A Game of Consequences
Langley Events Centre, Vancouver
Could the Black Ferns show an advance? The outlook wasn’t great after the shock defeat to Ireland.
But they started right on top. Ayesha Leti I’iga won a turnover from Jess Breach and it was fingers in the dyke for England. Abby Dow managed to restore order for a moment. Then Tanya Kalounivale made a big thrust to win a penalty. From a scrum. Kaipo Olsen-Baker picked and drove straight over Mo Hunt, route one with a humpback bridge. 0-7
They did the same from the kick-off, breaking to halfway, and making England scramble. But now the English wide backs showed their class. Ellie Kildunne caught a tricky high ball and returned it a long way. Then Dow did the same. Hannah King tried to run the ball out, but knocked on as Dow caught her. A lesson learned the hard way.
England indulged in risky handling that worked. Kildunne found Dow with a long pass – try! 7-7
Two errors had cost two tries.
A tactic I suspected the Ferns would use, the chip over the top, produced results. The Red Roses fumbled again; an attacking scrum for the Ferns. But they couldn’t profit. Instead, England ran and handled thrillingly, first left, then back the other way. Alex Matthews made a break, but passed to a black shirt.
A strange sequence followed. Was that a knock-on, then another, then another? Play seemed to halt, but the officials were happy.
Now came a Ferns’ error that we’ve seen before. They passed the ball across their own line. When the relieving kick came, Zoe Aldcroft charged it down.
It was exciting stuff, but not in the coaching manual.
England move ahead
It took the English 18 minutes to take the lead. From a scrum the pack had several goes; Helena Rowland sent a lovely ball to Breach on the edge and she just squeezed over. (12-7) Tatyana Heard had to leave for an HIA but returned later. She remains a crucial cog in the Roses’ machine. It meant another cap for Emily Scarratt. She looked as though she’d seen it all before.
On 20 minutes the Ferns won a clean line-out, but Alana Bremner’s pass down to her No 9 was unkind. At the scrum England won a penalty. Aitchison tried a grubber through, but it ran away on the bouncy pitch. She was to make a number of errors alongside other gestures. Her place for next week must be in doubt. Rowland was the appointed place-kicker.
Two England line-outs went clean as a whistle, but when Hunt tried to snipe over she was caught and penalised.
A long kick to Kildunne was returned with interest. King, looking into the sun, dropped it, to lose valuable territory. Two long passes behind a scrum, and Kildunne cantered over for a third score. 17-7
The entire world seems to have lost transmission at this point. The marvels of modern technology!
We returned in time to see the Ferns respond with a second try. A fine passing move gave Leti I’iga space on the right. 17-12. An Aitchison penalty hadn’t made touch. Widespread bemusement as Kildunne knocked on; the next moment she was miraculously retrieving a kick from a touch-line and sending a powerful return back into Kiwi-land.
The Ferns were still making small errors. As they lost another ball, Maud Muir, who was busy all through, made two big drives. Packer pirouetted but couldn’t reach the line. The ball swung left; Breach was running out of space, but tipped an inventive ball over to Kildunne who crossed.
Half-time 22-12
Playing into the sun, the Red Roses now produced a series of outstanding tries. The backs combined with ultra-quick hands to give Dow her next chance. The crowd roared their approval. (27-12) Aurélie Groizeleau told Maia Joseph to speed up her delivery, but when she did, Mo Hunt charged down Renee Holmes’ clearance. The ball obligingly bounced back into her hands and she had her try. A nice present on her 75th birthday – oops! Her 75th cap. 34-12
When Packer knocked on, she reacted badly, pushing an opponent away. She wasn’t penalised, but it was the wrong example to set.
On 50 minutes Bunting changed his 9 and 15, but England manufactured another stunning try. Heard dummied and tucked inside. An immediate recycle, the ball flung right. Dow sprinted; as she was caught, she flicked an inside pass to Breach in support from the other side. She slipped into overdrive. 39-12. Kildunne didn’t bother supporting; she wandered across to congratulate Dow on her performance.
Ruby Tui appeared. She wasn’t to enjoy a happy day; she made more than one unfortunate mistake. As the Ferns attacked, King mishit a kick straight to Kildunne. She responded with profit.
On 54 minutes, Mitchell changed his front row. But the Ferns responded again. A clean line-out led to a try by Georgia Ponsonby. This looked like the now typical Kiwi second-half come-back. (39-19) Sylvia Brunt burst through midfield, but a knock-on undid the good work. England regained possession, Aitchison kicked deep, and Tui sent the ball straight into touch, losing her side many metres.
The game was really opening out. Now Ruahei Demant made a break; she hadn’t the pace, so grubbed the ball left for Leti I’iga, but Breach retrieved it, passed to Dow who launched a long return kick.
More thrills: Olsen-Baker intercepted a flat Aitchison pass and set off. Rowland had time and pace to chop her down. But the Ferns developed from there and Maia Roos stormed through Aitchison’s weak tackle. That was their bonus-point, and well deserved. (39-24). They found another defensive hole and Iritana Hohaia ran through. But Kildunne trapped her before she could move the ball on.
Among the many changes, it was noticeable that Maddie Feaunati played 8 again – a hint for the future?
Another promising Ferns’ move ended when King kicked straight out.
Now down memory lane: Scaz made a thrust through midfield. Lucy Packer did well to spin the ball left left – only Aitchison and Breach were there, but a Breach step flummoxed Tui and she had her hat-trick. (44-24) Another Ferns’ move broke down; Scaz booted the ball through, and Rowland just failed to take the rolling ball cleanly.
Zoe Harrison wasn’t allowed on till the 71st minute. I don’t care to imagine how Sarries’ fans reacted. And to cap it all, it was she on the end of another England flourish. 49-24. Could they reach 50?
No! The game finished at the other end as the Ferns showed real determination. Maama Vaipulu enjoyed the final try of the day, the fourteenth.
Result: England 49 New Zealand 31
Player of the Match: Jess Breach
Teams
England
15 KILDUNNE 14 DOW 13 ROWLAND 12 HEARD 11 BREACH 10 AITCHISON 9 HUNT 1 BOTTERMAN 2 CVOKAYNE 3 MUIR 4 ALDCROFT 5 WARD 6 TALLING 7 M. PACKER (captain) 8 MATTHEWS
16 ATKIN-DAVIES 17 CARSON 18 BERN 19 GALLIGAN 20 FEAUNATI 21 L. PACKER 22 HARRISON 23 SCARRATT
New Zealand
15 HOLMES 14 LETI-I’IGA 13 BRUNT 12 DEMANT (co-captain) 11 VAHAAKOLO 10 KING 9 JOSEPH 1 VILIKO 2 PONSONBY 3 KALOUNIVALE 4 A. BREMNER 5 ROOS 6 MIKAELE-TU’U 7 TUKUAFU (co-captain) 8 OLSEN-BAKER
16 LOLOHEA 17 HENWOOD 18 RULE 19 VAIPULU 20 SAE 21 HOHAIA 22 PAUL 23 TUI
Officials
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
ARs: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU) and Kristine Lovatt (RC)
TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Note: Kat Roche (USA) was the original referee appointment
Afterthoughts
That was the first time the Ferns had suffered three consecutive losses. Who can stop England? The Maple Leafs next week? It’s possible, but unlikely.
Critics will harp on the advantages the Red Roses enjoy, but the argument has one flaw: the squads put out have an astonishing level of skill. From 1 to 15 and on to 23, there are players who have talents quite separate from their normal positional duties. It is a golden period for English rugby. The test will be to ensure the next generation proves as capable.
By contrast there is disquiet about the breadth and quality of talent coming through the Ferns’ system. Bunting picked two highly promising young half-backs, Joseph and King. Both played well, but both made errors that proved costly. The same day, the Farah Palmer Cup final took place in Hamilton between Waikato and Canterbury (result, 27-25). Were there no players present good enough for the tour?
Bunting admitted pre-match: “We have been through some real adversity”. He blamed the Ireland defeat on a lack of leadership and poor decision-making, plus ineffective breakdown work, exits, and a failure to complete line breaks (there were 14). This forms part of an official “brutal” review.
Does “lack of leadership” refer to himself and his staff, or solely to his players?
Was it pure courtesy by World Rugby placing this match a week before the Canada-England finale, or did they suspect in advance that the Maple Leafs would be No 2 in world rankings?
Amy Cokayne, Alex Matthews, Marlie Packer, Emily Scarratt and Abbie Ward all played in the last E v NZ match on Canadian soil in 2016. Matthews scored a try, Scarratt kicked a conversion.
Aurélie Groizeleau has now refereed England thirteen times; she has yet to see them lose.
Why the constant refrain: “Mitchell takes the handbrake off”? The English backs scored tries galore under Simon Middleton.
