New Zealand women's national rugby union team

The New Zealand national women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport.[1] The team has won five of the past six Women's Rugby World Cups.

New Zealand
UnionNew Zealand Rugby Union
Head coachGlenn Moore
CaptainLesley Elder
Most capsFiao'o Fa'amausili (53)
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current2 (as of 23 November 2020)
First international
 New Zealand 56 – 0 Netherlands 
(Christchurch, New Zealand; 26 August 1990)
Biggest win
 New Zealand 134 – 6 Germany 
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 2 May 1998)
Biggest defeat
 England 21 – 7 New Zealand 
(Esher, England; 29 November 2011)
World Cup
Appearances7 (First in 1991)
Best resultChampions 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017

They have an 87% winning record in test match rugby, and are the only women's international side with a winning record against every opponent. Since their international debut in 1991, the Black Ferns have lost to only four of the 16 nations they have played in test matches.[lower-alpha 1]

Team's name

The team's nickname combines the colour black and the silver fern, which are iconic New Zealand sporting symbols. For example, the All Blacks is New Zealand's famous men's rugby team, the Black Caps is the men's cricket team, the White Ferns is the women's cricket team, while the Silver Ferns is the national women's netball team.

History

Starting with the inaugural International Rugby Board (IRB)-sponsored Cup in 1998, the Black Ferns won four consecutive World Cups, including the 2002 World Cup in Barcelona, the 2006 World Cup in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and the 2010 World Cup in London, England. Most recently, the Black Ferns have won their 5th World Cup, beating the English team in Belfast on 27 August 2017.[2]

The Black Ferns have participated in most WRWC events since its inauguration in 1991, only missing the 1994 championship in Scotland. They also won the Canada Cup in 1996, 2000, and 2005, and the Churchill Cup in 2004.

Farah Palmer was captain of the Ferns from 1997 to 2005, when she lost her captaincy due to a shoulder injury. That year, she was honoured as International Women's (Rugby) Personality of the Year at the IRB Awards. For the 5th Women's Rugby World Cup in Canada, Palmer fought her way back into the team and again led the it to World Cup victory. After the win, Palmer announced her retirement from the Black Ferns in September 2006.[3]

From 2002 until their last game of 2009, the Black Ferns enjoyed a streak of 24 consecutive test match wins spanning almost 9 years.

While rugby is the most popular spectator game in New Zealand, the Black Ferns have suffered in the past from similar problems to any women's sport: under-funding, lack of support and lack of publicity. The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and IRB have been criticised for not doing more to promote women's rugby, although support is beginning to improve in those organisations, in large part due to the Ferns' successes. The NZRU started funding the Black Ferns in 1995, thus giving a great boost to their game. Accordingly, the Black Ferns have benefitted from being included in NZRU High Performance initiatives. Along with professional coaches the team has had access to professional development resources such as analysis. In more recent times, the team's profile has risen greatly at a grassroots level, due in great part to their string of successes, and it is increasingly seen to be a national team on the same basis as any other.

In January 2010, the Women's Provincial Championship (WPC) came under severe threat after the NZRU announced that the championship series would have to go due to budget cuts. As the championship was a prime builder of training, skill and competition for New Zealand women's rugby, the decision was a shock for players and supporters, including former captain Farah Palmer (especially since it was a World Cup year).[4] NZRU said women's domestic rugby was one of many victims of the tight financial times. They faced a barrage of criticism for their decision, and eventually reinstated the WPC after the Black Ferns won the 2010 World Cup.

The WPC was renamed the Farah Palmer Cup in 2016, in honour of the influential former captain.

In 2018, after the success of New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team, all Sevens and Black Ferns players have been offered semi-professional contracts. They also played the first Test series against Australian Walleroos, which was played on the same night as the Men's Bledisloe Cup Tests.

The 2018 season finished with a 1–1 drawn series against France, with France becoming only the fourth team in the world to beat the Black Ferns. The Black Ferns' loss in the final game of the year ended a 17-month long winning streak and was also the final game for captain Fa’amausili, who retired from international rugby.[5]

In 2019, the Black Ferns won the annual Women's Rugby Super Series for the second time.

New Zealand will host the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup after beating out neighbour Australia for the rights.[6] New Zealand automatically qualified for the 2021 event as host.

Current squad

Squad for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland[7]

Note: Due to the lighter schedule for women's rugby, caps include provincial and international fixtures

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Franchise / province
Toka Natua Prop (1991-11-22) 22 November 1991 16 Waikato
Fiao'o Fa'amausili (c) Hooker (1980-09-30) 30 September 1980 52 Auckland Storm / Auckland
Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate Hooker (1991-10-21) 21 October 1991 20 Counties Manukau
Aldora Itunu Prop (1991-08-28) 28 August 1991 15 Auckland Storm / Auckland
Aleisha Nelson Prop (1990-02-03) 3 February 1990 23 Auckland Storm / Auckland
Sosoli Talawadua Prop (1989-01-30) 30 January 1989 8 Waikato
Eloise Blackwell Lock (1990-12-28) 28 December 1990 32 Auckland
Becky Wood Lock (1987-08-08) 8 August 1987 7 North Harbour Hibiscus / North Harbour
Charmaine Smith Lock (1990-11-15) 15 November 1990 14 North Harbour
Charmaine McMenamin Flanker (1990-05-13) 13 May 1990 14 Auckland Storm / Auckland
Lesley Ketu Flanker (1987-10-01) 1 October 1987 9 Waikato
Rawinia Everitt Flanker (1986-04-09) 9 April 1986 22 Counties Manukau
Sarah Goss Flanker (1992-12-09) 9 December 1992 10 Manawatu
Linda Itunu Number 8 (1984-11-21) 21 November 1984 35 Auckland Storm / Auckland
Aroha Savage Number 8 (1990-03-11) 11 March 1990 28 Counties Manukau
Aotearoa Mata'u Flanker (1997-02-05) 5 February 1997 8 Counties Manukau
Kendra Cocksedge Half-back (1988-07-01) 1 July 1988 42 Canterbury
Kristina Sue Half-back (1987-03-13) 13 March 1987 27 Manawatu Cyclones / Manawatu
Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali First five-eighth (1991-12-02) 2 December 1991 19 Counties Manukau
Renee Wickcliffe Wing (1987-05-30) 30 May 1987 30 Counties Manukau
Carla Hohepa Centre (1985-07-27) 27 July 1985 19 Otago Spirit / Southland
Kelly Brazier Centre (1995-10-28) 28 October 1995 32 Bay of Plenty
Stacey Waaka Centre (1995-11-03) 3 November 1995 11 Waikato
Theresa Fitzpatrick Centre (1995-02-25) 25 February 1995 7 Auckland Storm / Auckland
Chelsea Alley Centre (1992-07-11) 11 July 1992 15 Waikato
Portia Woodman Wing (1991-07-20) 20 July 1991 16 Counties Manukau
Hazel Tubic Fullback (1990-12-31) 31 December 1990 11 Counties Manukau Heat / Counties Manukau
Selica Winiata Fullback (1986-11-14) 14 November 1986 31 Manawatu

Previous squads

Results

The first four games listed below – played at RugbyFest 1990 – are not generally accepted as being internationals by New Zealand authorities. However, in men's rugby it is general practice to award full international status to any games where ONE side considers a game to be an international. As a result all games in that tournament have been treated as full internationals in this article.

Summary

(Full internationals only)

Rugby: New Zealand internationals 1990-
Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Percentage
 Australia 1994 19 19 0 0 100%
 Canada 1991 15 15 0 0 100%
 England 1997 27 18 1 8 67%
 Spain 1998 1 1 0 0 100%
 France 1996 7 5 0 2 71%
 Germany 1998 2 2 0 0 100%
 Hong Kong 2017 1 1 0 0 100%
 Ireland 2014 2 1 0 1 50%
 Kazakhstan 2014 1 1 0 0 100%
 Netherlands 1990 1 1 0 0 100%
 Samoa 2006 2 2 0 0 100%
 Scotland 1998 3 3 0 0 100%
 South Africa 2010 1 1 0 0 100%
 Soviet Union 1990 1 1 0 0 100%
 United States 1990 13 12 0 1 92%
 Wales 1991 4 4 0 0 100%
  World XV 1990 3 3 0 0 100%
Summary 1990 103 90 1 12 87%

Full internationals

See Women's international rugby for information about the status of international games and match numbering.

1990s

[39]
1990-08-26(RF) New Zealand  56–0  Netherlands Christchurch [1/17/1]
[40]
1990-08-28(RF) New Zealand  8–0  Soviet Union Christchurch [2/1/1]
[43]
1990-08-30(RF) New Zealand  9–3  United States Christchurch [3/5/1]
[45]
1990-09-01(RF) New Zealand  12–4   World XV Christchurch [4/1/1]
[47]
1991-04-06 (WC) New Zealand  24-8  Canada Glamorgan Wanderers [5/4/1]
[55]
1991-04-10 (WC) Wales  6-24  New Zealand Llanharan [8/6/1]
[59]
1991-04-12 (WC) New Zealand  0-7  United States Cardiff Arms Park [7/9/2]
[110]
1994-09-02 Australia  0-37  New Zealand Sydney [1/8/1]
[123]
1995-07-22 New Zealand  64-0  Australia Auckland [9/2/2]
[140]
1996-08-31 Australia  5-28  New Zealand Sydney [3/10/3]
[141]
1996-09-08 (CC) Canada  3-88  New Zealand Edmonton [15/11/2]
[143]
1996-09-11 (CC) New Zealand  88-8  United States Edmonton [12/20/3]
[145]
1996-09-14 (CC) France  0-109  New Zealand Edmonton [38/13/1]
[171]
1997-08-13 New Zealand  67-0  England Burnham [14/36/1]
[172]
1997-08-16 New Zealand  44-0  Australia Dunedin [15/5/4]
[194]
1998-05-02 (WC) Germany  6-134  New Zealand Amsterdam [19/16/1]
[202]
1998-05-05 (WC) New Zealand  76-0  Scotland Amsterdam [17/30/1]
[209]
1998-05-09 (WC) New Zealand  46-3  Spain Amsterdam [18/17/1]
[214]
1998-05-12 (WC) England  11-44  New Zealand Amsterdam [46/19/2]
[229]
1998-05-16 (WC) New Zealand  44-12  United States Amsterdam [20/29/4]
[230]
1998-08-29 Australia  3-27  New Zealand Sydney [11/21/5]
[258]
1999-10-16 (T99) New Zealand  73-0  Canada Palmerston North, New Zealand [22/26/3]
[259]
1999-10-19 (T99) New Zealand  65-5  United States Palmerston North, New Zealand [23/32/5]

2000s

[291]
2000-09-23 (CC) Canada  0-41  New Zealand Winnipeg [28/24/4]
[292]
2000-09-27 (CC) New Zealand  45-0  United States Winnipeg [25/35/6]
[294]
2000-09-30 (CC) England  13-32  New Zealand Winnipeg [65/26/3]
[332]
2001-06-09 New Zealand  15-10  England Rotorua [27/76/4]
[333]
2001-06-16 New Zealand  17-22  England North Harbour Stadium, Albany [28/77/5]
[362]
2002-05-13 (WC) Germany  0-117  New Zealand Barcelona [35/29/2]
[371]
2002-05-18 (WC) Australia  3-36  New Zealand Barcelona [15/30/6]
[384]
2002-05-21 (WC) New Zealand  30-0  France Barcelona [31/78/2]
[393]
2002-05-25 (WC) England  9-19  New Zealand Barcelona [85/32/6]
[424]
2003-10-04 New Zealand  37-0   World XV Eden Park, Auckland [33/2/2]
[425]
2003-10-11 New Zealand  38-18   World XV Whangarei [34/3/3]
[464]
2004-06-08 (CC) Canada  5-32  New Zealand Thunderbird Stadium, Vancouver [43/35/5]
[465]
2004-06-13 (CC) New Zealand  35-0  United States Calgary Rugby Park [36/48/7]
[468]
2004-06-19 (CC) England  0-38  New Zealand Edmonton [104/37/7]
[508]
2005-06-29 (CC) New Zealand  30-9  Scotland Ottawa [39/88/2]
[510]
2005-07-05 (CC) Canada  3-43  New Zealand Ottawa [49/39/6]
[511]
2005-07-08 (CC) Canada  5-32  New Zealand Ottawa [50/40/7]
[513]
2005-10-22 New Zealand  24-15  England Eden Park, Auckland [41/114/8]
[515]
2005-10-26 New Zealand  33-8  England Waikato Stadium, Hamilton [42/115/9]
[559]
2006-08-31 (WC) New Zealand  66-7  Canada Ellerslie Rugby Park, Edmonton [56/43/8]
[565]
2006-09-04 (WC) New Zealand  50-0  Samoa St. Albert Rugby Park, St. Albert [44/10/1]
[571]
2006-09-08 (WC) New Zealand  21-0  Scotland Ellerslie Rugby Park, Edmonton [45/98/3]
[577]
2006-09-12 (WC) New Zealand  40-10  France Ellerslie Rugby Park, Edmonton [46/110/3]
[588]
2006-09-17 (WC) England  17-25  New Zealand The Brick Field, Edmonton [124/47/10]
[645]
2007-10-16 New Zealand  21-10  Australia Cooks Gardens, Wanganui [48/23/7]
[646]
2007-10-20 New Zealand  29-12  Australia Wellington [49/24/8]
[717]
2008-07-22 Australia  3-37  New Zealand Canberra [25/50/9]
[718]
2008-07-26 Australia  16-22  New Zealand Sydney [26/51/10]
[777]
2009-11-14 England  3-16  New Zealand Esher [151/52/11]
[780]
2009-11-21 England  10-3  New Zealand Twickenham [152/53/12]

2010s

[837]
2010-08-20 (WC) New Zealand  55-3  South Africa Surrey Sports Park, Guildford [54/20/1]
[844]
2010-08-24 (WC) Australia  5-32  New Zealand Surrey Sports Park, Guildford [29/55/11]
[848]
2010-08-28 (WC) New Zealand  41–8  Wales Surrey Sports Park, Guildford [56/134/2]
[857]
2010-09-01 (WC) New Zealand  45–7  France Twickenham Stoop [149/57/4]
[858]
2010-09-05 (WC) England  10-13  New Zealand Twickenham Stoop [168/58/13]
[917]
2011-11-26 England  10-0  New Zealand Twickenham, London [179/59/14]
[918]
2011-11-29 England  21-7  New Zealand Esher [180/60/15]
[919]
2011-12-03 England  8-8  New Zealand Esher [181/61/16]
[961]
2012-11-23 England  16-13  New Zealand Esher [191/62/17]
[963]
2012-11-27 England  17-8  New Zealand Aldershot Military Stadium [192/63/18]
[964]
2012-12-01 England  32-23  New Zealand Twickenham [193/64/19]
[1000]
2013-07-13 New Zealand  29-10  England [65/199/20]
[1001]
2013-07-16 New Zealand  14-9  England Waikato Stadium, Hamilton [66/200/21]
[1002]
2013-07-20 New Zealand  29-8  England ECOlight Stadium, Pukekohe [67/201/22]
[1046]
2014-06-01 New Zealand  38-3  Australia Rotorua International Stadium [68/32/12]
[1048]
2014-06-10 New Zealand  90-12  Samoa Eden Park, Auckland [69/18/2]
[1049]
2014-06-10 New Zealand  16-8  Canada Tauranga [70/102/9]
[1050]
2014-06-14 New Zealand  33-21  Canada Whakatane [71/103/10]
[1057]
2014-08-01 (WC) New Zealand  79-5  Kazakhstan CNR, Marcoussis Pitch 2 [72/59/1]
[1067]
2014-08-05 (WC) New Zealand  14-17  Ireland CNR, Marcoussis Pitch 1 [73/128/1]
[1073]
2014-08-09 (WC) New Zealand  34–3  United States CNR, Marcoussis Pitch 1 [74/98/8]
[1076]
2014-08-13 (WC) New Zealand  63–7  Wales CNR, Marcoussis Pitch 1 [75/161/3]
[1083]
2014-08-17 (WC) United States  5–55  New Zealand CNR, Marcoussis Pitch 1 [100/76/9]
[1114]
2015-06-27 (SS) Canada  22 – 40  New Zealand Calgary [109/77/11]
[1115]
2015-07-01 (SS) New Zealand  26 – 7  England Calgary [78/224/23]
[1117]
2015-07-05 (SS) New Zealand  47–14  United States Ellerslie Rugby Park, Edmonton [79/103/10]
[1159]
2016-10-22 New Zealand  67-3  Australia Eden Park, Auckland [80/40/13]
[1160]
2016-10-26 New Zealand  29-3  Australia QBE Stadium, North Harbour [81/41/14]
[1165]
2016-11-19 England  20–25  New Zealand Twickenham Stoop, London [238/82/24]
[1168]
2016-11-23 Canada  10–20  New Zealand Donnybrook, Dublin [116/83/12]
[1172]
2016-11-27 Ireland  8–38  New Zealand UCD Bowl, Dublin, Ireland [145/84/2]
[1194]
2017-06-09 New Zealand  28–16  Canada Westpac Stadium, Wellington [85/120/12]
[1197]
2017-06-13 New Zealand  44–17  Australia Rugby Park, Christchurch [86/43/15]
[1200]
2017-06-17 New Zealand  21–29  England Rotorua International Stadium [87/247/25]
[1206]
2017-08-09 (WC) New Zealand  44-12  Wales Billings Park UCD, Dublin [88/179/4]
[1211]
2017-08-13 (WC) New Zealand  121–0  Hong Kong Billings Park UCD, Dublin [89/37/1]
[1217]
2017-08-17 (WC) Canada  5-48  New Zealand Billings Park UCD, Dublin [125/90/13]
[1226]
2017-08-22 (WC) New Zealand  45-12  United States Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast [91/114/11]
[1234]
2017-08-26 (WC) England  32-41  New Zealand Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast [252/92/26]
[1241]
2018-08-18 Australia  11-31  New Zealand ANZ Stadium, Sydney [50/93/16]
[1242]
2018-08-25 New Zealand  45-17  Australia Eden Park, Auckland [94/51/17]
[1270]
2018-11-03 United States  6–67  New Zealand Chicago [116/95/12]
[1273]
2018-11-09 France  0–14  New Zealand Toulon [224/96/5]
[1280]
2018-11-17 France  30–27  New Zealand Grenoble [225/97/6]
[1322]
2019-06-29 (SS) Canada  20–35  New Zealand Chula Vista, San Diego [113/98/14]
[1324]
2019-07-03 (SS) United States  0-33  New Zealand Chula Vista, San Diego [99/120/13]
[1325]
2019-07-06 (SS) France  25-16  New Zealand Chula Vista, San Diego [232/100/7]
[1332]
2019-07-14 (SS) New Zealand  28-13  England Chula Vista, San Diego [101/271/27]
[1339]
2019-08-10 Australia  10–47  New Zealand Optus Stadium, Perth [54/102/18]
[1342]
2019-08-17 New Zealand  37–8  Australia Eden Park, Auckland [103/55/19]

Other internationals

[-]
2009-11-17 England A  3-48  New Zealand Esher [-/-/-]

See also

List of women's international rugby union test matches – the most complete listing of all women's international results since 1982.

Notes

  1. They are England, France, Ireland and United States.

References

  1. "Sport, Fitness and Leisure". New Zealand Official Yearbook. Statistics New Zealand. 2000. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2008. Traditionally New Zealanders have excelled in rugby union, which is regarded as the national sport, and track and field athletics.
  2. rugbybworldcup.com. "Womens Rugby World Cup 2017". www.rwcwomens.com.
  3. "Farah Palmer announces retirement". Archived from the original on 28 October 2006. Retrieved 2 December 2006.
  4. Cleaver, Dylan (23 January 2010). "Rugby: NZRU plan 'will kill women's rugby'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  5. "Black Ferns fall to France in second test". Newshub. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  6. "New Zealand to host 2021 Women's World Cup". The New Zealand Herald. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 19 November 2018.
  7. "Black Ferns squad for 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup named". All Blacks. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2017.

Further reading

  • Curtin, Jennifer (2016). "Before the 'Black Ferns': Tracing the Beginnings of Women's Rugby in New Zealand". The International Journal of the History of Sport. 33 (17). doi:10.1080/09523367.2017.1329201.
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