Black Ferns' Mererangi Paul reflects on 'big year' ahead of WXV Global Series

Clinical. The word that can be heard on repeat as the Black Ferns prepare to face France in Hamilton on Saturday in the first of three WXV Global Series Tests this October.

While the Black Ferns pushed the 2025 Rugby World Cup Champions England to the brink at Twickenham in September, there’s a sense they threw it away.

Amy du Plessis literally did with the clock in the red when her pass was intercepted by Zoe Harrison with the score level at 19-19. Earlier, England had made 188 more tackles than the visitors, with Mererangi Paul scoring a try in the 70th minute to tie the scores.

But to highlight du Plessis’ error as the entire reason for defeat would be unfair. By scoring a try and creating that 70th minute strike for Paul, she put the Black Ferns in a winning position. Indeed, had her pass gone to Mererangi Paul on her outside right, the result could have been very different. Paul is one of the best finishers in the game with 20 tries in 21 Tests.

“Clinical. We’ve had that drilled into us,” Paul told RugbyPass.

“We know what our individual role is, how to do it, so it’s up to us to nail it. If we all get it right as individuals, we’ll nail it as a team.”

Accuracy was the biggest factor in the Black Ferns’ 28-14 win over France in Lyon in their WXV Global Series opener. Pragmatically, the Black Ferns played territory and prevailed.

In the 46th minute, Paul scored a try from a textbook line-out drive started by Georgia Ponsonby and Liana Mikaele-Tu’u.
“The forwards were great; driving mauls, stopping mauls, putting pressure on,” Paul acclaimed.

“I thought the forwards were going to go all the way on my try. Instead, the ball came out, and Brax [Braxton Sorenson-McGee] popped it to me and I got over in the corner.

“We’ve previewed France. They’re fast and unpredictable. You have to be physical and on edge.”

France weren’t flash against New Zealand. Remarkably, they were even worse a week later against Australia.

In one of the most chaotic Tests ever at the Stade Maurice David in Aix-en-Provence, France were hit with four cards in 20 minutes as Ambre Mwayembe, Lea Champon, and Lea Murie were all binned for high tackles.

Mwayembe’s was upgraded to a 20-minute red before Chloe Correa got a straight red for eye-gouging in the maul.

Yet down 19-0, France found a way to score three tries in the last 19 minutes to narrowly win 29-26, even after a delay to the second half due to a nearby burning bus that caused thick black smoke across the area.

Emilie Boulard, a brilliant counterattacking fullback who won the 2021 World Rugby Try of the Year Award, sparked the resurgence.

Canada were expected to beat France at the end of September after holding England to a 26-26 draw. Instead, France shut Canada down with a passionate, disciplined, clinical defensive stand to win 21-5.

Boulard scored two tries, Charlotte Escudero, who is absent from the New Zealand tour, made 21 tackles, the line-out worked efficiently, and France kicked 31 times to control territory.

“That’s the French, right,” Paul laughed.

“You never know what you’re going to get.”

The Black Ferns and France have met 14 times since 1996, with New Zealand holding a 9-5 advantage. Their only two previous matches in New Zealand were decided by a single point.

In the 2022 Rugby World Cup semi-final at Eden Park, the Black Ferns won 25-24. The following year in Wellington, France won 18-17. Midfield back Gabrielle Vernier, another player set to be a vital figure in this series, carved up in the Black Ferns’ first defeat in 16 Tests.

Paul’s first international against France was a 39-14 win in Vancouver in 2024. She performed strongly, though opposite winger Katelyn Vaha’akolo scored three tries. Paul was unlucky to miss the 2025 Rugby World Cup, as she was injured just before selection.

In 2026, she was recalled for the Pacific Four Series in April. In new coach Whitney Hansen’s first Test, she scored three tries for the second time against the USA in a 48-15 win in Sacramento. She touched down again in the Black Ferns’ dominant 36-14 win against Canada in Kansas, which was their first meeting since Canada knocked the Black Ferns out of that World Cup.

Though her form was excellent for Chiefs Manawa in Super Rugby Pacific 2025, she moved to the Blues in 2026, scoring three tries in seven games and winning a title.

“It’s been a big year. We started the season with Black Ferns, then went into Aupiki and are now back into Test mode again,” Paul said.

“There hasn’t really been a break. For me personally, that’s been a good thing. I haven’t had much time to think about or do anything else. It’s allowed me to focus exclusively on my game and grow areas that weren’t as strong.”

Meanwhile, the first Test between the Black Ferns and France was held in 1996 in Edmonton in Canada. The Black Ferns won 109-0 and winger Vanessa Coutts scored a world record nine tries in a Test.

However, a try she didn’t score provided one of the funniest stories in women’s rugby history. Coutts, a scorer of 43 tries in 16 Tests, including five in the Black Ferns 44-12 victory over the USA in the 1998 Rugby World Cup Final, takes up the tale.

“I burst from inside our own half and had no one in front of me heading to the line. I remember hearing these trampling feet behind me.

“It was our halfback Kelly Kiwi right there behind me in support. She was hell-bent on keeping up. I got to the 22, and Kiwi was still there. I thought, alright, here you go, and she dropped it.”