Rugby: What England learned from 2017 World Cup loss to Black Ferns

Sarah Hunter in action for England against New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images

England learned a valuable lesson in the 2017 Rugby World Cup final.

In the first half, they were the dominant party and held a deserved 17-10 lead over the Black Ferns at the break.

However, the New Zealand side made adjustments and came back strong in the second half. The English side couldn't find a way to adapt to the change, and the Black Ferns won 41-32 to claim the title.

This year, England come into the competition as clear favourites to go one better than in 2017, but captain Sarah Hunter told the Herald their loss in 2017 showed the importance of planning for the unpredictable.

"We're very aware, as England, from 2017, in the final New Zealand came out in the second half and showed a completely different game plan that we hadn't seen from them in the whole tournament," Hunter said.

"You've got to be prepared for the unknown and be able to adapt your game. We couldn't do that in 2017; we couldn't find a way to stop them from playing the way they were.

"Yes, you have a game plan, and yes you look at what they're doing, but you have to be able to have different ways of really adapting to what a team is doing in front of you."

While New Zealand are the defending champions and playing on home soil, the Red Roses are deserving of their tag as the team to beat. Since the 2017 World Cup final, they have lost just twice – once to France and New Zealand.

They have not lost a test since 2019, winning 25 straight games, however Hunter said none of that mattered come Saturday's tournament opener against Fiji at Eden Park.

The match will be the second in an opening day triple-header which also includes France against South Africa and the Black Ferns against Australia.

"When you get to major competitions, form goes out the window," says Hunter. "It doesn't matter how you've been playing coming into it. It's almost a blank canvas for every single team and we're very aware of that. We know we just need to take every game as it comes.

"I genuinely believe that it's the most competitive World Cup that there has ever been. If you look at the amount of investment that has gone into women's rugby and women's teams over the last few years, look at the preparation every team has had coming into this competition, it's been bigger and better than it ever has been.

"Everyone means business at this World Cup."