Top five performers from Round 3 of the 2026 Pacific Four Series

Almost as soon as it started, the 2026 Pacific Four Series has finished, with New Zealand’s Black Ferns claiming their fourth title.

It took a 40-5 win over Australia’s Wallaroos at Sunshine Coast Stadium for the team to begin life under the guidance of Whitney Hansen with a piece of silverware.

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 runners-up, Canada, pushed the six-time world champions right to the final moments as they crushed the USA Women’s Eagles 50-12 in Chicago as they scored five tries in 16 second half minutes.

Who were the performers of the week in the final round of the 2026 Pacific Four Series?

Amy du Plessis (Black Ferns)

A classy display from the centre in her 25th Test match. She opened the scoring in the fourth minute with her ninth international try. She ranked in the top five for carries [11], meters gained [116], linebreaks [two], and tackles [11].

Her exchange of passes for one of Ayesha Leti-I’iga’s two tries was delightful. Leti-I’iga has scored seven of her 21 Test tries against Australia.

Maia Roos (Black Ferns)

An indispensable part of the Black Ferns pack, Roos has featured in 41 of the last 44 Tests and won 30 times. She was the Black Ferns’ chief supplier of lineout possession, ranked in the top five for tackles with nine and was her usual dependable self.

In Premiership Women’s Rugby for Trailfinders Women, she is the league’s most efficient lineout stealer with 1.0 steals per 80 minutes [ranked first] and seven total steals this season [ranked second].

Pacific Four Series

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

New Zealand Women

3

3

0

0

15

2

Canada Women

3

2

1

0

10

3

USA Women

3

1

2

0

5

4

Australia Women

3

0

3

0

0

Desiree Miller (Australia)

A lively display by the Wallaroos winger with 10 carries for 137 meters and three linebreaks. Miller is arguably the best finisher in Australia. She has scored 16 tries in 26 Tests and 11 tries in the past two Super Rugby W seasons for the champion Waratahs.

Michaela Leonard (Australia)

The industrious lock forward has played in 46 of a possible 48 Test matches, passing prop Ashley Masters to become the most-capped Wallaroos player in history. Whoever replaces interim coach Sam Needs will have Leonard as a prominent part of their plans.

She secured the most lineout possession against the Black Ferns, with the Wallaroos outperforming them in this facet of the game. She made seven tackles and ranked among the top five for defenders beaten.

“We’ve got to give credit to New Zealand,” Leonard said after Australia’s defeat. “They’re a world-class team for a reason, and they definitely outperformed us. But there are glimpses of positives. We’ve done really well to put together a performance with the little time that we’ve had.”

Gabby Senft (Canada)

The USA Women’s Eagles were competitive for a half against Canada, who took things to another level in the second. A major part of Canada’s success was their steamroller lineout drives.

Senft won six lineouts, while also completing 20 tackles and nine carries in a full-throttle display.  The 28-year-old currently plays for Saracens in PWR and has also previously played Super Rugby W for the Queensland Reds.

She ranks inside the top twenty of the competition for tackles [149], carries [94], and lineout catches [31].

Claire Gallagher (Canada)

It was a prolific outing for the full-back against the USA as she scored two tries and kicked five conversions for an individual haul of 20 points. Despite being embarrassingly fended off by the Black Ferns in Round 2, she enjoyed a fine individual series.

She topped the meters carried count in Canada’s last two matches and her two linebreaks resulted in tries against the USA. Canada has beaten the USA 30 times in 49 Test matches and scored more than 50 points on four occasions.