Black Fern Mererangi Paul attempts to slide through the English defence the last time the two sides met in 2023. Photo: Alex Leech / www.photosport.nz
The Black Ferns have tunnel vision this week as they prepare to take the field against one their biggest rivals at an iconic venue in front of a what could be a record-breaking crowd.
The world's top two ranked women's rugby sides, England and New Zealand, will go head-to-head on Sunday (NZT) at Twickenham Stadium.
With a capacity of 82,000, Twickenham is the largest purpose-built rugby stadium in the world. The 117-year-old stadium is often referred to as 'the home of rugby'.
The Black Ferns and England have met there three times before, with the Red Roses victorious on every occasion. Last time the two sides played there was in 2012.
In the intervening 14 years, the Black Ferns have changed coaches several times and had a complete turnover of their squad.
Tony Christie. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Tony Christie joined the Black Ferns as an assistant coach in 2023 and was on board when the Red Roses beat New Zealand 33-12 last year at the inaugural WXV 1 tournament in Auckland.
Christie said facing the world number one side on their home turf would be a different experience for not only the playing group but also Allan Bunting's coaching team.
Most in the Black Ferns camp had never played or coached in a stadium where more than 50,000 people are predicted to be watching on.
"It's going to be an awesome occasion to get that many fans in obviously one of the biggest stadiums in the world to show what we can do and the brand we want to play, I think, will not only grow our fan base but also be a memory for our players and management for their life."
The iconic Twickenham Stadium. Photo: Photosport
Getting a game at Twickenham this year was also an opportunity for the Black Ferns to do a bit of a trial run for what they might face next year in a Rugby World Cup final at the same venue.
Christie does not know if the Black Ferns will be overwhelmed by the occasion on Sunday.
"You never know until that first whistle goes but where our group is at currently there's real excitement to play England compared to the last time where there was a little bit of feeling of a bit more nerves when we played them at home whereas this time I can just feel in the group there is a real excitement to go and play at Twickenham and put our best foot out there."
The four times the Black Ferns have played this year were three big wins in excess of 40 points against USA, twice against Australia, and one close loss by three points to Canada.
However, New Zealand's record against England in the last five years has been mixed. New Zealand won the Rugby World Cup in Auckland in 2022 by three points but lost twice in 2021 after a win in 2019.
"In our camp we're really realistic of where we're at, what we need to get better at and the internal competition in our [intra-squad] games means we're playing at a Test match level."
Christie said not much had changed in the way the team would play since their last outing in the O'Reilly Cup.
Kaipo Olsen-Baker stretches out for the chalk. Photo: Photosport
"Our DNA remains our foundation of how we want to play the game and we've got a unique style so we're continuing to evolve that but also developing some balance in our game to play the game in right areas through kicking chase lines and emphasis on counter attack."
With a focus on the game against England this week, Christie said not much discussion had taken place amongst the coaching group about how they would split game time for the 30-player squad as they head straight from Twickenham into the next edition of the WXV 1 competition in Canada and games against Ireland, England and France.
The four-game tour was seen as a good way to prepare to defend the Rugby World Cup title.
"While we will look at just England this week and focus on Ireland post that it definitely does give us that preparation of a little mini world cup which will be invaluable for next year."