The Black Ferns ran in 10 tries to beat Scotland 66-14 at Hive Stadium in Edinburgh, keeping their unbeaten record in the WXV Global Series with one match left before they head home. The Test kicked off at 5.10pm on Saturday in Scotland, which was 4.10am on Sunday New Zealand time, and it was all but over well before most New Zealanders woke up.
New Zealand led 38-14 at halftime after scoring six tries through six different players in the first 40 minutes, then added four more after the break. RNZ reported that fullback Braxton Sorensen-McGee landed seven conversions, and Alena Saili scored the final try on the 80th minute to round off the rout.
It was a quick start. Prop Mo’omo’oga Palu, playing only her second Test, crossed under the posts in the second minute. Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu followed with a close-range try in the eighth minute, and the tries kept coming despite a strong, gusty wind that New Zealand played into during the first half, according to the NZ Herald’s live coverage.
Layla Sae was the standout. She scored two tries and set up two more, and RugbyPass named her player of the match with a rating of nine out of 10. Tara Turner earned the same score for her speed to the breakdown and accurate passing in difficult conditions. Elinor-Plum King, Amy du Plessis and Amarante Sititi also scored, with Sititi crossing almost as soon as she came off the bench.
For Scotland, the day will still be remembered for something other than the scoreline. Number eight Evie Gallagher scored twice within about 10 minutes in the first half, the first tries Scotland have ever scored against New Zealand. The two sides had met four times before, starting at the 1998 World Cup, and New Zealand had won every one of those Tests without conceding a try. The Black Ferns’ own pre-match statistics list those results as 76-0 in 1998, 30-9 at the 2005 Churchill Cup, 21-0 at the 2006 World Cup and 57-0 at the delayed 2021 World Cup played in 2022. Scotland’s 14 points is the most they have scored against the Black Ferns.
Coach Whitney Hansen had used the match to look at depth. After a 28-14 win over France in Lyon a week earlier, she made wholesale changes to the starting side, bringing in props Maddison Robinson and Palu and handing the captaincy to hooker Georgia Ponsonby. Two uncapped players, prop Ngano Tavake and fullback Maia Davis, were named on the bench.
“Ngano’s actions speak louder than her words. She’s incredibly humble, hardworking and has continued to impress us,” Hansen said when the team was announced. Of Davis, Hansen said “she has so much to offer this team, both now and into the future.”
Tavake made an immediate impression on debut, winning a scrum penalty after coming on. Front row depth has been a focus for the selectors this year, and a debut that includes a scrum penalty will do her prospects no harm.
There was one late problem. Lock Laura Bayfield, named to start, was ruled out with illness only hours before kickoff, forcing a reshuffle in the forward pack. It made little difference to the result.
The size of the win should be kept in perspective. Scotland came into the match after a 64-26 loss to Canada and are under an interim coach, Dave Butcher, who made five changes for this Test. They are a side in transition, and the Black Ferns were expected to win comfortably.
The real test comes next weekend. New Zealand play England in London on 27 September in the last match of their northern tour. England are the world champions and have been New Zealand’s toughest opponent for most of the past decade, although they were held to a 26-26 draw by Canada in their most recent outing. That result suggests the gap at the top of the women’s game is narrower than it has been for some time.
Hansen will now have to decide how much of the side that started against France returns for England, and how many of the players who impressed in Edinburgh force their way into her strongest line-up. Sae and Turner in particular have made strong cases. With 10 tries scored in cold, blustery conditions, the attack looks in good shape, and a first half that produced 38 points showed how quickly this side can put a game away.
For a team building toward the next World Cup, two wins from two on a European tour is a solid return. Beating England at home would make it a very good one.
Did the Black Ferns’ changes against Scotland earn anyone a start against England? Who would you pick for the London Test? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
Leave a Reply