YORK, England — New Zealand began the defence of their Women’s Rugby World Cup crown with a 54-8 over Spain on Sunday.
While the score line suggests a relatively comfortable afternoon for the Black Ferns, it was anything but with the 7,458-strong crowd treated to an entertaining afternoon of rugby.
Spain matched New Zealand’s physicality and made it difficult for the defending champions with a host of small wins throughout the first half.
Their goal-line defence was resilient and they played smart rugby, choosing the right moments to kick and when to run the ball.
A try from Ines Antolinez Fernandez on the 80-minute mark earned by far the biggest cheer of the afternoon with Spanish and neutral fans delighted.
Monica Castelo produced 22 tackles while Alba Campbell and Lourdes Alameda got through a mountain of work at the breakdown where Spain had good success at times.
While the Black Ferns didn’t truly look like conceding in the first half, they will have been frustrated with some handling errors that halted their rhythm and prevented more tries.
Sevens star Jorja Miller got New Zealand moving with a quick-fire double, the first coming on the left-hand side after some nice footwork left the Spanish defence floundering.
She used her out-and-out pace for the second after Braxton Sorensen-McGee found her in space on the right wing.
Player of the match Liana Mikaele-Tu’u added a third for the Black Ferns, charging over from close range. All three first-half tries were converted from he boot of Renee Holmes.
Coach Allan Bunting made sweeping changes at the break, with Ruahei Demant, Kaipo Olsen-Baker, Risaleaana Pouri-Lane, Laura Bayfield all coming on and the bench made an immediate impact, bringing energy and direct rugby to the second-half.
Ayesha Leti’-I’iga and Georgia Ponsonby added two mores within ten minutes of the restart and the Black Ferns had their bonus point.
Olsen-Baker’s, afternoon — and potentially tournament — was cut short with what appeared to be an ankle injury. The 23-year-old was stretchered off in tears after 50 minutes.
However, the crowd soon had something to cheer about, with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe coming on and scoring her first try of the campaign.
Leti’-I’iga nabbed a double before also being forced off through injury, while Theresa Setefano capped off the scoring for New Zealand.