Black Ferns players celebrate winning last night's final. Photo / Andrew Cornaga, Photosport
Winston Aldworth rates all the players in the Black Ferns’ brilliant 34-31 victory over England in the World Cup final.
15: Renee Holmes — 7/10
Poor fumble set up England pack to drive for their third try. Goalkicking was ropey. Otherwise, linked well with wingers and dashed the ball forward sweetly. Was the try-setting pass to Leti-I’iga a little forward? Nah ...
14: Ruby Tui — 6/10
Chuck her the ball! Action didn’t go her way often enough in opening exchanges, but she made the most of what she got.
13: Stacey Fluhler — 9/10
Made brave choices to counter-attack and was the key link to dangerous outside-channel breaks. Lovely eye for space and gorgeous footwork — and a gem of a try from second-half kick-off. All great teams have great centres — this is one of them.
12: Theresa Fitzpatrick — 6/10
A couple of soft turnovers in the tackle and struggled to find space. Needed to find a way to get the ball away from England’s big, tiring brutes.
11: Portia Woodman — 8/10
Superstar did more carving up in the 18 minutes she had on the field than any of the other outside backs could manage in the whole match. Just think what she’d have managed with another 62 minutes.
10: Ruahei Demant (c) — 7/10
Queen of Ōmāio won a killer ruck penalty in 75th minute and tackled well throughout. Made a couple of pressure-cooker errors in early defensive scrambles; really needed to find a way for her backline to profit more from England’s early red card.
9: Kendra Cocksedge — 7/10
Wise head in heated moments. Error-free outing came with tidy game management in first half — but late, long kicks allowed England to regather, rebuild and reset.
8: Charmaine McMenamin — 8/10
Hearty carries, hitting the gainline hard helped her side fight for muscle parity. She’s also a smart, punchy hustler in the tight-space breaks that opened up the English defence.
7: Sarah Hirini — 8/10
Looked the fastest of the loosies, and her sevens sensibilities have been at the heart of Black Ferns strategy — and magic — for the past month. A brilliant link, and another strong leader.
6: Alana Bremner — 7/10
Had to work hard in the physical exchanges containing tough English runners around the fringes. Looked at her best when running as support for sizzling backline breaks.
5: Chelsea Bremner — 6/10
Battled hard. Couldn’t beat her English opposites in the air, and was part of a pack that struggled to match them on the ground. Scrappy fumble in 50th minute.
4: Maiakawanakaulani Roos — 6/10
Early fumble allowed pressure to build from outset when cool heads were needed. Another who toiled against big English brutes.
3: Amy Rule — 7/10
‘Riverton’s Finest’ shoved her way to a crucial try right on halftime. Worked smartly when outgunned in mauling battle.
2: Georgia Ponsonby — 7/10
Bagged smart try from her lineout-drive try, and was a handy organiser at the back of the pack’s driving efforts — a crucial skill given the muscle they were shunting against.
1: Phillipa Love — 6/10
Did fantastic work at the nose of the lineout drive setting up Rule’s try. But needed to figure out a way to quell the Red Rose drive.
Replacements:
16: Luka Connor — 7/10
17: Krystal Murray — 8/10
18: Santo Taumata — 6/10
19: Joanah Ngan-Woo — 6/10
20: Kennedy Simon — 7/10
21: Ariana Bayler — N/A
22: Hazel Tubic — 6/10
23: Ayesha Leti-I’iga — 7/10
15: Ellie Kildunne — 7/10
Winger moved to fullback after the loss of star Helena Rowland who was injured against Canada. Kicked her team out of trouble plenty of times and was sharp and accurate in handling. Nice try.
14: Lydia Thompson — 2/10
Experienced hand returned to side in a rejigged back three and blew it on the big stage. Handled and linked nicely for 18 minutes, until bagging a well-deserved straight red card for horrendous tackle technique.
13: Emily Scarratt — 7/10
First time she’s started in midfield alongside Holly Aitchison at this tournament. Marshalled defence cleverly after the red card, and kept her cool when kicking for points.
12: Holly Aitchison — 5/10
Worked hard defensively to cut space for Black Ferns before attacks could go wide. Really needed to be bringing the ball back into her forwards more often.
11: Abby Dow — 7/10
Scored a cracking try in the semifinal against Canada and was involved on both sides of the park in the build-up to England’s opener in the final. A bold runner throughout.
10: Zoe Harrison — 6/10
Longest boot on the park was used to good effect. Made a couple of weird decisions to send the ball wide when they were a winger short and their pack was overwhelmingly dominant.
9: Lucy Packer — 6/10
Quick witted and quick on her toes. Savvy enough to keep possession focused on their strongest point, the eight in front of her, but found little space for herself.
8: Sarah Hunter (c) — 7/10
England’s captain is a seriously smart player, so often at the heart of the English drive with her hand on the throttle for the pack’s engine.
7: Marlie Packer — 8/10
Cup winner in 2014 was not the tallest of the timber in the England pack, but possibly the staunchest. Scored five tries in the two matches leading into this one, and another in the final. An absolute trooper.
6: Alex Matthews — 6/10
Quiet battler is a worthy inheritor of the Richard Hill role in an England rugby team. As the pack goes about its work, she’s right there to make sure the breakdown goes their way.
5: Abbie Ward — 7/10
Lineout leader has been one of her side’s key assets in the tournament and an important figure in her side’s trademark set-piece drives. Delivered more of the same last night, and was a formidable presence in the clashes around the park.
4: Zoe Aldcroft — 6/10
World player of the year was a reliable target in lineouts and a powerful presence at the breakdown until ugly head knock in 27th minute.
3: Sarah Bern — 6/10
Did fine work getting various parts of her anatomy in the way to slow down the Black Ferns’ ball at rucks. All of her anatomy proved pretty handy in those meaty drives.
2: Amy Cokayne — 9/10
Hit her targets in the lineouts and bagged three fine tries as reward for organising the driving maul that has been rumbling along for the past 31 test matches. A terrific player.
1: Vickii Cornborough — 6/10
Big unit provided the grunt that propelled the English maul — and their entire — campaign to such impressive heights. Key role here slowing down the clock with bootlace tying manoeuvres.
16: Lark Davies — 6/10
17: Maud Muir — 6/10
18: Shaunagh Brown — 6/10
19: Cath O’Donnell — 6/10
20: Poppy Cleall — 6/10
21: Sadia Kabeya — 7/10
22: Claudia MacDonald — 7/10
23: Tatyana Heard — 6/10
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