Mahoney keen to go again

Eketahuna first-five Rebecca Mahoney was contemplating retirement before the Black Ferns' recent three-test tour in England but the results seem likely to persuade her to continue her international women's rugby career.

Never one to accept second place, Mahoney now has unfinished business after England won the first two tests and the third was drawn.

It was the first time the Black Ferns had lost a test series and while Mahoney was pleased with the way an under-prepared Kiwi side progressed during their brief trip - the three tests being played over seven days - she was still "very disappointed" with blotting an impeccable record.

"I suppose you could say we did have things stacked against us but, at the end of the day, we went there to win the first test and then the next two as well. It doesn't matter how many excuses we make, we still came up short."

Mahoney, a nominee for the 2011 New Zealand Women's Rugby Player of the Year award, accepts that beating England was always going to be a huge challenge considering they were coming off the back of a series against France while the Black Ferns had not played for more than a year.

"They (England) had planned well, they knew this was their big chance to take us down and you have to give them credit for the way they played, especially in the first two tests when we were forced to defend for long periods. In the past, we have been able to use our speed to run them ragged out wide but, when you haven't got the ball, that's hard to do."

Mahoney believes the tackling stats painted the big picture with the Black Ferns making 189 in the first test, 150 in the second and just 80 in the third, a test she considers they deserved to win rather than draw.

One of three Eketahuna players in the Black Ferns line-up, Mahoney had high praise for the performances of the other two, prop Kathleen Wilton and wing Shakira Baker. She rated Wilton as the Black Ferns' player of the series. "She was black and blue after every game and not even having an X-ray for a broken hand stopped her from giving it everything."

Unfortunately for Eketahuna, Wilton will not be playing for them in 2012. She will be having a second successive season in Canada before returning home to play for Otago in the NPC.

For Baker, the English tour was her debut for the Black Ferns. "She played really well, she's got a huge future in the game at the top level," Mahoney said.

Mahoney, Wilton and Baker will team up again in Rotorua this weekend as part of an Eketahuna side contesting the national Maori sevens tournament.