News that France will tour Aotearoa for a 3-test series next October is a first welcome sign of the advances the Global Series can bring.
The tour will mean a great deal to both nations.
The Black Ferns have become increasingly aware of their need for more quality test matches. Their annual home & away against the Wallaroos, though pleasant, is far too one-sided.
Les Bleues will be excited to have a proper series far from home against their closest rivals, and not the inevitable England. The two nations currently stand third and fourth in world rankings. A 3-0 win for one side would give a real jolt to standings.
Both sides will be in the care of a new management. We already know that François Ratier has taken charge of les Bleues; his opposite number should be known soon.
A central question
Will SVNS players be available for the series? NZ have just walked off with the Dubai 7s. The media made great play of star players like Braxton Sorensen-McGee and Jorja Miller returning to the short format.
Can the BFs be sure of building sufficient strength if they have to do without them? For France the only major 7s name to appear at the RWC was Joanna Grisez.
History
The series could be a stunner. In recent years there have been two 1-point wins: 18-17 to France and 25-24 to NZ. But in the all-important bronze medal match at Twickenham the BFs won comfortably 42-26.
Chris Lendrum, the General Manager of NZ High Performance, says “we know fans will get behind [the Black Ferns]”. Let’s hope he’s right this time. Kiwis have proved distinctly unwilling to come and watch in the past.
The tour is still a distance away. By this time next year we may have seen more retirements and new faces appearing.
We can now look forward to more enterprising matches coming our way under the umbrella of the Global Series.
