Black Ferns 52

Canada 21

The Black Ferns have booked their spot to meet England, France and Wales in the newly minted WXV 1 competition later in the year.

Needing a top-three finish in the Pacific Four to earn a place in that competition, the New Zealand side secured that with a 52-21 win over Canada in Ottawa on Sunday morning.

Despite what the scoreline might suggest, it was a test in every sense of the word as the Black Ferns had to answer plenty of questions posed by the Canadians.

It didn’t look like that would be the case as the Black Ferns charged out to a 21-0 lead inside of 20 minutes, taking advantage of some poor exit plays from the Canadians and enjoying the invitation into attacking territory.

But their free-flowing attacking style wasn’t without some issues as handling errors and some untidy work at the breakdown saw the Canadians gain extra possessions.While Canada were finding space to exploit in the Black Ferns’ defensive line, the New Zealand side stayed focused and back themselves when they did get back in possession.

After a breakout performance from second-five Sylvia Brunt last week, it was her midfield partner Amy du Plessis who led the way against Canada. Scoring two of the side’s eight tries, her work both carrying and distributing the ball impressed, but it was her work rate without possession that really stood out.

Du Plessis was in constant motion chasing kicks and applying pressure on the back of them, at times making things happen with her hustle.

Ruahei Demant was again in the think of everything on attack, although made a couple of mistakes in missing the sideline from penalties, while halfback Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu’s composure at the ruck when the play threatened to get a bit messy made good things happen for her side.

It was a physical contest. The world No 4 Canadians were up for the challenge and the pack were required to answer in kind. There were plenty of players who stepped up in that facet of the game, Amy Rule, Phillipa Love, Maiakawanakaulani Roos and Chelsea Bremner among them.

The Black Ferns got off to a dream start when Katelyn Vahaakolo came close to scoring a spectacular solo effort in the opening minutes of the contest, only to be taken down a couple of metres from the line. It led to the game’s opener, scored by Luka Connor from close range.

The side fumbled the ensuing kick-off, which began a run of poor execution both ways before the Black Ferns again settled in possession, with tries through Demant and Mererangi Paul seeing the side ahead of the scoreboard.

Some teams might fold under that sort of start, but the Canadians kept working and were soon rewarded through impressive captain Sophie de Goede who bulldozed through defenders to score. Her loose forward partner Fabiola Forteza was across the stripe soon after, after being help up earlier in the game, and the Black Ferns only held a seven-point lead at the break.

Du Plessis pushed the Black Ferns out a bit further soon after the restart, but the Canadians wouldn’t go away and when Olivia Demerchant scored the match looked set for a big finish with the scores at 28-21.

It got that, in a sense, as the Black Ferns kicked things up a gear and exploited the tiring Canadian defence to run up the score and remain at the top of the Pacific Four leaderboard.

The New Zealand side will finish their tournament next week against the United States; the Americans sitting at the foot of the ladder having conceded 50 points or more against both Canada and Australia.

Black Ferns 52 (Amy du Plessis 2, Mererangi Paul 2, Luka Connor, Ruahei Demant, Renee Holmes, Kelsey Teneti tries; Holmes 5 cons)Canada 21 (Sophie de Goede, Fabiola Forteza, Olivia Demerchant tries; de Goede 3 cons)HT: 21-14