Black Ferns: The Queens of Rugby World Cups

Farah Palmer kisses the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Black Ferns, 1998.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The Black Ferns have only ever lost two of the 37 games they have played at Rugby World Cups.

They had never lost a final.

It is that type of record that helped build a legacy that this year’s team wanted to defend against England at Eden Park on Saturday.

The Black Ferns were the last team to beat the Red Roses before England went on a record 30-game winning streak which spanned back to mid-2019.

The English handed the Black Ferns heavy back-to-back defeats last year and the hosts would need to show they had improved if they were to defeat England for a fifth time in a world cup final.

Coach Wayne Smith would step away from his short tenure with the team after this tournament but he hoped he had imparted some of the elements of his favourite side – the 1967 to 69 All Blacks – in the attacking way they played.

Former All Black Ian Kirkpatrick was an inspiration for the way Wayne Smith has coached the Black Ferns.
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“Brian Lochore captained it, Ian Kirkpatrick was my favourite player of all time and I used to watch them and their forwards could catch and pass like backs and so I’ve always had that in my mind – they talk about 15 man rugby, that’s 15 man rugby – that’s what I love about the game. Once I got put into this role my aim was to try and be true to that with the women,” Smith said.

Having encouraged the Black Ferns to play more freely – Smith had a warning for his successor.

“Wouldn’t like to be a coach that tried to turn them back they’ll want to keep going forward I think and develop this game further.”

Olympic gold medalist and world sevens champion Ruby Tui epitomised Smith’s preferred style of play.

Ruby Tui is into her first Rugby World Cup final for the 15-a-side game.
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Tui had been dreaming since childhood of being a part of the Black Ferns and said she had no regrets switching to 15s for a home world cup.

“Back in the day it was the underground champions [the Black Ferns] were just legends, hearsay, myths – but they’ve won more world cups than the boys,” Tui said.

Tui had a lot of respect for the England side even though she had never played them before in 15s.

“We’re about to play the best in the world, obviously want to take their heads off, but I’m proud of them and what they’ve done for women’s rugby.

“They’re leading the world in all facets of it [and] we’ve got a little bit of catching up to do. So to play the best team in the world, in New Zealand, sold out at Eden Park in front of Aotearoa with all the poi and people singing the national anthem back I can’t wait for that.”

Throughout the tournament the Black Ferns spoke of how much the increasing support for women’s rugby meant to them.

All Black halfback TJ Perenara likes what he sees from the Black Ferns.
Photo: AAP / Photosport

All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara had joined the chorus of backers.

“The growth in that team has been inspiring not only for me as an individual but for our team. I know that they had some tough times last year but they’ve come together, grown so much, and the footy that they’re playing out on the field is something that we can all be proud of as New Zealanders and as fans of rugby,” Perenara said.

Perenara had special admiration for the Black Ferns retiring halfback Kendra Cocksedge – who he said was a legend across the rugby world.

“I look at her as more than whatever this result is, whatever she has achieved in the game that is all awesome but the legacy that she will leave is going to be amazing. There’ll be kids talking about her for a long time, there’ll be professional rugby players in the future who will say ‘I looked up to Kenj when I was a young girl and she was the reason I play the game.”

Black Fern Kendra Cocksedge will retire from the national team as the most capped player.
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Cocksedge would play her last game for the Black Ferns tomorrow after a 15-year career that included two previous world cup finals.

She would leave the field as the most capped Black Fern and leading point-scorer.

The 34-year-old said she was proud to have been a part of both the amateur and professional era of the team – and the future of rugby in New Zealand.

“It is only going to grow and get better the product that we’re giving out at the moment and we’ve got to build the momentum from this world cup and for me after I retire I go back into my job at New Zealand Rugby and I work in a participation space so I get to go back and work with every young girl and every young boy that wants to play the game because of this world cup,” Cocksedge said.