Black Ferns v England: Red Roses set the bar as Black Ferns embrace beneficial WXV 1 experience

The bar has been set for the Black Ferns.

In their final test of the season, the reigning world champions were well-beaten by England 33-12, with the Red Roses claiming the inaugural WXV 1 tournament title in the process.

The Black Ferns were slow to start, conceding three tries to fall behind 19-0 inside the opening 25 minutes. While the New Zealand side fought their way back into the game around the 30-minute mark, England were largely able to contain their hosts and close things out.

While a disappointing way for the side to end the year as they ultimately finished the WXV 1 tournament fourth on the ladder, Black Ferns coach Allan Bunting said the experience would be beneficial to his new-look side.

“The good thing for me is that we’ve got some young ladies who have been watching England for a while. Now they’ve felt that. We can talk about it, but when you’ve felt it, that’s when you get the real lessons,” Bunting said.

“It’s brilliant. Being able to play England, we’re two years out from a World Cup, and hopefully we make WXV 1 again next year and can do it again.”

The tournament saw the top three teams from both the Pacific Four and Six Nations tournaments meet one another in a three-week round-robin event. It was one of three WXV tournaments, with lower tiers of lower-ranked nations.

The Black Ferns won the Pacific Four, but finished behind both Canada and Australia in the WXV 1 standings at the tournament’s end. Canada and Australia both beat France and Wales but lost to England. The Black Ferns’ lone win was a 70-7 decimation of Wales.

Bunting said the tournament provided a good opportunity for regular exposure to the Six Nations teams, not just for the Black Ferns, but the Pacific Four nations in general.

With the World Cup two years away, England made a strong statement as to the level required to be the last team standing at the 2025 tournament.

“They kick really well when they need to kick. They can slow it down and play in the forwards,” Bunting said of the Red Roses.

“It’s just that rugby IQ at the moment. We’ve got a few younger ladies that haven’t felt that intensity and speed, but I’m pretty sure we’ll get there.

“I know with a bit more time, getting to play them more often, we’ll know how they play. We started quite slow. Not slow, but we didn’t get our game going. We kicked a couple of times and got stuck inside out half, and this is probably a game where we could have let rip a little bit earlier and run them around a bit. We played into their hands.”

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