The Black Ferns are bitterly disappointed they didn’t make the most of what they saw as a prime opportunity to break their losing streak against England at Twickenham.
Captain Kennedy Tukuafu and coach Alan Bunting were sombre figures after their 24-12 defeat to the Red Roses in front of a crowd of 41,500 at the home of English rugby this morning.
After three defeats in south west London, and following on from last year’s humbling in Hamilton at the hands of England, the Black Ferns were determined to live up to their world champion status but fell short despite stretching the home side in the opening quarter.
“Credit to the English girls, they’re relentless,” Tukuafu said. “We’re fortunate to have another opportunity come WXV.”
New Zealand will play Ireland, England and France in Canada and the US over three weeks in the tournament starting on September 29 – a chance for revenge, again, perhaps – but this one may hurt for a while.
Bunting said: “We had them under pressure in first 20 minutes. If we transferred that into points it would have been a different game.”
Right wing Ayesha Leti L’iga appeared likely as she broke away early on with England scrambling but appeared to be harshly penalised for not releasing the ball in the tackle despite a high shot by a defender and another Englishwoman going off her feet at the breakdown.
It was a momentum shifter and England capitalised by racking up four tries in the first half – the first via an almost inevitable driving maul – and the game was all but out of reach for the visitors at halftime, although they did well to set up two tries for the prolific Katelyn Vaha’akolo, who now has 15 tries in 11 Tests.
Fears that the Black Ferns would be demolished by a fearsome pack which had warmed up for the Test with a good win over France last weekend didn’t materialise but if anything that may make the missed chance more difficult to accept.
The Black Ferns haven’t played since they thrashed the Wallaroos in Brisbane in July.
Regardless, the overall performance should instil some confidence before next year’s World Cup in England and the visitors’ comeback shouldn’t be underestimated.
“It’s extremely important,” Tukuafu said. “The thing that I love about this team is that they’ve got a lot of heart and they never roll over. It’s just about keeping it accurate and making sure we’re relentless in every moment.”
Importantly, none of them appeared overawed by the experience.
“We’ve had enough experience in this group with a packed-out Eden Park,” she said.
“What we talked about was turning it around – changing the narrative by saying, ‘those aren’t their fans, they’re ours’ and harnessing the energy.”
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