Pacific Four, Round Two, Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
This was another game to build to a unforgettable climax after the hooter. Few could have imagined the outcome.
The organisers of the Pac-4 have not yet taken the plunge and made this fixture the final act of a three-part drama. That is the pattern in the Six Nations, where England v France brings the curtain down.
After today’s contest there may be a rethink; we should have known it would be as tight as this. We didn’t expect it to be so open, if full of unforced errors.
At the start it was all Canada. They kept the ball tight, only to hand over possession before completion. That allowed the Ferns’ midfield of Silvia Brunt and Amy du Plessis to make dangerous breaks, and suddenly the hosts were looking for the line. As the ball spread left, Braxton Sorensen-McGee jinked inside and over. 7-0
A Canadian nudge at an early scrum promised well. The ball went wide to Julia Schell, but a knock-on followed. A telling break by Laetitia Royer straight off a line-out let her pack loose, and DaLeaka Menin drove over. 7-7
Two kicks by Claire Gallagher let Kiwi backs counter dangerously. This reawakened my concerns about her play. It improved greatly in the second half, but here she couldn’t find the safest positions from which to launch her clearances. She couldn’t dominate.
Both sides were willing to take risks, making the game lively and unpredictable. But both coughed up possession at wrong moments. Two hopeful passes sent Canada scrambling rearwards.
A more positive example: the Ferns came close to the line, lost the ball and Canada passed right down their line for Florence Symonds to counter. Karen Paquin was belying her years by playing a stormer.
On the half-hour Ruahei Demant waltzed past two tackles to win a penalty. A moment later the Ferns advanced close to the line; the ball flew left and Ayesha Leti-I’iga escaped to slide over. 12-7
Next the Ferns’ co-captains turned down a pot at goal from in front for a scrum. Would they do the same in an RWC final? Here the result was a penalty conceded further from the line. The Maple Leafs ran it out and went on flinging. The game stopped only because Leti-I’iga was on the floor injured.
From the scrum Canada built well. Asia Hogan-Rochester twice had the ball, scoring from the second on the right edge.
The 7s backs were showing their worth! Florence Symonds’s quick pass out wide made the difference.
Half-time 12-12
Despite all the turnovers, there’d been wonderful stuff to watch, Canada countering every thrust of the Ferns with their own.
The Canadian front-row won a big scrum penalty; the Ferns went straight down. The backs spread the ball to the wing, despite the threatening NZ line-speed. Alysha Corrigan got away then dropped ball as she prepared her fend!
As McKinley Hunt appeared for her first outing in 2025 the possession stood 50/50; impossible to separate them. Another unwise Canadian kick ahead went straight to Portia Woodman-Wickliffe who scythed through three tackles, but Kennedy Tukuafu dropped a pass under pressure from Symonds.
A wonderful run by Sorensen-McGee led to a clever diagonal grubber by Brunt. It was picked up by Leti-I’iga who had room to finish under the posts. A lovely sequence. 19-12
Olivia Apps’ appearance had an instant effect, leaving the defences unsure what she intended, and they were clocking up penalties. Two Canadian driving mauls went down, but from the second Apps found her way over. 19-17
Both sides deserve credit for continuing to take all manner of risks. Schell kicked deep into the Ferns’ ingoal and Woodman-Wickliffe ran it out. That proved unwise. Apps collected a relieving kick, the ball moved smoothly to Corrigan who had the speed to make the line. 19-22 (the same score as last year.)
Here the visitors were in front for the first time, and the score came with fourteen on the field, as Gabrielle Senft was off, possibly with collar-bone trouble.
Now Canada were spotted off-side at a kick ahead. Demant pointed at the posts. 22-22
To add to worries about Senft, Alex Tessier, who had been prominent throughout, failed an HIA.
Kat Roche warned New Zealand about their penalty count. They were well into double figures.
Now more drama: Canada built fourteen phases close to the posts, but the Ferns won their own penalty. That was a triumph. Canada had reverted to type, using the pack exclusively, as at the start.
Another brave ruse: Demant shaped for a kick to touch but tapped and ran. Once more an NZ error came too soon, just outside their own 10-metre. Their pressure subsided further when Iritana Hohaia advanced off-side round a ruck. Gallagher set her forwards up again; they drove then the ball went wide. Did Shoshanah Seumanutafa ground legally or did she have two bites at the cherry? Roche needed a second view. On 76 minutes the TMO was called in for the first time! Roche’s verdict was ‘try’, and Oli Kellet agreed.
Suddenly the crowd was aghast. Schell muffed an important kick. She had to replace ball and may have been time-conscious. 22-27
As the hooter sounded, NZ had a line-out eighteen metres out. Their driving maul couldn’t do the job, so the phases piled up as the clock passed 82 minutes.
On 83 minutes – and about the 22nd or 23rd phase – Brunt squeezed over by the right flag. Too far out for the conversion to succeed. Another dramatic finish; we may get used to them.
Result: New Zealand 27 Canada 27
Teams
Black Ferns
1. Viliko 2. Ponsonby 3. Rule 4. Bremner 5. Roos 6. Sae 7. Tukuafu (co-captain) 8. Mikaele-Tu’u 9. Joseph 10. Demant (co-captain) 11. Leti-I’iga 12. Brunt 13. du Plessis 14. Woodman-Wickliffe 15. Sorensen-McGee
16. Lolohea 17. Henwood 18. Kalounivale 19. Vaipulu 20. Olsen-Baker 21. Hohaia 22. King 23. Paul
Canada
1. Kassil 2. Tuttosi 3. Menin 4. O’Donnell 5. Royer 6. Forteza 7. Paquin 8. Senft 9. Pelletier 10. Gallagher 11. Corrigan 12. Tessier 13. Symonds 14. Hogan-Rochester 15. Schell
16. Boag 17. Hunt 18. Wood 19. Beukeboom 20. Crossley 21 Apps 22. Seumanutafa 23. Bermudez
Referee: Kat Roche (USAR)
Afterthoughts
By my reckoning Canada stay ahead of NZ in world rankings by a minute 0.30 points. It’s hard to say how the two managements will react. For all the splendid effort expended, both sides committed mistakes all through that ask questions about their ability to exert their superiority when it really matters.
There was a meaningful contrast in selection: Rouet introduced three 7s players into his back-line; they did thoroughly well. Bunting kept all his waiting in the stand; they couldn’t expect to walk into his team.
It offers a curious paradox: Bunting is an experienced former 7s coach, Rouet is not. Both have their eye on the World Cup. They have chosen opposite approaches for the top game of the Pac-4.
The Black Ferns failed on two counts. They couldn’t justify national expectations that they would win the next RWC; nor could they regain the initiative over the Maple Leafs.
