Through their opening two tests of the Rugby World Cup, the Black Ferns achieved what they had hoped to.
All 32 players took to the field, and they came away with the maximum 10 points available with bonus-point wins over Spain and Japan.
Now, expect more consistency as their campaign progresses.
After the side’s 62-19 win on Monday morning, director of performance Allan Bunting indicated the Black Ferns were moving into the next phase of their title defence – one that will see more continuity.
“The coaches will have a real good look at this game here. Obviously, we’ve got to see all 32 players now and like I said when we first selected to the squad, there’s millimetres between players now and there’s really tough competition,” Bunting said.
“We definitely want to start shaping our best squad moving forward now, and there’s going to be some pretty hard decisions to make. But like I’ve said before, all 32 players are really important now.
“The ones that don’t make this one are going to provide us some essential energy for this group to prepare, and obviously, if they’re called upon, be ready to go.”
The side are yet to provide further updates on the availability of regular starters Ayesha Leti-I’iga, Amy du Plessis and Kaipo Olsen-Baker, who were all injured in the opening round win over Spain. However, rookie lock Laura Bayfield has been cleared to play by the judicial committee after her red card against Japan, with officials deeming the on-field punishment was enough, given it was caused by her receiving two yellow cards for “technical offences” rather than an act of foul play.
At this point, selectors will have a fair idea of what their best 23 look like, though there will be plenty of interest in what the best way to utilise the loose forwards will be. Even with Olsen-Baker out of the frame, the performances of Jorja Miller, Layla Sae, Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and Kennedy Tukuafu so far in the tournament have all been impressive.
Tukuafu, who made a successful return from a knee injury with 40 minutes against Japan, said that with Ireland up in their last game of pool play – the only team that hold a winning record over the Black Ferns – and the top seed in the group on the line, every game moving forward was like a final.
“We want to make sure we don’t show all our cards, but that we nail the moments that we do get. Winning momentum is huge,” Tukuafu said.
“We want to make sure we are playing second in the next pool. So, not that we talk about it much like that, us as leaders like to make sure that we’ve got all our ducks in a row and know what’s going to happen. If plan A doesn’t work, then how do we attack plan B? We need to win every game from now on.”
The Black Ferns will meet either France or South Africa in the quarter-finals, with the two nations playing after the New Zealand side’s test against Ireland. Should the Black Ferns beat Ireland, they’ll meet the loser of that clash in the first knockout match.
Interest in the loose trio will also be the case for Ireland, who are expected to have a fully fit squad for the first time this tournament.
Aoife Wafer, who was named the Six Nations player of the tournament this year, is set to make her return from a knee injury for her first appearance in the World Cup. Fellow flankers and co-captains Sam Monaghan and Edel McMahon are also set to play. McMahon was rested against Spain after recently recovering from injury, while Monaghan was forced off during that test with a hip injury.
“She [Monaghan] stepped aside out of precaution. She was not moving well after the hit during the game. But now, after the install session today, everyone is ready and in contention,” assistant coach Denis Fogarty said.
“First and foremost for us, if people are fit and ready to play, we want to get them on the park because ultimately we’re going out to perform and win the game. That’s been the goal for us all this time.
“I understand that there’s a quarter-final, but the way we’ve been building and training, we’re fully focused on this game, to make sure that we have the performance in place to give us that momentum to take us into the quarter-finals. So if people are ready to play, we’ll want to get them on the pitch.”
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.