It’s almost three years since the Black Ferns won the Women’s World Cup for the sixth time in nine attempts with a resounding 34-31 win over favorites England at Eden Park. The game ended when Joanah Ngan-Woo’s last-ditch lineout steal on the New Zealand goal line gave the Red Roses a taste of the elixir of victory.
It was one of the iconic rugby moments in all versions of the game – men’s and women’s. It was also more important than any other rugby victory to Sir Wayne Smith, one of the most iconic coaches of the professional era. Speaking after the game he said: “I never dreamed that in 100 years I would see Eden Park full for the Black Ferns.”
“Hearing ‘Black Ferns, Black Ferns, Black Ferns’ at Eden Park was the most amazing moment of my career.
“This will remain one of the great experiences of my life.”
Even after he reflected and wrote about it in his autobiography. Smithy: Endless Winter and Spring of ’22, The memory had not faded with time and was still very vivid and shining. The Black Ferns have essentially become the ultimate expression of a team coached by a ‘professor’ who plays the XV in the same way he would approach a seven-a-side game.
“I came to love and respect the attitude of those women. whine Oh,” Smith said. “They had a thirst for knowledge.
“We went into (the World Cup) with the idea of just having fun. Most of them work for a living and work hard to get there and it is a struggle. For them, it’s a joy to play at that level.
“I wanted to bring everything I wanted to do my whole career to the game. That meant attacking at every opportunity instead of kicking.
“It almost cost me the World Cup, but that was my goal. If you want to have an exciting game in front of 40,000 people (finals), winning or losing is the difference. I was really proud of them.”
At the time, the Red Roses were two years ahead of any other team in the game. The RFU signed 28 of its top players to full-time professional contracts in early 2019, building on the initial success of Premiership Women’s Rugby, which was established two years ago.
By 2023, the number of permanent contracts has increased to 32, with a further six temporary contracts secured for emerging talent. The enhanced three-year deal included salaries, match fees, 2025 World Cup preparations, commercial and community engagement plans, and also included maternity leave for forwards Abbie Ward and Vicki Cornborough under a much broader and supportive financial umbrella.
Players are also part of a revenue-sharing agreement if the women’s game’s business targets are exceeded. The Red Roses are now coached by John Mitchell, who has had success at the highest level of the men’s game. Nothing is left to chance.
Against that backdrop, Smithy’s 2021 Black Ferns look like rugby romance’s final stand against harsh economic realities. The 2021 World Cup final was the dazzling meat on the sandwich of the Red Rose’s success and was the Roses’ only loss in 47 games.
England had already beaten New Zealand brilliantly in two matches before the tournament began. A 43-12 defeat at Exeter was followed by a 56-15 defeat at Franklin Gardens in Northampton, Smithey’s former home. They won both games – 33-12 at Auckland’s Mount Smart Stadium and 24-12 at the newly-named Allianz Stadium, also known as Twickenham’s Old Cabbage Patch – to claim their first WVX1 title in 2023. , It was just fifteen days ago.
Ahead of the second edition of WXV, the pressing question has become whether there is still a safe corner of romance in the soul of rugby. Neither the All Blacks nor the Black Ferns have now outscored their opponents in attempts as they have historically done.
WXV is the tournament where the women’s game shows the path to the men’s game. The first men’s Nations League does not begin until 2026 and the women’s team will consist of three teams. WXV1 (played in Canada) features the top three teams from the 2024 Women’s Six Nations League (England, France and Ireland). , and their equivalents in the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, USA). South Africa’s WXV2 includes Scotland, Wales and Italy to the north, as well as South Africa, Australia and Japan. Meanwhile, WXV3 is located in Dubai and consists of Spain, Madagascar, Fiji, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and Samoa.
The BBC will stream or broadcast all games from the top two tournaments for free. Rugby Pass TV Shows all WXV3 games in real time. But what’s really taking the lead in the women’s game is the buzz surrounding the rivalry between the Red Roses and Black Ferns.
New Zealand’s eighth-ranked Liana Mikaele-Tu’u revealed before the 24-12 defeat at Twickenham: “We have been preparing for this match since the beginning of the year. We know it’s a big deal and it’s definitely going to be a test for us. Because many of us are still feeling hurt by the game we faced last year (at Mount Smart). So I think that definitely fuels us every time we go out to train.”
Assistant coach Steve Jackson goes much further in his comments about what the Black Ferns need to do and how a ‘professional’ style of romance can still be productive against the cold steel of a well-drilled and disciplined defensive outfit. It was more specific.
“I think we’ll probably get one, two, three chances (in the game) and we’ve got to take them,” he said.
One of the best KPIs for concrete improvement in the pro era is how quickly a scramble defense can shut down an offense after a break has been made. There was a time when a New Zealand break automatically led to a New Zealand try, but the recent men’s match against Australia in Sydney and the women’s match at Twickenham suggested this is no longer the case.
The early stages of the latter match highlighted the lethal threat of Alesha Leti l’iga on the Kiwi right wing.
There was excellent interplay between Leti Riga and number 13 Sylvia Brunt on the right, but within a few phases the England defense forced play outside the 22 and that momentum led to a turnover.
The second time the New Zealand airman received the ball in space, the turnover was even more immediate.
Leti l’iga pushed two defenders down the sideline after New Zealand won the best turnover ball in the ruck. But when the tackle was finally made there were three red roses in and around the tackle and the right wing had to make several moves. A deck for avoiding station thieves by Ellie Kildunne. Penalty England.
Smithy would have been hugging himself with joy as the Black Ferns struck back from deep inside their own 22. But the rose-tinted glasses were suddenly taken off by England’s speed in regrouping in the next defensive phase.
It’s a classic World Cup recipe from the professor’s playbook. A long break deep on the left and a quick cross-kick to the other side stretches the defense to its absolute limit towards the most dangerous Black Fern attacker. But there are already 13 England women back on their feet and in line before the ball is passed at the base of the ruck and one-on-one play in space is still not enough for Leti l’iga to beat Kildunne and convert the chances. To try.
Although Team New Zealand gained a clear advantage through a line break, no success was recorded on the scoreboard.
Another blistering bust from the Kiwi speedster was stopped by an illegal ‘seatbelt’ tackle over Zoe Aldcroft’s shoulder, which earned the England second row 10 minutes in the sinbin. But after Leti l’iga took to the ground, the four closest players were all in white and England went on to win 7-0 in the penalty period anyway, putting the Red Roses 24-0 ahead. There is one hour left to play.
This was not Aldcroft’s last tackle from cover on the New Zealand wing.
Once again England’s first line was broken, but England’s locks brought down Ruby Tui, one of the best finishers of modern times, in a scramble defence. On this occasion the Black Ferns converted the try after another four phases of attack, but by then it was too little, too late.
Is the romance of professional gaming dying? Not only did Smith win in a fairytale ending in 2022, he won the kind of football he loved to coach.
Since then, things have returned to professional normal, with England’s fitness values and desire to defend overcoming New Zealand’s desire to attack at the end of the world. Replace England in the women’s game with South Africa in the men’s game and the truth remains. It once worked in New Zealand, but it no longer seems to give the same results. The questions keep coming but there are no answers from the All Blacks.
