Black Ferns player ratings v Red Roses | WXV Global Series 2026

New Zealand were seconds away from taking England to a second draw in as many weeks and significantly denting the Red Roses’ pride in front of almost 59,000 fans at Allianz Stadium.

The fact that they didn’t was only down to their ambition to win, and to play the occasion in the spirit everyone wanted to see. That can only be applauded. They ultimately went down 26-19.

For the first 40 minutes and for periods in the second half, they had England on the rack. A yellow card to Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu in the second half had a significant impact on the match and swung the Test in England’s favour.

But the Black Ferns are bubbling along to be the formidable foe to the Red Roses that the game needs them to be.

15 Braxton Sorenson-McGee – 7

New Zealand’s World Cup revelation 12 months ago had a decent game at Allianz Stadium but the few cracks she has in her game were exposed by England. She missed a tackle on Ellie Kildunne for England’s first try and her kicking out of hand was a little wayward. Always a danger on the ball however.

14 Mererangi Paul – 6

Paul was a lively presence on the wing for New Zealand and seems very hard to stop when she cuts back off her right foot. Nicely taken try and she did her best to make the conversion easier for Sorenson-McGee.

13 Amy Du Plessis – 7

What an afternoon of contrasts for Du Plessis. From the highs of her solo chip-and-chase try to seeing Zoe Harrison pick off her pass and win the match for England. She was under immense pressure from Claudia Moloney-Macdonald as she played that pass so it should be seen as a forced error as New Zealand – to their great credit – went for broke.

12 Sylvia Brunt – 6

Brunt made sure she delivered front-foot ball for New Zealand whenever she could. A handling error here and there but amongst a very crowded midfield, Brunt and Du Plessis combined well.

11 Ayesha Leti-I’iga – 8

Leti-I’iga always looked the most likely player to break the English line. An early ‘try’ was ruled out for not releasing the ball after the TMO ruled that Marlie Packer had successfully completed a tackle on her but she continued to be a menace and ran a super support line for New Zealand’s second. A world-class threat throughout the match.

10 Hannah King – 7

Controlled the match brilliantly in the first half as New Zealand bossed England around their own patch. Her break to set-up Leti-I’iga’s try was a lovely sight. But went missing at times in the second-half, although her scoring pass for Paul’s score was exquisite.

9 Maia Joseph – 8

Joseph was a very assured presence at scrum-half who always seemed to make the right choice of which forward to pass to as New Zealand pierced England’s fringe defence time after time in phase play.

1 Chryss Viliko – 8

New Zealand’s front row lead the charge into England and Viliko shouldered more than her fair share of heavyweight carries around the fringes. Gave nothing away in the scrum when New Zealand were at a full complement.

2 Georgia Ponsonby – 9

On her 45th cap, Ponsonby was New Zealand’s heartbeat. Her carry tally must have entered the 30s and she hit her mark at the lineout nearly every time. A towering performance.

3 Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu – 8

A yellow card on her 11th cap at an influential point in the game shouldn’t diminish an excellent performance. It was the kind of incident that might have happened to anybody in a Test match environment. Very strong in the carry and in every tight exchange that she entered.

4 Maia Roos – 8

The most experienced Black Fern on the field become ever-more central to her country as the game went on, none more so than when New Zealand went down to 14. Only Meg Jones [her team-mate at Trailfinders last season] knocked her back in the tackle.

5 Laura Bayfield – 7

Bayfield was a late withdrawal ahead of facing Scotland last weekend due to illness but she fired on all cylinders against England. Lineout ticked over smoothly and her choice on the gainline of whether to carry hard or pass was usually correct.

6 Liana Mikaele-Tu’u – 6

Had to make way temporarily after the yellow card to Mahutariki-Fakalelu and New Zealand missed her grunt up front. Didn’t star like Olsen-Baker but put in the type of shift we became accustomed to for Harlequins last season.

7 Elinor-Plum King – 6

As well as some telling runs, King was part of a back-row effort which matched England’s at the breakdown, and that is no small achievement, especially given her opposite number was a turbo-charged Marlie Packer.

8 Kaipo Olsen-Baker – 9

Routinely punched holes in England’s defence and her appetite for the fight never waivered. The scrap she got into with Meg Jones and Marlie Packer was all par for the course for a blockbuster No.8.

Replacements – 7

New Zealand’s second line mostly slotted in superbly to the tempo of the Test match. Santo Taumata had a near impossible task of stabilising the scrum after the yellow card, just as England brought on Maud Muir and Hannah Botterman, so the backwards direction of the scrum at that point was not down to her. Scrum-half Tara Turner provided zip and faultless decision making from the from the ruck after her entry.