'One of the great experiences of my life': Smith 'proud' after RWC triumph
The Black Ferns’ World Cup triumph is an incredible story of redemption and resilience, as the team dared to dream under the brilliant tutelage of rugby guru Wayne Smith.
Smith, who won two World Cups with the All Blacks as an assistant coach, has undoubtedly cemented his legacy as one of the greatest rugby minds of all time after last night’s thrilling final.
When Smith was named as the new head coach of the Black Ferns in April, he faced an almighty challenge six-months out from a World Cup on home soil.
The Black Ferns had visited England and France on their end-of-season tour the November before, where they lost all four Test matches by emphatic margins.
New Zealand were beaten 43-12 in Exeter by the Red Roses, before losing again the week after 56-15 in Northampton – they faced an incredible challenge ahead of the sports premier event.
After years of dominance England had asserted their dominance over women’s rugby and appeared to be clear favourites to win the World Cup, while the form guide didn’t exactly favour New Zealand.
But with super coach Smith at the helm, the Black Ferns exceeded expectations to not only qualify for the final, but to defend their title.
A record-breaking attendance record of 42,579 packed the stands at New Zealand’s home of rugby for the decider, which Smith later described as “one of the great experiences of my life.”
“I was the head coach of the Crusaders. We were up here and won in ’98 against all odds against the champion Blues team. No one gave us a chance, I don’t think many people gave us a chance today,” Smith told reporters after the 34-31 win.
“This will go down as one of the great experiences of my life, like I love these women, I love what they’ve had to do to get there.
“I’ve got a great group of coaches here and everything they put into it these women buy into, and they go out and they provide it on the field.
“Whether we’re up or down they keep being true to what we’re trying to do. It’s not just me, I’ve got great coaches, I’ve got great girls.
“This is one of the great experiences of my life.”
While the World Cup proved to be a ground-breaking tournament for women’s rugby, what the Black Ferns did to inspire the country of New Zealand will be felt for years to come.
Playing in their World Cup opener against traditional rivals Australia at Eden Park, the women in black were spurred on to a famous win by a passionate and vocal kiwi crowd.
After scoring 209 points in their first four matches, the Black Ferns faced their toughest test of the cup so far against France.
But by this stage of the tournament, if it wasn’t already, the stadium of five million was in full voice – with the Black Ferns sneaking into the final by one-point after a thrilling Test.
Their sixth World Cup title. ??????
Remarkable.#RWC2021 #BlackFerns pic.twitter.com/tcexyzh8hT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 12, 2022
The final was another back-and-forth clash against World No. 1 England, but the hosts managed to hang on to win 34-31.
The team had revolutionised their game under super coach Smith, and hoisted the World Cup in triumph in front of more than 40,000 passionate supporters – a feat which seemed unlikely last November.
“I said to the team this morning I love them, I’m proud of them, I’ve never been more proud of a team,” Smith said.
“At the end of the day I didn’t really care today win or lose, it’s better to win than lose but we just wanted to go out there and play and be true to our DNA and what we’ve been trying to do.
“I’m not going to stay involved but I’ll be following these women for the rest of their careers. It’s not just the 23 that ended up on the field today, we have some I think global superstars in the other nine.
“Honestly there are so many good kids coming through in women’s rugby that it’s unbelievable, and I just think the futures great. I’m going to be following them but from a different position.”
Co-captain Ruahei Demant said Smith has helped give the playing group the “courage to play different” since he’s taken over as head coach.
“I actually remember the first camp Smithy came to, and I think the first night of the first camp we had a kicking strat session and it was the complete opposite to what I had individual been told,” Demant said.
“I remember when Smithy introduced himself to us and he said that he’s never followed the heard, and he always does things differently and that’s exactly the type of coach he is.
“I think the hardest challenge for us as players wasn’t the skill stuff, it was the mindset stuff. He challenged us.
“He definitely doesn’t do things by the book so that’s the greatest influence that Smithy has had on our team and the players that they selected throughout all our campaigns this year have shown that courage, the courage to play different.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments