All Blacks greats have Black Ferns ‘buzzing’
Black Ferns midfielder Chelsea Semple believes the side’s chances at the upcoming Rugby World Cup have improved exponentially under the coaching of Wayne Smith, revealing that the coaching mastermind has used Dan Carter, Richie Mccaw and Keven Mealamu to improve the group.
The Black Ferns beat Australia 52-5 in Christchurch on Saturday and have clearly improved since last year’s grim end-of-season tour.
Smith has introduced a new attacking blueprint and surrounded the squad with expertise, and Semple admitted the Black Ferns were still ‘‘buzzing’’ at the sheer calibre of coaches now available to them.
‘‘I’m not going to brag, but I am,’’ Semple said on Sky Sports’ The Breakdown show on
Sunday. ‘‘In the last few weeks – obviously we’ve got Wayne Smith, we’ve got Graham Henry, we’ve got Mike Cron – we’ve had Dan Carter come in to do our kicking with our backs, we’ve had Keven Mealamu come in to work with hookers, Richie Mccaw doing work with leadership.
‘‘It’s been outstanding. We’ve had Steve Hansen come in while we were down in Christchurch and work with us too.
‘‘Can you put a price on that coaching group? I think any team in the entire world would want that coaching group. We’re so lucky. The girls are absolutely loving it.’’
The Black Ferns begin their World Cup campaign with a clash against Australia at Eden Park on
October 8, followed by Pool A matches against Wales and Scotland.
European heavyweights England and France will be regarded as favourites, based on their strong forward packs and levels of conditioning.
Nevertheless, Smith’s arrival at the Black Ferns – replacing Glenn Moore – has raised hopes that the World Cup holders could craft a skills-based game plan using the athletes at their disposal.
‘‘It’s still really buzzy for the girls,’’ Semple said. ‘‘We’re down in the field at the start of captain’s run, just running around, and we look up at the bleachers and Wayne Smith and Graham Henry and the whole coaching group are walking around with the Black Ferns brand on their chests. I feel really proud and honoured every time I see that.’’
Semple said also that competition within the squad was intense, with new players putting their hands up and members of the Sevens squad now coming into contention after their Commonwealth Games campaign.
‘‘That tight five is brand new from the last World Cup,’’ she said. ‘‘But the perks of this year being a full-time professional are that the front row and our tight five have never been so fit.
‘‘The amount of competition in those positions is huge and then obviously we talk about the Sevens girls still being available.
‘‘We had a camp two weeks ago when all those girls came and the calibre of players we’ve got now are all fighting fit and wanting to play in this World Cup...we’ve never had this level of competition before, and it’s so healthy.’’