Treat to see return of glorious Black Ferns
The New Zealand women’s side – the Black Ferns – will be celebrating their 100th Test match in a high-octane clash with England at Sandy Park this afternoon and frankly they have been a pleasure to watch throughout that period.
Their world domination surpasses even their men folk with five World Cup triumphs and throughout the 30 or so years of their existence they have only ever lost to four teams – England on eight occasions, France twice, and the USA and Ireland once apiece.
But much more than that has been their attacking and joyous approach which has been the hallmark from the off. There has always been a large Maori influence in their side and the Black Ferns have reflected that with their exuberance, panache, athleticism and style. They are rarely anything less than compelling to watch.
Over the decades, as a critic, you can occasionally take issue with their male counterparts the All Blacks – there have been times when the ABs have been overly physical and cynical and masters of all sorts of gamesmanship – but the Black Ferns have been wholly admirable in their approach. They have been both the best team and greatest ambassadors for women’s rugby.
Strangely they didn’t make an immediate impact in the women’s game, perhaps because they were so geographically distant from North America and northern Europe where women’s rugby first established itself. It was all a bit chaotic and makeshift and indeed the reason today’s match is being recognised as their 100th is that three games in a RugbyFest in 1990 – against USA, Netherlands and Russia – are not viewed as official Tests by the NZRU which hadn’t incorporated the women’s game at the time.
Heroically New Zealand’s women raised funds to send a team to the inaugural World
Cup in 1991 where they finished fourth and gave little hint of the glories to come. Three years later they lacked the funds to make another trip “North” again and missed out on the 1994 World Cup in Scotland but the women’s game in New Zealand had enjoyed a huge growth spurt and they were building a team to reckon with.
The rugby world was already bracing itself ahead of the 1998 World Cup in Amsterdam. At the 1996 Canada Cup – a big gathering of the main nations between World Cups – they went on an extraordinary rampage in Edmonton beating hosts Canada 88-0, the USA 88-8 and France 109-0. A year later they were still dishing it out at home, thrashing England 67-0 and Australia 44-0.
The Black Ferns were producing astonishing rugby – such pace and athleticism had never been seen before in the women’s game – and they
arrived in Amsterdam – sweltering in an early summer heatwave – as strong favourites and fully lived up to that tag.
It was spectacular to watch and in terms of PR and public awareness this was a huge tournament for women’s rugby. The Kiwis blazed a trail beating Scotland 76-0, Spain 46-3, a very decent England side 44-11 and then, in the final, underlined their supremacy with a crushing 44-12 win over USA.
It was one of the most startling displays of total rugby I’ve witnessed and for all the brilliance of modern day stars such as Portia Woodman, Kelly Brazier and Stacey Fluhler I’m not sure that the Black Ferns have ever improved on Amsterdam ’98. It was the Black Ferns’ equivalent of the pioneering 1905 tour of Britain and Europe of Dave Gallaher’s All Blacks.
What is certain is that ever since then they have always
been the team to beat with only England consistently mounting a credible challenge, although France are beginning to step up to the plate as well.
The entire New Zealand squad from ’98 possessed star quality but three in particular stood out. At fly-half was Anna Richards and despite today’s top stars you can still make a very good argument that she is the greatest woman player of all time. Richards, who learned the game at Canterbury University where she was also a representative netball player, was blessed with blazing pace and an eye for an opening but although she knew where the line was her great genius was as a creator.
A four-time World Cup winner with New Zealand, Richards played every minute of every game in their triumphs in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. At all times she was the rugby brain making it happen.
Farah Palmer was their skipper who not only led New Zealand to World Cup victory in Holland but at RWC2002 in Spain and RWC2006 in Canada. A tough, fiery hooker she lost only once in 35 Test match appearances for New Zealand and was IRB women’s player of the year in 2005 and inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2014 along with Richards. Like All Black legend Colin Meade, she hails from Te Kuiti where they breed them tough.
Another big personality and role model during the lead up to the World Cup in 1998 and during the tournament itself was powerhouse wing Louisa Wall, who was also a netball star for the Silver Ferns, New Zealand’s national netball team. Wall proved particularly adept at attracting new recruits to the women’s game from school visits but she herself soon concentrated on politics becoming an MP in the New Zealand Parliament.
Those three and others started a glorious dynasty that extends to this day and remarkably there has been only one blip since they and their colleagues founded ther dynasty. Ireland are the only side to have defeated them in a World Cup match during that period. August 5, 2014 on Pitch 1 at Marcoussis was the date and venue of that reminder that nobody is invincible and that all winning runs eventually come to an end. On that day they lost 17-14 against the pumped-up Irish who possessed one of the great players in women’s rugby at the helm in full-back Nimah Briggs.
It’s difficult to convey the shock waves that defeat sent around the world of women’s rugby and of course it opened the door for others. England seized their chance to reach the final and then defeat Canada in Paris. The rugby world tilted on its axis a bit, but only a bit. The Black Ferns remain the marquee team for women’s rugby and after a two-year Covid induced hiatus it’s good to have them back in action.