England, that efficient rugby machine described as “frightening” by Black Ferns coach Wayne Smith after his side’s nerve-shredding World Cup semifinal victory over France last night, can wait.
As his side prepare for a final appearance at Eden Park next Saturday, their 25-24 win over the French deserves to be celebrated (and was likely to have been by a squad of 32 understandably in high spirits at their achievement), for this gloriously topsy-turvy match was a classic in its own right.
It came after England held on 26-19 in their similarly dramatic semifinal against Canada earlier in the day and while there have been criticisms of the one-sided nature of this tournament through pool play and the quarter-finals, it finally sparked into a dizzying display on Guy Fawkes night.
“After 2011 I never thought I’d be here again playing the French in a game like that,” said Smith, the former All Blacks assistant coach who had to watch his men hold off France 8-7 in the 2011 World Cup final at the same venue. “It wasn’t too good on the ticker.”
The Black Ferns, struggling to penetrate a French defence every bit as good as advertised, were drifting out of the game at 10-0 down. Then they were back on even terms after Renee Holmes’ penalty and Stacey Fluhler’s try on the left after she ran on to Ruahei Demant’s pinpoint pass.
They were in trouble again when conceding a converted Gabrielle Vernier try before halftime and then back in it again when Ruby Tui showed her pace and timing to score an extraordinary try when diving on Holmes’ through kick.
They were definitely up again when Theresa Fitzpatrick ran the perfect line to put the Black Ferns in front for the first time of the match just before the hour mark, in trouble when No.8 Romane Menager scored her second converted try to bring France to within one point with 14 minutes remaining and almost definitely out when Caroline Drouin lined up the penalty to knock the hosts out in the most painful possible way.
Except, she missed it. Cue more chaos.
“Indescribable,” lock Maia Roos said afterwards. “I’m still shaking. It’s so special to be able to do it in front of our friends and family.
“It’s what dreams are made of. To see how far this team has come in the last year, it’s crazy.”
France had beaten the Black Ferns in their last four times of trying and while New Zealand have the World Cup pedigree – this was their 13th consecutive World Cup match win going back to 2014 – no one really knew how Smith’s team would go against one of the best defensive teams in the world.
Could New Zealand’s all-attacking style make up for their vulnerabilities up front? Just about, yes.
While the Black Ferns’ scrum was vastly improved they again struggled to contain an opposition’s driving maul (guess what England will bring next Saturday), France’s defensive line speed and breakdown challenge.
It made for an unpredictable and thrilling match and while their main strike weapon Portia Woodman struggled to impose herself, fellow backs Demant, Fluhler, Fitzpatrick, Tui and Holmes shone, with replacement prop Krystal Murray a star in the making and fellow bench player Ayesha Leti-I'iga a real handful.
“We’ve got a lot of heart in the team and the courage to keep playing,” Smith said, referring to his team’s early difficulties. “I knew we’d keep playing – it probably got us in trouble a wee bit at the start but it also got us out of trouble.
“Our defence was out of this world. That’s as good and well organised a team that I’ve coached against – France, particularly defensively.”
Roos, 21, said: “I’m so happy with how we held on, with how we stayed together. It’s so cool to see all the hard work we’ve done come to fruition.”
Few watching would have doubted Drouin’s ability to kick the last-minute penalty for the win. She entered the match as one of the best goalkickers in the tournament and it was the only kick she missed on the night.
“It was a wee way out and there was a lot of pressure on,” Smith said. “I probably thought it would go over. My coach next to me [Wes Clarke] had given up. He thought it was gone.”
So, 12 months after their horrendous Northern tour where they lost all four Tests against England and France, the Black Ferns are into the final against the world’s top nation on a 30-match winning streak.
Canada showed England are not without vulnerabilities, but Smith was not surprisingly wary about his team’s chances.
“We knew that both France and England had been miles ahead of us,” he said. “We’ve made up bit of ground. Whether we can make up some more ground over six days, I’m sure we can.
“They’re pretty frightening, they’re so efficient at what they do. It’s easy to say ‘don’t give away scrums, don’t give away penalties, don’t give away lineouts’ … we’re going to have to work out how to manage that.”
“We’re underdogs.”
For Kendra Cocksedge, the little halfback about to play her final match for the Black Ferns, the occasion couldn’t be much bigger.
“I’m going to embrace it and absolutely enjoy it,” she said.
“I had to do a media interview straight after and I was signing autographs and I was shaking. When I got into the shed I bawled my eyes out. It’s special to think next week I’m going to be playing in a World Cup final in my last game.”
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