Black Ferns by the Numbers at the Rugby World Cup

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The Black Ferns had three players in the top five for most points at the Rugby World Cup. They were Portia Woodman (35), Renee Holmes (35) and Ruahei Demant (31). England back Emily Scarratt was top points scorer with 44. She was also top point scorer in the 2014 tournament. Caroline Drouin from France scored 41.

Portia Woodman was the top try scorer at the World Cup with 7. Woodman has scored 38 tries in 24 Tests. Ruby Tui was the next best try scorer with five. 

Amy Cokayne scored a hat-trick against the Black Ferns for the second consecutive time.

First-five and captain Ruahei Demant made 64 runs and 18 offloads in the tournament. 

The Black Ferns scored 268 points, two less than England.

The Black Ferns scored 44 tries and kicked 21 conversions. England scored 43 tries and kicked 20 conversions at the tournament to underline how little there was between the teams.

The Black Ferns made 91 offloads; France was second with 75. England registered 33 times.

Chelsea Bremner, Georgia Ponsonby, Joanah Ngan-Woo, Kendra Cocksedge and Maia Ross played every game for the Black Ferns. 

The Black Ferns kicked the ball 73 times the whole tournament, England and France kicked the ball 64 times alone in their match on October 15.

The Black Ferns didn’t lose a lineout in the final and won 46/53 lineouts in the tournament. England won 90 out of 96 lineouts, including 16/18 in the final.

England missed 36 tackles to 13 in the final. 

Sarah Hirini topped the Black Ferns individual tackle count in the final with 10. 

Black Ferns fullback Renee Holmes ran for 114 metres in the final, the most by anyone in the match.

Kendra Cocksedge retires after a Black Ferns record 68 Tests. She won 54 of those Tests and scored a record 404 points. She was the only survivor from the 2010 World Cup win against England and one of six survivors from 2017.

Wayne Smith won 12 matches in a row as Black Ferns coach. Jed Rowlands won 15 Tests in a row between 2003 and 2006. His last match was the 2006 World Cup final, won 25-17 against England in Edmonton in 2006. 

Black Ferns Assistant Coach Wes Clarke has been involved in 43 Black Ferns Tests. He helped the Black Ferns win the World Cup in 2017 and 2021 and has been involved in 36 Test wins. 

The Black Ferns have scored 40 or more points in 24 of their 38 World Cup Tests.

The Black Ferns have won 13 World Cup Tests in a row stretching back to a 14-17 loss to Ireland in 2014. Their overall record is 36-2. They have scored 1764 points and conceded only 323.

The Black Ferns have scored 289 World Cup tries, but only kicked 143 conversions.

Theresa Fitzpatrick hasn’t lost in 18 Test matches. Anna Richards won 27 Test matches in a row.

Ruahei Demant has captained the Black Ferns to 11 consecutive Test victories which ranks her third on the all-time list for most wins as a Black Ferns Test captain. Farah Palmer and Fiao’o Fa'amausili each won 29 Tests.

The Black Ferns have won 98 out of 115 Test matches, including 19 in 30 Tests against England.

The final broadcast in New Zealand on Three produced a 64.9 per cent share of viewers aged between 25-54 for the night – an all-time record for Three. 

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