No such thing as easy

FPC Premiership Final and Round 2 of WXV

One of my most infamous moments as a Farah Palmer Cup player happened off field. I was in the changing sheds at Eden Park, about to run out against Auckland and our coach was giving a pre-match speech. He was saying something about how Auckland had gone down to some team we had beaten earlier in the season. So this match, he reckoned, should be easy.

I honestly didn’t even realise I was speaking out loud when I said,
“There’s no such thing as easy.”

It was the most silent of silences as he turned to fix on me, asking simply “What?”

Realising now that the words hadn’t been said inside my head, I repeated myself.
“There’s no such thing as easy in this grade.”

Frustrated, he asked if I wanted to take the pre-match speech. My internal dialogue now fully functional was screaming “YES!” but I knew I’d already gotten way offside.
I apologised. We went out and got comprehensively beat.

I understand that it’s a fine balance in sport. Of ensuring respect but not reverence of an opponent. We have to always bring a player and their team back in touch. We have to believe that the game is there in front of us to be played. That nothing is pre-written. No defeat. No victory.

That belief in and of itself has been the crucial piece of the Black Ferns enduring success. We believe we can win. Even when our opposition has had more matches, more resource, more consecutive wins. We believe nothing is decided, except our belief in ourselves.

But in the opening round of the WXV, we believed we would win. That slip of surety was our downfall. There’s no such thing as easy in this grade. The Black Ferns just learnt that the hard way.

The loss to Ireland is best summarised by my twitter pal JC (Yes I’m still on twitter and just like it was for me at the beginning, this is basically just because of the women’s rugby community there). Despite having a very bot-like twitter handle, JC has actually spent a lot of time working, thinking and advocating for Irish women’s rugby. Like me, this means he isn’t necessarily well liked by his national union. Which only makes me like him more.

The good news is, the Black Ferns are fast learners. We live our lessons and tend not to repeat them. The fact that we have to learn the same lessons every world cup cycle is frustrating but also indicative of the churn. Had we had a single woman from our rugby community in the coaching box, it’s hard to see us treating the Irish so casually. We all carry the hurt of 2014. It’s a gnarled thick scar over an otherwise beautiful World Cup record.

Just like in 2014, it’s not like the Black Ferns starting lineup was bereft of talent. Yes, they had made 7 changes from the team that went down by 12 to England but one of these was bringing the more experienced Ruahei Demant back into the drivers seat. For me, it wasn’t really the team we started with but the team we benched that spelt trouble.

Think back on the match against USA in the Pacific Four series last year. You know the one where our halfback, Iritana Hohaia, was red carded after 3 minutes. Back when a red card meant a player down for the whole game. The Black Ferns went into that halftime trailing behind against a team that would have believed they can beat. What was the difference though? Those reinforcements they had waiting. The two tries that won back the lead came from two replacements.

Allan Bunting as head coach, let them live that lesson but then let experienced heads get them out of trouble. It was a great example of a whole squad effort. One that no doubt instilled a lot of strength in the side. By contrast, there was no safety net on the bench against Ireland. Instead, more players who like those in the starting lineup, those desperate to prove themselves after not getting much game time this season.

It was a recipe for disaster that left an aftertaste of arrogance. Not helped when reporting out of Ireland had our defensive coach seemingly unable to name Ireland’s MVP, Aoife Wafer. This is honestly ridiculous because you only need Google “Good Irish women’s rugby players 2024” and her name comes up.

The only thing going for the Black Ferns right now is the fact that this isn’t 2014. This loss, while deeply regrettable, is not going to knock them out of the Rugby World Cup. Just like the losses on the 2021 Northern Tour, it may knock some sense into us instead.

Here’s where I would break down the changes they’ve made to the team for their match against England. But it’s 4pm Friday and there’s no sign of it. SIGH.

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The draw and NZT for week 2. Note that WXV is actually appearing on Sky but unfortunately only delayed on demand :(

Elsewhere in the WXV, the race for World Cup qualification is only more dramatic. Cassie Siataga can only kick a winner for Samoa so many times. Unfortunately, her luck ran out against Netherlands as they charged down the conversion that would have sured up their second place spot on the table.

Samoa now have to best old rivals Fiji, in order to keep hopes of our first ever women’s World Cup with two Pacific nations alive. I’m sorry Netherlands but I can’t live in this part of the world and wish for anything else.

Netherlands path to qualification requires them to get one over WXV3 favourites Spain before playing Hong Kong China in the last round. Spain are also after a place at the World Cup so will not want to drop this one as they have the flair of Fiji next week.

In WXV2, I am fizzy for the top of the table clash between South Africa and Australia. Tied for competitions points, its the points for and against that is all that separates the two. It’s a massive game for South Africa. The team who only played their first test 20 years ago haven’t faced the Aussies for 10 long years. Sharni Smale scored in that game which is just a fun nod to the longevity of our legends.

South Africa come into this match on five consecutive wins. If they win this, it’ll be their longest ever winning streak. Australia by contrast, come into this match having just broken a losing streak with an important win over Wales. The Wallaroos will want to add to this as they have already stated their goal is to win the second division.

Both these teams tend to score more in the second half. Unfortunately for South Africa, they also concede more in this period. I’m not sure I’ll be setting the alarm for that early. But will watch this one over breakfast instead.

And then there were two. The semi finals last weekend followed the Championship script, with one very lopsided contest and one tight fought upset. Waikato completely decimated Auckland, going into the halftime break 50-7. The second half wasn’t much better and Waikato secured their home final, 69-12.

Meanwhile, up the road in Pukekohe, two late tries give the visitors a chance to play on. This match between Counties Manukau Heat and Canterbury was a classic. A strong start had Canterbury running in 10 points before the Heat hit back with a try of their own. That tit for tat was a sign of things to come. The two team traded tries until finally, in the 71st minute, the home team managed to score twice back to back looking like they were odds on for victory.

But you can never write off a team from Canterbury in the dying minutes of a match. They came back with a chance to level in the 78th minute. That kick went awry but the kick off didn’t. Canterbury turning it over and serging up the field to score on full time. THE DRAMA OF IT ALL!

We now get a final we have seen played in 2020 and 2021. Saturday’s final acts as a tie breaker of sorts with Canterbury winning in 2020 and Waikato 2021. Both of these previous finals were won by less than three points. The round robin match this year was won by just three by Canterbury. So forget what you saw last week and get set for another tight one.

This was a joke I made last week after watching the final and thankfully it was received by Waikato in good faith. The fact remains, the Waikato side does well with James Semple. Those last two finals had him on the coaching staff. They haven’t been back since he came back this year. Surprised, given Semple’s history in the region, that we didn’t see him pick up Crystal Kaua’s role at Manawa.

Had he got this placement I would have felt about it like I do with Fusi here at the Hurricanes Poua. Frustrated on the one hand that we haven’t replaced a woman with a woman but taking solace in the fact that we were at least valuing experience in the women’s game.

BUT ANYWAY! We should all get hype for this final. Sorry to my overseas pals, I honestly don’t think anyone outside of Aotearoa actually appreciates that you want to watch it. Something for Rugby Pass to pick up surely, I would email them about it.

WHAT: Farah Palmer Cup Premiership Final
WHEN: Saturday 5 October, 12.35pm
WHERE: FMG Stadium Waikato or live on Sky Sport 1

With you,
Alice