Match Report: Black Ferns v South Africa, Rugby's Greatest Rivalry
The two sides played out a match that mirrored last year's World Cup meeting.
Despite four yellow cards (15 against 13 at one stage) and a 17-7 penalty count, the Black Ferns found a way to prevail 52-20, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, the largest venue to hold a women’s rugby international.
They were pummelled in the scrums, conceding four penalties and struggled to defend the lineout drive, conceding two tries from that source.
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Remarkably, however, when the Black Ferns were reduced to 13 players, they outscored the hosts two tries to nil.
Fast Start Boosts Black Ferns
The Black Ferns started rapidly. A muscular maul forced South Africa to drag it down inside the 22. A quick tap followed, and the Springboks were stretched, with openside Elinor-Plum King going in unmarked to score.
At Soweto's altitude, the pace was brisk early. After an exhausting passage of play, Hannah King fielded a clearance kick at the ten-meter mark in her own territory and delivered a spiral pass to Braxton Sorenson-McGee. She saw a splintered defensive wall, shimmed past two tacklers, and sprinted 55 meters.
Sorenson-McGee was winded in the act of scoring. Hannah King slotted the conversion, making it 12-0 in as many minutes. This contrasted with the Rugby World Cup quarter-final where the Black Ferns made 95 of the first 98 tackles. Eleven of the starting XV for the Springboks were involved in that match.
South Africa imposed their will for the first time in the 13th minute. Solid phase play earned a penalty, followed by a brutal lineout drive from the five-metre mark. South Africa’s most-capped hooker, Lindelwa Gwala, scored her 18th Test try in 42 Tests.
At times, South Africa demolished the Black Ferns scrum. Their lineout wasn’t always reliable. Twice, chances were squandered.
In the 28th minute, Black Ferns winger Mererangi Paul was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on. From the penalty, South Africa secured the lineout and the Black Ferns retreated, pushed back 15 meters. Pressed against their line, second five Aphiwe Ngwevu barreled ahead. Sylvia Brunt looked to have stopped the try, but the television match official ruled a clear grounding. Ngwevu has scored 17 tries in 35 Tests.
The Black Ferns were at their most polished just before the interval. A 50 metre angled burst by Ayesha Leti-I'iga was only halted inches short. South Africa infringed and from the quick tap penalty loosehead Chryss Viliko barged through two for her fifth try in 24 Tests.
With the ball in play and moving quickly, South Africa was reeling. Sorenson-McGee cantered in for her 17th try in 11 Tests after swift interplay between forwards and backs. It was 24-10 at halftime.
Things turned pear-shaped six minutes after the break. Hooker Georgia Ponsonby was sin-binned in the 45th minute, with Leti-I'iga following a minute later. South Africa’s maul and scrum Kryptonite. Lock Vainah Ubisi barged over for a try.
Strong Finish & Bench Impact
Instead of imploding, the Black Ferns rallied. In the 51st minute, South Africa tried to shift to the space. A fumble occurred inside their own half. Lock Maama Vaipulu made a strong run from the scrum. At the next ruck, Maia Joseph jinxed and hooped into a gap, crossing for her third try in 21 Tests.
Ahead 31-15, the Black Ferns were unlikely to be passed. Joseph kept the tempo high, and a short pass on the Springboks' 22 saw Elinor-Plum King fend off a defender and zip 15 meters.
Hooker Atlanta Lolohea, outside back Justine McGregor and Amarante Sititi were the picks of an impactful bench. Amarante charged through for a 73rd-minute try and almost completed a 40-metre break. Her older brother Wallace played for the All Blacks later in the day against South Africa. They are the first brother-sister combination to play a Test on the same day since Annaleah and Xavier Rush against Australia in Sydney in 1998. The Black Ferns won 27-3; the All Blacks lost 14-19.
The Black Ferns' try to bring up a half-century was a beauty. Justine McGregor made an impactful carry and linked with Paul, who, after more twists than a Takapuna Pilates class, delivered a deft offload to lock Vaipulu.
South Africa had the last say: Ubisi crossing for her 10th try in 28 Tests. Ponsonby (15), Liana Mikaele-Tu'u (14), Maia Roos (13), Mia Anderson (12), Vaipulu (11), and Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu (10) were forced into double-digit tackle figures for the Black Ferns. Woman of the match Elinor-Plum King had eight tackles and a turnover to complement her strong carrying.
South Africa captain and redoubtable tighthead prop Babalwa Latsha: “ The girls fought incredibly hard; our defensive sets were tested tremendously. We got some reward at the scrum. We keep building from here.”
Black Ferns co-captain Geogira Ponsonby: “It’s a huge privilege to lead this team; at the end of the day, there are so many leaders in this team. They all stepped up. South Africa really brought it. They dominated in the set piece. This was a huge test for us; we needed that. It wasn’t pretty at times, but we stuck in there and scored some cool tries.”
Zoe Naude (South Africa) refereed in her fifth Test.
Since 2022, South Africa have achieved 27 of their 45 all-time victories. The Black Ferns have won 120 of 145 Tests, including their last six in a row. The Black Ferns' next assignment is France in Lyon on September 13. It is the first Test in the WXV series.
Match Scoring Summary
Black Ferns: 52 (Elinor-Plum King 2, Braxton Sorenson-McGee 2, Chryss Viliko, Maia Joseph, Amarante Sititi, Maama Vaipulu tries; Sorenson-McGee 5, Hannah King cons) South Africa: 20 (Lindelwa Gwala, Aphiwe Ngwevu, Vainah Ubisi 2 tries) HT: 24-10
