‘We’ve got a job to do’: Black Ferns target World Cup bronze final win

New Zealand are putting “everything they can” into their last week at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, as they look to end their campaign on a winning note. After last week’s semi-final defeat to Canada, the Black Ferns will face France in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

After winning the top prize in women’s rugby at the last two World Cups, the Black Ferns’ reign as champions has come to an end. In this weekend’s final at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, either England or Canada will earn the right to call themselves the best of the best.

Both teams are unbeaten in 2025, but the dominance of the Red Roses goes back further, as they’ve won 62 of their last 63 Tests. This final will be played in front of about 82,000 fans as part of a World Cup double header, with the bronze playoff kicking off at midday.

Black Ferns captain Kennedy Tukuafu after defeat to Canada

Black Ferns captain Kennedy Tukuafu after defeat to Canada

The Black Ferns and France are left chasing bounce-back wins to end their campaigns abroad, having fallen short of the final with heartbreaking defeats. New Zealand mounted a comeback during their loss to Canada, and the French made it difficult for England to progress.

You could feel the emotion in the post-match press conference room last week as co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu and Director of Performance Allan Bunting spoke. The 34-19 loss hurt the Black Ferns, and they’re intent on returning to winning ways at the World Cup.

“It’s really important that we reflect on the result and that it hurts, there’s a feeling that you let people down, but we can’t focus on that now; we let it play up for a day or two but now we’ve got a job to do,” assistant coach Steve Jackson told reporters on Tuesday.

“We want to leave this tournament only losing one game, although a very, very important game. I suppose the beauty about making a semi-finals that you get another opportunity to play, and I know this group will put in everything they can.

“You always want to do that whether you’re a player, coach or a part of the management team. We’ve done that in a lot of areas, not necessarily always on field, but off the field they can be extremely proud,” he added.

“The people back home can be extremely proud of the way this group have handled themselves. We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we’ve got an opportunity to finish this tournament on a high.”

In the lead-up to the last two matches at the World Cup, World Rugby announced the nominees for two prestigious awards this week. Sophie de Goede and Megan Jones are up for Player of the Year, and Fiji’s Josifini Neihamu is one of three in the mix for 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Black Ferns flanker Jorja Miller has been nominated for both honours, after making a successful transition to 15s from the HSBC SVNS Series. Miller is the reigning SVNS Series Women’s Player of the Year, having helped New Zealand take out the Series title in Los Angeles last season.

Along with Miller and Neihamu, New Zealand’s Braxton Sorensen-McGee is in the running for the breakthrough award. At just 18, Sorensen-McGee has scored 12 tries in just eight matches, which includes nine tries in five World Cup appearances.

“It’s fantastic, they’ve done extremely well this year,” Jackson explained.

“Brax’s first time in the 15s, still only a young player and the confidence and the potential that she’s shown throughout this tournament has been something special and Jorja, she speaks for herself the way that she plays and the way she handles herself.”