'All the players know who they are': Black Ferns bolstered by SVNS stars

Fresh off another SVNS Series triumph, several Black Ferns Sevens stars have joined up with their new teammates in Christchurch ahead of the Black Ferns’ clash with Canada.

The Pacific Four Series contest comes in the same venue where the Canadians claimed their first-ever win over the Kiwis just 12 months ago.

Not only is more history on the line on Saturday afternoon, but crucial momentum in a World Cup year as teams find their winning combinations.

Three of the five sevens stars have Black Ferns experience, with Dhys Faleafaga on hand to play in the second row off the bench as the Kiwis dismissed a resilient Wallaroos unit over the weekend. Stacey Waaka and Theresa Setefano were the starting midfield pairing for the Black Ferns’ 2021 Rugby World Cup final win.

Jorja Miller and Risaleaana Pouri-Lane are leading the new generation of Black Ferns Sevens stars and are making the switch back to 15s for the first time since becoming pros, but have been quick to make an impact in the environment.

“Just being professional athletes when they walk into the room, they hold a lot of mana with the things they’ve actually done and won on the SVNS circuit. All the players know who they are,” Black Ferns defence coach Steve Jackson told media in Christchurch.

“The beauty about this team is there’s so much competition. That’s the hardest thing for us coaches week in, week out: who do we select?

“But the sevens girls have been great, we’re just slowly introducing them back into the 15s game and there’s a fair bit of learning for them to do. We’ll make sure they’re ready before they get out onto the field.”

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The SVNS circuit finale was held in Los Angeles over the first weekend of May, just seven days before Player of the Year Jorja Miller and company landed in Christchurch to join the Black Ferns camp.

It’s a dramatically short turnaround for players looking to reach the highest level in rugby, but Jackson says the players have the tools to make it work.

“In terms of their physicality and their strength and conditioning, they are (ready). But the learning part, the stuff they’ve got to get through in terms of the 15s rugby, understanding our attack maps, defensive systems, there’s a lot more to go through in a 15s game than there is in a sevens game.

“We’ve got different variations in lineouts, different numbers in lineouts, defensive mauls, etc, etc, it goes on.

“They came in on Sunday night, there’s a lot more learning to be done this week. And look, we really want to set them up to succeed, we don’t want to set them up to go out there and not be 100 per cent confident in playing.”

While not wanting to rush or overwhelm the players, Jackson confirmed the transitioning players will “definitely” get game time over the next two weeks.

“That’s what we’ll be looking to do. They will get game time, it just depends on when. All of them will get game time by the end of this (tournament).”

Next weekend’s clash against the USA seems the more realistic option for the players to get decent minutes, but there’s a chance fans could see a debut or two against world No. 2 Canada this weekend.

Revenge is sure to be on the minds of many players who were involved in last year’s fixture.

“There’s probably a lot. We haven’t spoken about it much; we’ve mentioned the scoreline the last time we were down here, but any motivation is what happened here last time.

“We don’t like to lose, especially in a Black Ferns jersey, so I know the players will be up for it. They’ll have that little bit between their teeth and have a bit of redemption, there’ll be that feeling of payback and those sorts of things. But first and foremost, they’ve got to concentrate on the things we’ve been working on this week, and if they can do those really, really well, hopefully we’ll get the outcome that we’re looking for.”