The Black Ferns celebrate their sixth world cup victory to a raucous crowd in Auckland city. Video / Reid Etherington
Dedicated fans from New Zealand and abroad have flocked to downtown Auckland to continue celebrating the Black Ferns’ dramatic sixth world cup victory.
In return, the Black Ferns thanked their fans for the overwhelming support of this year’s home country campaign, which culminated in a gripping last-minute victory last night against England at Eden Park.
Ruby Tui takes selfies with the fans. Photo / Alex Burton
Reid Etherington was downtown celebrating along with the rest of the fans and described the energy as electric and like nothing else he had ever been a part of.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen an atmosphere like this for an All Blacks game,” Etherington said.
“Even though Te Komititanga Square isn’t massive, you certainly felt like there were more than the hundreds that came out in support.”
Etherington said the sea of flying pois, “we heart Black Ferns” signs, and personalised messages were accompanied by the roar of the crowd, which became absolutely deafening when the two co-captains lifted the trophy for fans.
Departing coach Wayne Smith gave a touching farewell after his short time with the winning side, 1news reported, saying he “couldn’t be more proud” of the team.
“It’s been six or seven months but I’ve got to know them - they’ve taught me how to dance, how to sing, how to cry, how to laugh on match day,” Smith said.
“They’ve changed my life and while I’m finishing up, I’m going to be following them for the rest of their careers.”
Smith then turned to the audience to express his gratitude to the fans for supporting the World Cup campaign.
Image 1 of 16: Liana Mikaele-Tu'u gets a selfie with a fan
“They said we couldn’t do it. They said we couldn’t fill a stadium. They said that we couldn’t get crowds like this.
“But all we set about doing was trying to be true to your DNA, our Kiwi DNA, and have the ability to reinvent ourselves and be encouraged to have a crack at stuff.”
Kiwi rugby great and former Ferns captain Dr Farah Palmer urged fans to keep supporting the team.
“Let’s make sure we keep this unstoppable energy for women’s rugby - keep getting out there and supporting the Black Ferns,” she said.
After the speeches and thank yous concluded, the team made their way down to mingle with fans as they had done consistently throughout the tournament.
Portia Woodman takes selfies with the fans at the official celebration event for the Black Ferns in Auckland's Britomart. Photo / Alex Burton
Among the team was the leading try-scorer of the tournament Portia Woodman, despite not remembering last night’s match.
Lydia Thompson, an England winger, clashed with Woodman and made head-on contact during last night’s game, prompting Thompson to be sent off and forcing Woodman to leave the field.
Woodman posted on Instagram: “Although I don’t remember the game, I know I have a gold medal because we won.
