When New Zealand\u2019s director of performance Allan Bunting took to the mic to sing a rendition of Dua Lipa\u2019s hit \u2018Levitating\u2019 at Manurewa intermediate school, the Black Ferns\u2019 last stop before travelling to England for the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup, he was not only making headlines but perpetuating the champions\u2019 message for the tournament: be brave.<\/p>\n
Bunting has been putting himself out of his comfort zone in the lead-up to the competition, on another occasion performing a Haka in front of his players and staff. His karaoke turn caught the team\u2019s attention with the wing Ayesha Leti-I\u2019iga, who scored two tries in the World Cup final in 2022<\/a>, cracking up laughing when asked about it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like that family member who embarrasses you, that was that moment,\u201d Leti-I\u2019iga says, chuckling. \u201cBut I\u2019m also not surprised he does things like that from out of nowhere.<\/p>\n \u201cHe leads by his actions and we speak a lot about courage in our team. What that looks like is having honest conversations with each other and also having courage to try things on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n The song choice was also apt with the team hovering above many others as one of the favourites to win the final on 27 September, alongside the hosts, England, and Canada. The Red Roses\u2019 unblemished record since the 2022 final, when New Zealand won 34-31, has been impressive, but the Black Ferns are a consistent thorn in England\u2019s side at World Cups.<\/p>\n New Zealand have won the tournament six times, beating England in five finals. While their record since that 2022 final has been imperfect \u2013 won 12, lost six and drawn one of 19 Tests \u2013 they often seem to come good come at the World Cup.<\/p>\n Ruby Tui, a World Cup winner and Olympic champion, says: \u201cWhen it comes to the World Cup and the Black Ferns it\u2019s just a history that is like a movie every time. It is just crazy. Tournament rugby is a different beast to Test match footy and you can get so in your head subconsciously without you even knowing. The last World Cup we were not going to lose. There are some things that are just written and it was just written. No matter how good you are, what your game plan is, we were always going to win that World Cup.<\/p>\n Allan Bunting, the Black Ferns\u2019 director of performance, has been singing karaoke for players and staff. Photograph: Jack Thomas\/World Rugby\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cThis World Cup I feel like we\u2019ve really got to lock in. It has been a bit rocky but they need to find their thing that is going to make it written in the stars and undeniable.\u201d<\/p>\n One such factor could be the return of Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who came out of international retirement in April, returning at the Pacific Four in New Zealand\u2019s 27-27 draw against Canada, then scored seven tries against the USA in a 79-14 win on the Black Ferns\u2019 route to the trophy. Those tries took her beyond 200 points for her country and gave her the all-time top try scoring record, overtaking Vanessa Cootes\u2019s tally of 43. Woodman-Wickliffe now has 48 tries in 28 games.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n The three-times World Cup winner Kendra Cocksedge says Woodman-Wickliffe brings more than just tries. \u201cWords can\u2019t really describe Portia,\u201d Cocksedge says. \u201cShe isn\u2019t human I don\u2019t believe. It\u2019s like we say with Richie McCaw, she is the same. She is literally the GOAT of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you know Portia, she just loves the team environment. She just seems like a fine wine, just getting better with age. She is an absolute freak out there, she is a powerful athlete. She is good to have in your environment and culture as well. So it\u2019s not just on field, it\u2019s what she brings off the field too.\u201d<\/p>\n Woodman-Wickliffe also adds another layer of experience. Kelly Brazier will compete at her fourth World Cup, while Theresa Setefano and Stacey Waaka will play a third. But the team is spliced with new exciting talent, too, among them the 18-year-old Braxton Sorensen-McGee and the Sevens star Jorja Miller.<\/p>\n Both have the potential to be breakout players of the tournament but Sorensen-McGee has particularly impressed in her short international career. She won her first cap in May, scoring two tries on debut. Now Cocksedge is backing the teenager to starti in the majority of games at the tournament, saying: \u201cShe is so talented. She is definitely one to watch, she is young and she could open it up.\u201d<\/p>\n The Black Ferns are hitting their stride but teams such as England will present a tough challenge to their bid for a third consecutive World Cup trophy. \u201cBlack Ferns,\u201d Tui says, laughing, before the question of who will win has finished being asked. \u201cI can\u2019t not back them. No matter what, no matter the logic that comes out, it\u2019s the Black Ferns. My heart is always going to be the Black Ferns.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When New Zealand\u2019s director of performance Allan Bunting took to the mic to sing a rendition of Dua…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85160,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-85159","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85159"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85159\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85160"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}