ball handling in the opening quarter was atrocious and linked to their lack of physicality up front.
Hansen said the errors and slightly passive mindset reflected the occasion. The set piece also remains a work in progress. There should be no such excuses for game two.
"We lacked a little bit of physicality in the first 20 minutes," Hansen said. "It was a big occasion for everybody, but Aussie probably handled it better than us. But we came back and I think we showed grit to be able to do that.
"They recognise it wasn’t good enough and that they’re better than that. We didn’t showcase or introduce ourselves the way we wanted to, so we have to re-look at that and do it next week."
Locks Chelsea Bremner and Joanah Ngan-Woo said they and their fellow forwards recognised that the intensity wasn’t high enough in the first half.
Both were increasingly prominent with the ball at Eden Park, with Ngan-Woo scoring the try which allowed the Black Ferns to get a foothold in the match and also giving an assist for Woodman’s second try.
Bremner said the free licence to attack made the Black Ferns an even more rewarding environment to be in.
"There's a big focus on expressing ourselves and as forwards we do get a lot of opportunities through some big hits up the middle," she said. "We’ve got some amazing backs to finish off with, obviously.
"We look for space and try to see what’s on and just go with it.
Ngan-Woo said: "We try to learn about each other – whether someone likes to offload constantly or whether they’re likely to carry; it’s on us to know our own teammates."
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