Ayesha Leti-I’iga: 'I hope that we come out better when it comes to the Lions tour'

Last weekend’s showdown between the Black Ferns and the Red Roses on the third weekend of the WXV Global Series was a game for the backs.

All seven tries were scored in the backline. For England, a try each for the back three Jess Breach, Ellie Kildunne and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald and of course Zoe Harrison’s intercept, and conversion, at the death to seal the win 26-19.

For New Zealand’s three tries, a brilliant solo effort from outside centre Amy du Plessis, a ball whipped wide to winger Mererangi Paul and opposite winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga hunting via in the inside ball off the set-piece.

Ayesha Leti-I’iga, the 27-year-old Hurricanes Poua and Wellington Pride wing, made the game her own at the weekend. She was immense. One try, denied two others in the opening 20 minutes, and a break that almost had Maia Joseph in too, she made a statement of intent against her world champion opposite numbers.

Post-match, she reflected on arguably the most exciting chapter of the Red Roses Black Ferns rivalry so far: “Oh it’s crazy. I think every time we’ve come and played here at Twickenham, the support and the crowd have gotten behind the woman’s game and it’s so cool to see, but also see the faces of the new girls in our team to experience this environment and experience a crowd like this. Yeah it’s pretty special when we play here.

“We’re gutted about the results but I am pretty proud of the performance that we put out there despite the result. We know there are some areas that we can grow in, so that’s what we’ll do. We’ll go back and look at that. I hope that we come out better when it comes to the Lions tour.

In the post-match conferences, head coach Whitney Hansen also stressed how proud she was of the squad, commending a courageous style of play and urging fans that this was not New Zealand as a finished product.

But it was ultimately discipline that dogged the Black Ferns in the second half, costing them their half-time lead forcing them to fight from behind.

A yellow card for prop Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu for head on head contact with Marlie Packer gave England the overlap for 10 minutes. The damage was clear, England scored a minute later, and Black Ferns equalised in the 70th minute once back to fifteen on the pitch.

Commenting on how they managed these conditions, Leti I’iga was clear: “We know that when it comes to penalties, England like to go for mauls and go for lineouts. So we thought that no penalties mean no lineouts and we tried to stay away from that. Unfortunately we did get a yellow card but we’re a team that’s adaptable and that’s what we did out there and we said no matter what, we’ll have each others backs and I believe we did that.”

Leti-I’iga returned into the starting XV after she sat out New Zealand’s 66-14 thrashing of Scotland. Returning from injury, Leti-I’iga seems to relish these opportunities against England. Her stats don’t deny this, 16 carries, 68 metres gained, five defenders beaten and two line breaks. Plus marshalling some hits on Ellie Kildunne.

When asked what inspired this performance, she said: “I think every time we play each other, we always go up a gear. I think that’s how I felt today. But also returning from injuries is something else. You have a point to prove. You get selected over other girls and I guess you just want to make them proud as well. I’m a real family oriented person, so when I’m going to out there, I just play for my family.”

Looking ahead to the remaining fixtures in WXV Global Series, the Black Ferns now head home after being on the road for the past month. They’ll play France across three home fixtures, the first at the FMG Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday 17 October, the second at the Semenoff Stadium in Whangarei and the third at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday 31 October.

It’ll be a different game to facing the world champions at Twickenham. Having beaten France in Lyon in the opening weekend 28-14, that confidence will be in the back of their mind. But Les Bleues are a mercurial beast, with a style upon themselves.

Leti-I’iga was confident going forward: “We want to dominate collisions first to allow that KBA game [Keep Ball Alive]. And we know how France play there, I guess, what you would call it, a team who’s very loose, and that’s their style of playing. So if we can get our dominant collisions right we’ll be able to stop those.”