Black Ferns head coach Whitney Hansen reflects after Pacific Four Series title success

The Black Ferns won the Pacific Four Series title, going through the competition unbeaten. Photo / Photosport

When the Black Ferns set out to defend the Pacific Four Series title, they wanted to put their rugby to the test.

With no domestic rugby under their belts yet, the group had simulated game situations in camps but for many, the tests against the United States, Canada and Australia were their first proper matches of the season.

While they weren’t always clinical, the Black Ferns gave an impressive showing in their first series under Whitney Hansen’s charge. In three tests, they went unbeaten and had a winning margin of 30 points. It was the first time since 2023 that the Black Ferns won all three tests of the Pacific Four Series.

With a 40-5 win over Australia’s Wallaroos at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Saturday night, the Black Ferns retained both the Pacific Four Series title and the Laurie O’Reilly Trophy.

“We wanted to put our rugby to the test and we’ve certainly done that,” Hansen said of the series.

“I think it’s great we can come away from this campaign with lots of things that we can work on, but we’ve had some success knowing that this isn’t us finished. So, it’s a great place to be in.”

Against Australia, the Black Ferns were tested early on with the score 7-5 in the New Zealand team’s favour after 24 minutes. They were ultimately able to outscore the Wallaroos six tries to one, outlasting the hosts in wet conditions.

“Right across the series, [we’re] super excited about the rugby we play when we’re at our best. We knew coming off the back of not a lot of rugby that we weren’t going to be clinical all the time and I think tonight was probably another reflection of that and that’s an area that we’re going to go away and work on. I think our domestic competition will help with that. So, excited to see what that looks like as we build on the other side of that,” Hansen said.

“But yeah, we were unpredictable, we were physically dominant and we were relentless and that’s the rugby we want to play, and we definitely saw that in patches across this campaign. And I think on top of that, you know, it’s really exciting to see some new talent come in and get some decent minutes and some of the things you probably don’t see, but we know, like Maama [Mo’onia Vaipulu] calling the lineouts for the first time in international rugby. So, lots of really cool ones across this game and the campaign.”

The Black Ferns are not scheduled for another test until they host the Wallaroos in Auckland on August 22.

The players will instead head to their Super Rugby Aupiki teams, with that competition beginning on June 13.

Hansen said while the group would no longer be together as one, the Black Ferns management would remain connected with the hubs over the coming months.

“We’ve made a real conscious effort to make sure that we’ve got a really strong connection with our four hubs. We’ve got amazing coaches in those spaces and right across those management teams, so we just want to really support them, give them real ownership and autonomy in how they run their spaces, but make sure we can keep offering our support for them to be great as well.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.