In 2023 France ended the Black Ferns’ 16-match winning streak with an 18-17 victory in the opening round of WXV 1. Can the Black Ferns reverse recent history and snap their current slide of three consecutive defeats?
Match Details: Black Ferns v France, Sunday October 13, 11:45am NZT, BC Place, Vancouver. Watch LIVE on Sky Sport in New Zealand.
Referee: Sara Cox (England)
Assistant Referee 1: Julianne Zussman (Canada)
Assistant Referee 2: Kristine Lovatt (Canada)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Note: Sara Cox will referee this fixture for the second time. In 2018 the Black Ferns ran out 14-0 winners in Toulon. With 41 Tests the English official is currently the joint most-capped female match official in history alongside Aimee Barrett Theron (South Africa). New Zealand suffered their first defeat in seven matches with Cox as referee in round one with the 29-27 loss to Ireland at BC Place. France have nine wins in 14 Tests with Cox on the whistle.
Black Ferns Determined to Finish Strong
The Black Ferns have made five changes from the side that was beaten 49-31 by England on Monday. Chryss Viliko and Tanya Kalounivale drop to the bench and are replaced by loosehead prop Kate Henwood and tighthead prop Amy Rule in the starting front row.
Dynamic loose forward Layla Sae is given a rare opportunity to start at openside, with Co-Captain Kennedy Tukuafu named on the bench. Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and Kaipo Olsen-Baker remain unchanged at blindside and No.8 and will be looking to carry on their exceptional form.
Iritana Hohaia will start this tour for the first time, combining with Hannah King in the halves. The only other change to the backs is Mererangi Paul replacing Renee Holmes at fullback. Utility back Patricia Maliepo comes into the reserves for her first appearance of the tour.
The Black Ferns have lost three games in a row for only the second time in their history and a sixth defeat in seven outings to France could see the world champions drop to WXV 2. Hooker Georgia Ponsonby insists the group is still tight despite the recent struggles.
“It’s obviously been tough. Three losses in a row is not what we came here to achieve.
“But the way we’ve come together as a group, united and have had tough reviews, we flush it and move on to the next week.
“This tour has been everything we’ve needed. We don’t get a lot of games. It’s been so good to get hard competition and see where we stand against these teams.
“Without this tournament, we wouldn’t know that. It’s cool to have a line in the sand, that’s where we stand against England, we’re not there yet.”
The Black Ferns scored 31 points against England, the most they have scored in a Test without winning the game. The Black Ferns' five tries came from just seven visits into the Red Roses’ 22. England scored nine tries - the most New Zealand have conceded in a Test match. The Black Ferns lead the French 6-5 in all matches.
Unpredictable France
France avoided suffering four straight defeats for the first time since 1997-98 with a 22-14 victory over USA last weekend. Lina Queyroi’s early penalty and co-captain Marine Ménager’s try - her sixth of the year - with half an hour gone saw France establish an 8-0 half-time lead. That advantage was stretched to 22-0 after 48 minutes thanks to tries from Romane Ménager and Teani Feleu, and two conversions from Queyroi.
France was then hard on defense for the remainder of the contest ending the match with a total of 215 tackles, the highest match total across all three levels of WXV 2024. France have struggled to retain possession consistently and statistically have the worst set-piece in the competition.
Still, France can do a lot with little. When France conquered New Zealand in Wellington last year the French made 210 tackles and scored all their points in the first 45 minutes. Émilie Boulard and Cyrielle Banet crossed for tries inside the first 20 minutes and Morgane Bourgeois kicked two penalties and a conversion.
France has a settled line-up with the same front row in four consecutive Tests. There are two changes to the France starting line-up from the USA encounter - one personnel and one positional. Sevens star Séraphine Okemba will make her first Test start after three appearances of the bench. Her selection at blindside means a return to No.8 for Romane Ménager with Teani Feleu dropping to the bench. The Ménagers Romane and winger Marine are believed to be the first set of twins to score in the same test match on two separate occasions
France co-coaches Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz have opted for a six-two split on the bench with forward Hina Ikahehegi and scrum-half Alexandra Chambon the new faces this weekend. France knows it will have to bolster its faltering set-piece to compete.
France lost to Canada 46-24 in the opening round of WXV 1. France finished runners-up to England for a fourth consecutive Six Nations after losing 42-21 to the Red Roses in the title decider in Bordeaux. France conceded more points in that match than in any of the previous four combined (37). France offloaded the most of any team in the Women’s Six Nations (72) and had the most success in stealing breakdown ball (23).
Teams
Black Ferns (1-15): 1. Kate Henwood (7), 2. Georgia Ponsonby (26), 3. Amy Rule (26), 4. Alana Bremner (24), 5. Maia Roos (28), 6. Liana Mikaele-Tu'u (25), 7. Layla Sae (10), 8. Kaipo Olsen-Baker (8), 9. Iritana Hohaia (13), 10. Hannah King (6), 11. Katelyn Vahaakolo (13), 12. Ruahei Demant (40, Co-Captain), 13. Sylvia Brunt (20), 14. Ayesha Leti-I'iga (23), 15. Mererangi Paul (11)
Reserves: 16. Atlanta Lolohea (4), 17. Chryss Viliko (9), 18. Tanya Kalounivale (17), 19. Maama Mo'onia Vaipulu (4), 20. Kennedy Tukuafu (26, Co-Captain) (Co-Captain). 21. Maia Joseph (7), 22. Patricia Maliepo (9), 23. Renee Holmes (21)
France (1-15): 1. Yllana Brosseau (15), 2. Agathe Sochat (55), 3. Assia Khalfaoui (26), 4. Manae Feleu (20, Co-Captain), 5. Madoussou Fall (33), 6. Séraphine Okemba, 7. Emeline Gros (36), 8. Romane Ménager (65), Pauline Bourdon Sansus (60), 10. Lina Queyroi (16), 11. Marine Ménager (51, Co-Captain), 12. Gabrielle Vernier (48), 13. Nassira Kondé (14), 14. Cyrielle Banet (29), 15. Chloé Jacquet (21)
Reserves: 16. Élisa Riffonneau (11), 17. Ambre Mwayembe, (13), 18. Rose Bernadou, (16), 19. Hina Ikahehegi (2), 20. Axelle Berthoumieu (16), 21. Téani Feleu (6), 22. Alexandra Chambon (24), 23. Lina Tuy (6)