After three defeats in a row, the Black Ferns are preparing for a “massive” WXV1 Test against France in Vancouver on Sunday – one of their last meaningful challenges before their World Cup defence in England next year.
Chief among their problems will be trying to fix a defence that leaked nine tries in the 49-31 defeat to England in Langley.
The missed one-on-one tackles and misreads from outside backs such as Katelyn Vaha’kolo will have frustrated the coaches but Allan Bunting and company may also feel it appropriate to put themselves under the spotlight for gambling on a halfback-first-five combination in Maia Joseph, 22, and Hannah King, 20, that did not pay off.
The Black Ferns have now lost their last three Tests against England, who, admittedly, are on quite the run, having won 49 of their last 50 Tests. Their only blemish was the World Cup final at Eden Park in 2022 when New Zealand clung on in a thriller.
New Zealand have also lost their last three Tests in total and find themselves second to last behind England, Canada, Ireland and France on the WXV1 table.
After opening with a shock defeat to Ireland and then losing badly to England, the Black Ferns must get something out of their final match against France for the sake of their collective confidence as much as anything ahead of the World Cup which starts in August next year.
Super Rugby Aupiki and the Pacific Four competition also featuring Canada, the USA and Australia, followed by a Laurie O’Reilly Trophy Test against the Wallaroos, who have never beaten New Zealand, will be the extent of their build-up.
Of that opposition, only Canada will possess the pack and attacking threats to truly challenge the Black Ferns.
“This tour has been everything we’ve needed,” hooker Georgia Ponsonby said today. “We don’t get a lot of games so to get hard competition and see where we stand against these teams… without this tournament we wouldn’t know that.”
They will have discovered that that there is a big gap between themselves and the powerhouses of England and Canada in terms of strategy, game awareness and skill execution.
New Zealand are currently ranked No.3 in the world behind England and Canada and ahead of fourth-ranked France. Ireland, who scored one of the best victories in their history against New Zealand in Vancouver last week, are ranked sixth.
“It’s been tough to have three losses in a row now,” Ponsonby said. “It’s obviously not what we came over here to achieve. In saying that, I’m really proud of how the girls have handled it.
“We’re just looking to finish on a high and I think we can do that.
“We’re striving for an 80-minute performance that we can be proud of.”
Asked about the importance of the France Test, assistant coach Steve Jackson said: “It’s massive for us. We don’t want to go home without a win.
“There’s definitely plenty of time [to improve before the World Cup]. Part of this group is being honest and giving honest feedback, and that’s what we’ve done.
“There is a little bit of hurt there after the last few weeks and where we are sitting at the moment.”
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