Black Ferns assistant coach Steve Jackson says his side feel they “let the jersey down” following their WXV tournament defeat to Ireland and must “fight fire with fire” in their next Test against England.
Jackson said a review of Ireland’s 29-27 victory in Vancouver, clinched in the final seconds thanks to a converted try, highlighted several issues, including the team’s ineffective breakdown work, exits and failure to complete line breaks, of which there were 14.
In the wake of the defeat, head coach Allan Bunting blamed a lack of leadership and good decision making, but this morning Jackson downplayed the leadership question.
One thing is certain. The Black Ferns will have to be far better up front against an England team that beat them at Twickenham under new coach John Mitchell, a former All Blacks head coach, a fortnight ago.
“It does hurt,” Jackson said of the defeat two days ago.
“We feel like we’ve let the jersey down but we came up against a side who were passionate about what they were doing. They had a never-say-die attitude. We let ourselves down in some critical areas of the game that we’ve been really good at previously.”
The Black Ferns face England in Vancouver next Monday morning NZT hoping to snap a run of defeats against the No.1 side in the world.
“Defensively under John Mitchell they bring a lot of line speed,” Jackson said. “They’re very forward dominant, they’ve got some speed and on the edges, and they wait for you to make mistakes. They strangle you inside your 22.
“We have to fight fire with fire. We’ve got a pretty good forward pack ourselves. There’s been a bit of pride dented from last week so there’s a hungry group of ladies who are looking forward to having another opportunity this week.”
The Black Ferns, who famously beat England in the World Cup final at Eden Park in 2021 – the last time they beat the Red Roses, relied on a relentlessly attacking mindset to secure the world championship but Jackson said the game had changed since.
“Teams are getting better, defensively they’re getting better. That’s still in our DNA, don’t get me wrong. When they see space and opportunity, our players know they have the backing from the coaching group to showcase what they can do.
“We also know we need to be able to shape teams and dominate up front… you have to win the collision areas and get go-forward ball before you are able to do those things. We’re looking to strike off set piece because that’s in our DNA and that’s not going to go away. The players know that.”
New Zealand’s old vulnerability to the lineout drive – a problem in the World Cup final – resurfaced against Ireland, who scored all five of their tries from close range, and there is no doubt where England will attack.
No.8 Liana Mikaele-Tu’u, one of the Black Ferns’ best in the recent loss, said: “The rivalry between us and England is enough fuel on its own aside from the loss recently because we obviously know England are a very good side.”
Lock Alana Bremner said: “We know we haven’t reached what we’re capable of and that’s the disappointing thing… the belief is still there. We’re due a really good performance.”
Midfielder Sylvia Brunt is an injury concern due to a lower leg injury suffered on the unforgiving artificial turf at BC Place but Jackson said she was still a possibility to play.
New Zealand's recent defeat sent them one place down the world rankings to third behind England and Canada. They play France, ranked fourth, in their final WXV match in Vancouver a week on Sunday.
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