Ruahei Demant hails Black Ferns’ ‘selflessness’ after 62-point blitz

Black Ferns captain Ruahei Demant has explained how Katelyn Vaha’akolo’s four-try haul showed the “selflessness” of the team during their 62-nil demolition of the Wallaroos at Brisbane’s Ballymore Stadium.

Vaha’akolo was recognised as World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year last October after jumping codes from rugby league and then showing signs of promise. But the dual international took things to an all-new level on Sunday afternoon.

With plenty of support from fans in the stands at the well-known rugby venue, New Zealand’s No. 11 may have had her best outing yet in the famed black jersey Vaha’akolo put on a show with two tries in both halves, including a stunner 60 seconds after the half-time break.

Less than 60 seconds into the second-half! 🤯#LikeABlackFern #NZLvAUS pic.twitter.com/MC9dnq3cDp

— Black Ferns (@BlackFerns) July 14, 2024

But perfection is almost impossible to obtain in sports. The Blues Women’s Player of the Year came within inches of a first-half hat-trick before dropping the ball over the try line – later crediting the defensive pressure from Australia’s Biola Dawa.

Vaha’akolo joked about that effort and how it could’ve been one of five tries on that sunny afternoon, but in truth it doesn’t take away from the speedster’s five-star performance and the effort from Black Ferns as a collective.

“We were talking about KV, some of us, after the game,” Ruahei Demant told reporters.

“We’re saying that our favourite tries are when wingers score because we know that they’re team tries and everyone’s doing their little bit to see our outsides dotting down in corners.

“It’s cool to see KV score heaps of tries because it shows the selflessness and the things that we’re working on, not just as a 15 but as a big squad, are coming together.”

But for all the praise Vaha’akolo and the rest of the New Zealand backline deserve after their masterful display, it’s about time we hear it for the forward pack. Their work up front set the tone for the Test, and the pack reaped the rewards with some tries as well.

Georgia Ponsonby and Layla Sae both crashed over for the first two tries of the night, while lock Alana Bremner was among those who weren’t afraid to throw the ball around. The work of those wearing jerseys one to eight went a long way to delivering this result.

“We were solid at our set-piece and there’s always a little bit of room to improve that,” Director of Rugby Allan Bunting explained.

“Then our bench came on to raise the bar, too, which was really pleasing. Really happy with our D today… the areas of our game that we really wanted to grow.

“It was pleasing to see some shifts.”

The Black Ferns have now won three of four Test matches this year, with the only blip on their record being a shock defeat to Canada in Christchurch during World Rugby’s Pacific Four Series.

But the New Zealanders showed some resilience and character to bounce back the way they have in two Laurie O’Reilly Cup clashes with Australia, with both matches going their way by utterly dominant margins.

While the Black Ferns were rightfully all smiles after their most recent win over the Wallaroos, their attention will shift to what could be their most important Test of the year. Next up, New Zealand will take on England’s Red Roses at Twickenham on September 14.

“It is important to see what we’re doing is moving in the right direction,” Bunting added.

“We’re going to Twickenham in a few months’ time and we’re really excited about that. That’ll be the next challenge.

“But the way the ladies are going at the moment, they’re really excited about how we’re playing. That’s where we focus for now and obviously, World Cup… after that.”