Black Ferns coach: ‘Plenty to work on’
Black Ferns head coach Glenn Moore has stressed that there is plenty to work on for his side ahead of their rematch against the Wallaroos at Eden Park on Saturday.
The Ferns ran out 31-11 victors to notch their 15th win in 15 games against their transtasman rivals, but despite the handy margin of victory, Moore believes there are improvements to be made.
“Overall, we were a bit rusty — we didn’t execute some of the things we set out to, especially in the early parts of the game,” he told Radio Sport.
The Black Ferns had moments of hesitancy on attack but were bailed out by a dominant driving maul from lineout time which resulted in several tries, including a hat-trick to incomparable skipper Fiao’o Faamausili.
The Wallaroos showed fight, especially in the second half, and stretched the Black Ferns at times with their offloading game. It’s those brief patches which leads Moore to push for a cleaner defensive performance.
“Our focus will be on getting our defensive structure in better shape, but I think it’s going to be putting polish on what we’re already doing really, we’ll be far better for that outing.”
The Black Ferns should have a near full-strength side for the return leg, with a cut to the leg of starting prop Aldora Itunu the only major injury concern.
The last time the Black Ferns played at Eden Park saw them thrash the Wallaroos 67-3, and Moore says the team are looking forward to gracing the pitch again on Saturday.
“We’re excited about being back at Eden Park — it’s a real privilege for these players to get home games in front of their family and friends.”