The Black Ferns are aiming to improve their defensive performance when they take on France this weekend for the final match of the WXV1 tournament in Vancouver.
The Black Ferns side for the France Test has included a number of changes from the side that went down 49-31 against England.
Co-captain Ruahei Demant spoke at a media conference today and said the main takeaway from their loss on Monday was their poor defensive efforts - particularly from their outside backs.
"We've been through some challenging times, with the results that we've been getting, obviously there's a lot of lessons that come with that," said Demant.
Black Fern Ruahei Demant said her side must improve on defence if they want to beat France this weekend. (Source: 1News)
Demant let some emotion show when recalling a coach's assessment of their performance.
"We're really fortunate to have world class coaches, especially our defence coach Tony Christie. He's got really high standards and he was really disappointed with the way that we defended as a team, especially our outside backs - that was tough."
"We've done a lot of work this week to make sure we're not going to give France the same opportunities that England had."
Demant stressed that this week that the Black Ferns had put a large focus on their urgency to set up early when it comes to their set-piece.
"I desperately want nothing more than for us to get a 'w' this weekend against France and I know they'll be feeling exactly the same, they won't give us an inch."
Demant described France as "unpredictable" but said they always turn up against the Black Ferns.
The last time the two sides met, France came out on top with a 18-17 win in Wellington last year.
Demant will lead the team out in Vancouver on Sunday, with her fellow co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu being named on the bench.
The Black Ferns are currently No.3 in the world rankings with France sitting in fourth, and a NZ loss would see them swap places.
It would also see them fall to their lowest ranking.
Black Ferns coach Allan Bunting said France would be a big challenge for his side, which could potentially suffer their fourth Test match loss in a row.
"We care. We know there's a real strong history and legacy in this Black Ferns team, and people care about the results and how we go," said Bunting.
"All we can do is control what we can control this week. There's some things we're proud of in the growth of our game, but we can't just have a few things go well and a few things slip. We have to be pretty accurate across the board to beat the teams at this level."
Neither the Black Ferns or France can catch Canada in second-place, even if they record a big win.
France can't drop from fourth place in the world rankings, even if they suffer a heavy loss this weekend.
England could record the highest-ever rating for a men's or women's team in the world rankings if they win by 15 points or more against Canada.
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