{"id":111217,"date":"2025-09-01T17:01:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T17:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/111217\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T17:01:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T17:01:08","slug":"i-get-my-confidence-from-the-people-around-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/111217\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I get my confidence from the people around me’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Black Ferns secured their place in the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup<\/a> quarter-finals with a decisive 62-19 victory over Japan at a sold-out Sandy Park in Exeter.<\/p>\n

Despite facing a heavy defeat and missing 41 tackles, Japan showed significant improvement compared to their previous encounter with the Black Ferns, where they were soundly beaten 95-12 at Eden Park in Auckland in 2022.<\/p>\n

Black Ferns full-back Braxton Sorensen-McGee shone at Sandy Park, delivering a player-of-the-match performance that included three tries and four conversions. The 18-year-old from Auckland exudes a quiet confidence that comes from her natural talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get my confidence from the team, my family, and the people around me,\u201d Sorensen-McGee told Rugby Pass. \u201cMost of my tries were handed to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sorensen-McGee played for the championship-winning Blues Super Rugby Aupiki team alongside Black Ferns teammates Ruahei Demant<\/a>, Katelyn Vahaakolo, Sylvia Brunt<\/a>, and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe. She expressed her gratitude for being surrounded by more experienced players.<\/p>\n

Woodman-Wickliffe scored her 50th try in just her 30th Test for the Black Ferns, becoming the first New Zealand female player to reach this milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s my favourite Portia try? Ah, all of them,\u201d Sorensen-McGee laughed. \u201cThe way she creates space for everyone and herself is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to her scoring, Sorensen-McGee displayed her goal-kicking prowess, successfully slotting four conversions. She has been mentored by former British and Irish Lion Riki Flutey, who assists the Black Ferns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to have him. He\u2019s the best goal kicker I know. He knocks them over in practice all the time without even looking like he\u2019s trying,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Japan showcased their skills with a varied kicking game and effective lineouts. \u201cThe little chips over the top, they got most of them back. Most of the things they brought, we expected,\u201d Sorensen-McGee commented.<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s head coach, Lesley McKenzie, who played 25 Tests as a hooker for Canada, including in the 2006 and 2010 Rugby World Cups, was impressed with Sorensen-McGee.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s brilliant to watch. As a rival coach, it\u2019s hard to say, but she\u2019s a pleasure to watch with great balance, speed, and skills,\u201d McKenzie stated.<\/p>\n

With only 400 registered female rugby players in Japan, many of whom are forced to play with boys due to a lack of resources, they equipped themselves bravely. Japan boasted a lineout that rivalled any in the competition, winning 17 compared to the Black Ferns\u2019 10, showcasing powerful mauling and creating opportunities for their backline.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we could get them there,\u201d McKenzie said of the Black Ferns\u2019 lineout.<\/p>\n

Mark Bakewell, who has extensive experience in the Premiership and France, is a forwards coach recommended by Eddie Jones. \u201cHe does a fantastic job. Lineout play is not typically a strength of our game, but we\u2019ve made real strides there,\u201d McKenzie added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Black Ferns secured their place in the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a decisive 62-19 victory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-111217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}