Jack Tame: Win or lose, the Black Ferns have been a joy to watch

Last weekend’s semi-final was one of the most exhilarating, desperate, thrilling rugby games I’ve ever seen in my life. It felt chaotic. Totally unpredictable.

The French dominated at the breakdown. The New Zealanders played at such a tempo, lunging and scrambling and hurling the ball wide. God, it was exciting.

After 80 minutes, you’d have to say agree, no team deserved to lose that game. But the best teams will take every flicker of good fortune they can muster.

And so tonight, the Black Ferns contest the final.

I’ve told you before about my past experience with the women’s sevens rugby team. It was eight years ago in Brazil, when the team had just been formed to compete on the World tour. I flew down and spent a week living and working with them in Rio de Janiero. Because rugby sevens was to become an Olympic sport, and because there was now a Women’s World’s Series to contest, New Zealand Rugby had started investing in women’s rugby in a way they hadn’t before. Still, back then, few Kiwi rugby fans would have known the players’ names.

I was only there for a week, but by living, and eating, playing cards and even exercising with the team, I had a really special insight into a group of young women would be soon be stars.

They were captained by a workhorse called Sarah Hirini. They had a star winger called Portia Woodman and a young smartass cracking jokes in the locker room and putting gangsta’ rap on the stereo, called Ruby Tui. They were young. They were very fresh. But already you could sense extraordinary potential.

That team won Sevens World Champs after Sevens World Champs, but when it came to the Rio Olympics, they had to settle for silver. It was a tough experience. I was there at the Olympic Park that night in 2016, watching the match slip from their hands. They didn’t deserve to win but nonetheless it was very emotional.

But you might also remember how it ended for the Sevens Sisters. Five years later at the Tokyo Olympics, they turned it around. Five years of graft, separation from their families, and Covid-19 disruption, and they did it. They were the darlings of New Zealand’s Olympic team, and they returned home with gold medals swinging from their necks.

Sarah Hirini, Portia Woodman, and Ruby Tui will all start tonight.

This game is different, I get that. England are the dominant team in World rugby. Their forwards are incredible. And most obviously, this is a game of fifteens, not rugby sevens.

But finals are decided by moments. And perhaps even more valuable than form, is a team’s capacity to respond to pressure. This will be the biggest crowd to ever watch a women’s rugby match. And pressure does funny things. No matter what happens, nice to know that within that amazing Black Ferns squad, there are players who’ve been there and done that.

I don’t need to state the obvious but I will anyway. Win or lose, the Black Ferns have been a joy to watch throughout this World Cup. Their humanity as individuals makes them far more fun to support than the men. They don’t hesitate to show emotion. For their sake, tonight, I really hope it’s joy.

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