WXV 1: Black Ferns’ Allan Bunting reveals biggest lesson from first season of new tournament

The Black Ferns have laid their foundations.

Under a new coaching regime and with plenty of player turnover after being crowned champions of the world in 2022, this year was always billed as one of building by director of rugby Allan Bunting.

It was a year of new experiences on fronts beyond the make-up of the team, with the introduction of the WXV 1 tournament, as well as travelling to Canada for the first overseas edition of the Pacific Four.

It was a year of learning for the group, and reflecting on how the year unfolded following their 33-12 WXV 1 loss to England on Saturday night, Bunting said one lesson stood above the others he had been taught during the campaign.

“My biggest lesson is probably just patience,” Bunting said.

“We want to win now, but that’s a pretty experienced English team. They’ve been professional for six years and have had quite a bit of time and patience.”

“I’m really proud of the growth in the group and the management group, and as a whole, where we started to where we are now, there’s been a massive change. England were pretty good, but they’ll get plenty of lessons from that. They created plenty of opportunities and hopefully, we get another chance next year.”

The Black Ferns qualified for the inaugural WXV 1 tournament as one of the top three teams at the conclusion of the Pacific Four. The fourth-placed team - the United States this time around - played in the second-tier WXV 2 competition.

In seven tests across the Pacific Four, WXV 1 and Laurie O’Reilly Cup fixtures, the Black Ferns finished with a 5-2 record, outscoring their opponents 283-99. The side locked away the Pacific Four and Laurie O’Reilly Cup for another year but finished fourth in the WXV 1 tournament following their losses to France and England. Canada and Australia both finished ahead of the New Zealanders in WXV 1, with their only loss of the three-week round-robin tournament being to England.

The Black Ferns also had six players named in World Rugby’s team of the year, Ruahei Demant was a nominee for Player of the Year, while Katelyn Vahaakolo was named Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Now having played England, who will go through a coaching change of their own for the new year as ex-All Blacks coach John Mitchell takes over, the Black Ferns can plan accordingly in year two of their World Cup cycle.

For many in the squad, the end-of-year tournament this year was the first time they had the opportunity to play against teams from the Six Nations, who are known for the physicality in their game.

England and France have both had fully professional systems for years, while New Zealand and Wales have recently joined them, with 34 and 25 players respectively signing professional contracts in 2023.

Being immersed in a professional set-up has been something the Black Ferns players have strived to make the most of, and co-captain Demant said it had been evident this year just how much the team had been learning.

“For the team, probably the biggest area of growth for us has been our growth in rugby IQ,” Demant said.

“Last year was our first year of being professional and I think the biggest area of growth there was our ability to be conditioned for professional sport, but the growth [mentally] has been unmatched.

“That’s come with the team being even better resourced and the hard work that Bunts [Bunting] has put into making sure that the coaches and support staff that are around the players have really added value in different ways.”

Black Ferns 2023 results

Pacific Four (tournament won): beat Australia 50-0; beat Canada 52-21; beat USA 39-17.

Laurie O’Reilly Cup (retained Cup): beat Australia 43-3 (game one of the Pacific Four doubled as game one of the Cup series).

WXV 1 (fourth of six): lost to France 18-17; beat Wales 70-7; lost to England 33-12.

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