Black Ferns
France W
S. Tuliau-Tua'a (11', 49'), B. Sorensen-McGee (17'), M. Robinson (56'), M. Paul (66'), V. Green (76')
Tries
M. Mailagi (39')
B. Sorensen-McGee (18', 57'), H. King (77')
Conversions
C. Arbez (40')
This one said more about control than chaos. The Black Ferns didn’t win it with fireworks from minute one; they won it by parking France in their own half, nailing their own set piece and trusting their phase game to cash in once the resistance thinned. When you own the territory, throw at 94% and keep winning clean ball, six tries tend to follow.
For France Women, the match told a harder truth. An excellent scrum couldn’t hide a broken lineout and a defence that fell off 30 tackles. Under a roof that rewarded accuracy, their 7-from-12 lineout made exits a lottery and launch plays a rarity. You can’t play without the ball, and when you get it, you need to stick your first job. They didn’t.
The contest turned early around the set piece. With Georgia Ponsonby rock-steady and the calling slick, New Zealand kept feeding themselves clean platforms. They didn’t need to force it: kick long, squeeze the chase, wait for the throw to wobble. It did, repeatedly. That territory squeeze (63% occupation) created a scoreline they sat on for 71 minutes and, crucially, the psychological leash that kept France’s attack hemmed in and hurried.
Match Stats
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
From there, the backs did the cutting. Phase speed and width exposed a passive French line; 162 carries and nine clean breaks underlined how often the Black Ferns were on the front foot. Shyrah Tuliau-Tua’a finished twice out wide, the second just after half-time when France were still trying to convince themselves they were in it at 12–7. Braxton Sorensen-McGee had the kind of full-back shift coaches love: assured in the backfield, smart off the boot to pin corners, and sharp on the counter for her first-half try and a pair of conversions.
It wasn’t only the starters. Vici-Rose Green came on for Ponsonby, kept the darts straight and was on the end of a late movement to score; that bench hooker scoring and throwing clean tells you plenty about the accuracy. Maddi Robinson muscled over to stretch the gap in the third quarter. Mererangi Paul added another. When a side is this dominant in occupation and can keep the ball alive with tempo, the tries can come from different shirts without any real shift in pattern.
This wasn’t flawless New Zealand. The scrum bobbled to 83% and 17 turnovers is a number they’ll want down. Tuliau-Tua’a’s yellow card on 63 minutes handed France a lifeline they simply didn’t take. That passage summed up the night: even against 14, France couldn’t string phases because the lineout either handed ball back or sent them away with messy possession. The Black Ferns then closed with 75% possession and a 7–0 split in the last 10 minutes, executing the sort of chokehold you apply to finish a team off.
Individual direction mattered too. Ruahei Demant managed the middle third of the pitch with the kind of discipline this game demanded, resisting the urge to overplay and repeatedly asking France to exit cleanly under pressure. That they couldn’t was also down to how well New Zealand’s chase lines worked; the back three boxed the backfield and forced hurried clearances. Behind a settled pack and with Whitney Hansen sticking with continuity, the decisions matched the plan.
France’s bright spot was the scrum: 11 from 11, with Assia Khalfaoui steady and Ambre Mwayembe working hard around the field in her return. But scrums were islands in a sea of defending. 197 tackles attempted tells you the workload; 30 misses tell you the fatigue and spacing issues that followed. Inside centre Elodie Fernandez carried with some intent, but clean breaks were almost non-existent. Their lone strike — Maïlys Mailagi just before half-time, converted by Carla Arbez — came against the run and never felt like a trend-changer because the next restart put them straight back under the pump.
Does 36–7 flatter New Zealand? If anything, it’s kind. Three conversions from six leave points out there, and they turned down shots at goal because they didn’t need them. The shape of the game — six tries to one, near-total control of where it was played, and a closing quarter that suffocated any flicker of response — reflects the gulf on the night. France’s rotation and absences through the tour were real, but the basic jobs still have to be done. A 58% lineout won’t cut it at this level, and the tape will be unforgiving on defensive connectivity.
What next? For New Zealand, the sweep over France caps a year that’s shifted the dynamic in that rivalry. The template here — territory first, set-piece certainty, then strike — is repeatable, though the scrum and discipline blips are the week-one meeting notes for 2027. The late call-up of Ngano Tavake after Santo Taumata’s setback also hinted at depth that can survive a bump. For France, this finale under the new Christchurch roof should sharpen focus rather than spark excuses: fix the throw, tidy the spacing, and give your ball-players a platform. Until that lineout holds, they’ll keep living off scraps against the best.