Vaha'akolo's hat-trick helps Black Ferns bounce back against France

Katelyn Vaha’akolo's hat-trick of tries has helped the Black Ferns to a 39-14 victory over France — their first and only victory of the WXV1 competition — in Vancouver today.

The left wing, guilty of several defensive lapses in New Zealand’s humbling at the hands of England in the competition recently, was outstanding on both sides of the ball as the Black Ferns ran in seven tries at BC Place.

Vaha’akolo finished brilliantly for two tries on the left and went over untouched from a superb set piece lineout move, but also tackled well. Her scramble when getting back to tackle France No.8 Romane Menager and win a turnover in almost the same movement was particularly impressive.

The other outstanding figure was hooker Georgia Ponsonby, for her workrate, ball carrying, and general set piece accuracy.

“I thought we showed a lot of heart in our defence and tackles, particularly from our outsides,” co-captain Ruahei Demant said afterwards.

New Zealand, leading 20-14 at halftime, contained France brilliantly in the second half.

Going into this Test, the French had won five of their last six matches against New Zealand, the only blip coming in the Rugby World Cup semifinal at Eden Park which the home side won by a point, so this is a significant victory for a side searching for form and confidence ahead of next year’s defence in England.

The comprehensive victory also snapped a three-match losing streak.

Demant, again playing outside No.10 Hannah King at second-five, added: “I thought we had a really good balance with our running game and kicking game.”

She was right – after defeats to Ireland and England, New Zealand had a far better balance to their attack and France struggled to cope with the ball sent behind them by the Black Ferns’ playmakers.

New Zealand’s bench also made a considerable impact, particularly up front, and the front rowers’ input in the second half allowed the Black Ferns, who had an impeccable lineout throughout, to put enormous pressure on France’s scrum.

The Black Ferns also had a far better disciplinary record — conceding only six penalties to France’s 18, a record that included a second-half yellow card shown to flanker Seraphine Okemba for head-on-head contact with Kennedy Tukuafu in a tackle. It could conceivably have been a red for its lack of obvious mitigation.

After running out to a 10-0 lead thanks to tries for wings Vaha’kolo and Ayesha Leti-I’iga, France came back with a converted score for flanker Emiline Gros but lock Alana Bremner quickly replied with a try from close range.

A mistake from No.10 King, who kicked a goalline drop out into touch on the full, put further pressure on the Black Ferns, with France taking advantage of a then dominant scrum to go over via lock Menae Feleu.

With New Zealand holding a one-point advantage as halftime approached they elected to take a scrum rather than kick a relatively easy penalty — surprising perhaps until they unveiled a stunning blindside move which put Vaha’akolo over in the left corner.

It was after the break that New Zealand put the Test beyond reach by knocking the stuffing out of France with two converted tries within eight minutes — one for Vaha’kolo from an exquisite lineout move and another for the rampaging No.8 Kaipo Olsen-Baker.

The insertion of tighthead prop Tanya Kalounivale in the second half added to New Zealand’s dominance — France’s scrum going backwards at a rate of knots and Kalounivale being rewarded with a deserved try.

France, who failed to consistently threaten the Black Ferns on attack — perhaps on account of the vastly improved defensive effort from Allan Bunting’s women — were close to scoring a third try with time almost up but New Zealand’s tryline defence was outstanding.

And that, as much as anything, should be a reason for celebration as New Zealand work towards their World Cup defence which starts in England next August.

Black Ferns 39 (Katelyn Vaha’akolo 3, Ayesha Leti-I’iga, Alana Bremner, Kaipo Olsen-Baker, Tanya Kalounivale tries; Hannah King 2 cons)

France 14 (Emeline Gros, Manae Feleu tries; Lina Queyroi 2 cons)

Halftime: 20-14