The Black Ferns' scarcity of test caps may have left them exposed in their emotional Rugby World Cup opener, Jim Kayes writes. But it's their experienced sevens stars who've come to the rescue.
As he watched the Black Ferns train a few weeks out from the start of the Rugby World Cup, Sir Graham Henry commented on the inexperience of the pack.
Especially, he noted, when compared to the highly-rated England pack, who started against Fiji last Saturday with 458 caps among the eight. Openside Sadia Kabeya was the only starting forward in single figures - four - while No.8 Sarah Hunter was playing her 136th test. Given the light seasons the women have compared to the men, that is a staggering tally.
“How many will we have?” Henry, who is helping Wayne Smith coach the side, asked rhetorically that day, before suggesting it will be paltry in comparison.
He was right. The Black Ferns forward pack mustered 99 caps in their World Cup opener against Australia, and the starting XV had 237 - a sizeable 221 caps behind England’s pack. There was even more experience in the English backs.
Little wonder the Black Ferns seemed overwhelmed when they ran out in front of a record crowd of 34,235 at Eden Park on Saturday.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the emotion overwhelmed them,” says former Black Ferns star, turned Sky Sport commentator, Honey Hireme-Smiler.
“The anthem and haka were full-on. I was emotional and maybe they didn’t take the time to take a breath. They struggled to find their feet.”
That was certainty evident in a mistake-ridden first half that saw the Black Ferns made far too many unforced errors as Australia pounced with three tries before the home side got on the board.
Sir Steve Hansen, former All Blacks coach, used to say it took 30 caps for a player to establish themselves on the international scene. By that measure, halfback Kendra Cocksedge - 62 tests - was the only Black Fern equipped to deal with the pressure and atmosphere of Saturday’s World Cup opening test.
Except that's not completely true for the Black Ferns - because sevens stars Portia Woodman, Sarah Hirini, Stacey Fluhler and Ruby Tui are vastly experienced on the big stage.
That quartet have won Olympic and Commonwealth Games golds, World Cup sevens golds and silvers, and played in some of the most dramatic sevens matches the sport has seen. They've also suffered setbacks and defeats at the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and World Cups.
Fluhler, Woodman and Hirini were also part of the Black Ferns squad who won the XVs World Cup in Ireland in 2017.
Player of the match Ruby Tui scores one of her two tries against Australia on Saturday.
So it's no surprise when the going got tough at Eden Park, it was those sevens superstars who rose the highest to the occasion.
"It's a pressure thing, and an experience thing, they're used to that,” says Hireme-Smiler. “You can go into a sevens game and be 20 points down and end up winning. They are used to staying in the grind. Their mental game would’ve been a huge advantage. They would’ve been talking about winning the small things and the big moments will come.
“So yeah, the sevens girls won that game for us and that makes it difficult for the XVs girls who are competing for the same positions.”
Statistics don’t tell all the story but Tui had a huge work rate, running the most metres - 133 - and with the equal-most carries over the gain line with 10. She also scored two tries and was named player of the day.
Portia Woodman scored the most points, with 15 from three tries; Fluhler was fantastic with her passing, as it created space for Woodman and Tui. Hirini, at seven, was a workhorse whose indefatigable engine reflected her sevens fitness, as the Black Ferns turned around the 0-17 deficit to score 41 unanswered points.
“Stacey [Fluhler] had a key role in all of that with her ball to Portia and Ruby and the support lines she ran,” says Hireme-Smiler.
“And Gossy [Hirini], her work off the ball was big but there were phases of play where she was having two or three touches with the ball. She ended up being their go-to ball carrier and that’s not usually her main role; she's normally used on defence.”
While the Black Ferns were impressive in their comeback, they were helped by two virtually simultaneous yellow cards against Australia. And as good as they were in the second half, they were pretty poor in the first, with far too many dropped balls, wrong options, sloppy defence and a misfiring lineout.
The emotion of the occasion may be to blame for some of that, but it makes for a straightforward coaching week for Smith as he turns his attention to Sunday’s game against Wales at Waitākere Stadium. He can just roll the video tape of the first half.
Changes to the starting XV are expected and Hireme-Smiler warns that might mean another period of settling down.
”The inexperience is more obvious in the pack and the front row. That’s a worry for me and I do have a small concern around their fitness levels and especially the front row," she says.
“So there’s work to be done, but we knew this and we knew he had picked an inexperienced squad.”
That aside, the Black Ferns should be too good for Wales and, as their nerves settle and their combinations grow, should confirm themselves as the main challengers to England.
England, well, they notched up their 26th consecutive test win on Saturday and showed an expansive game to go with their set piece prowess.
After the opening round salvos, the Roses are certainly the tournament favourites.
