As six time world champions, coming off the back of two world cup victories in a row, the Black Ferns entered the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 as firm favourites to clinch the top spot.
They had the financial backing, albeit later into their World Cup cycle than desirous, their reputation preceded them - a fast and furious squad that took no hostages - and the stats spoke for themselves. The team with the most World Cup wins, third best in the world, the only side in recent history to beat the world number ones England.
And yet, between the start of the competition and its culmination in Twickenham on Saturday, the Black Ferns have had to fight for every inch of advantage that they have earned over the last five weeks.
New Zealand group rounds journey
They finished top of their Pool C effortlessly, something which seemed pre-ordained given their expertise against sides like Ireland, Japan and Spain. However, when the knock-out rounds hit, New Zealand just weren’t able to hit the same strides as before.
They faced South Africa in Exeter for the quarterfinals, a team that barely scratches their level of fiscal investment, experience and training hours. Yet there was a moment - in fact, a full quarter of the game - where the Springboks were not only keeping up with the Black Ferns, but actively controlling the game for the first half.
New Zealand ultimately managed to come away with a 46- 17 win, but they needed to perform better come the semi-final to book their way back to their familiar World Cup final territory. It was always set to be a tough match - against second best in the world Canada, and coming off a draw from their last encounter - it was anyone’s game.
But the Black Ferns were simply not up to form. Primarily on the defensive, unable to work against the tempo and aggressiveness of the Canadian pack, the Maple Leafs came away with their easiest victory yet, 34- 17.
Black Ferns vs Les Bleues bronze final
However, New Zealand were able to exorcise those demons that have been haunting them this World Cup campaign on Saturday, as they came out in true defending World Champion style against France to deliver a magnetic 80 minutes of rugby and earn themselves the bronze medal.
No doubt bolstered by two of their own being named as nominees for Player and Breakthrough Player of the Year - Jorja Miller and Braxton Sorensen-McGee - the Black Ferns finally showed the extent of their trust throughout the team with a fiercely fast offensive pace and some truly inventive rugby.
That’s not to say it was an easy road to third place - Les Bleues were fierce opponents and, given ten more minutes, the result could have been very different after a flurry of French tries as the second half progressed.
This was the fourth World Cup campaign for Portia Woodman Wycliffe, an icon of the New Zealand women’s rugby set-up, and she reflected on the bittersweet tournament and what it means.
“We’re calling it a rose gold [medal] - I’ve won one with 7s and now one with 15s. It’s a beautiful medal and we’re extremely proud.
We’re not playing for the game we wanted to - we could have dropped our heads after that game against Canada last week, we didn’t play the game we wanted to play - but ultimately what we wanted was to finish the way we know we can, finish with a game of rugby that we know is exciting and play exactly the way we know we can play with the skillset we know we have.
But I’m just really proud of our girls, the sisterhood, the connection that we have - we didn’t get what we wanted, but we created something beautiful as well”.
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