Black Ferns 42

France 26

The Black Ferns have finished on a high.

After crashing out of the Rugby World Cup title hunt in the semifinals, the New Zealand side beat France 42-26 in the playoff for the bronze medal.

For all the disappointment last week, the performance against France was much more akin to what Allan Bunting’s side were capable of – at least for 60 minutes of the contest. And as for the bronze medal match being tagged as the match no one wants to play by fans and pundits, the Black Ferns embraced one more opportunity to perform in this cycle.

The closure of the Black Ferns’ World Cup campaign brings with it some questions about what the next cycle might bring. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who came out of retirement to help their cause this year, was teary-eyed on the sideline after being replaced in the 57th minute. The statuses of Georgia Ponsonby, Alana Bremner and Amy Rule for 2026 are all up in the air as they head to England to play in the 18-round Professional Women’s Rugby competition which runs into June. Coaching roles are up for renewal.

In a test where both sides were playing with the freedom of teams with nothing to lose, that played right into the Black Ferns’ wheelhouse. Playing with more decisiveness and conviction than they displayed against Canada, they were not shaken by the early French pressure. Eventually, things started flowing for the New Zealand side and they put points on the board quickly.

After a shaky outing against Canada, fullback Renee Holmes was back to her best in a player of the match performance, winger Braxton Sorensen-McGee again showed her finishing ability, Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu-Atai’i Sylvia Brunt was smart with ball in hand, while Jorja Miller constantly pressured the breakdown looking to turn the ball over.

It was far from a perfect outing. Defensively they were ripped open several times, with several missed first-up tackles and France finding space behind the Black Ferns’ defence with some smart chip kicks. In the final 20 minutes, the French gave the Black Ferns a taste of their own medicine, backing themselves with ball in hand and scoring tries in quick succession to cut into what was a massive deficit at that point.

With the win, the Black Ferns hold on to their spot at No 3 in the world rankings, behind finalists Canada and England.

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For the fourth time in six tournament outings, the Black Ferns conceded the first points of the game. After testing the New Zealand side with her decision-making and kicking early, it was impressive veteran halfback Pauline Bourdon Sansus who scored the first try of the game after 10 minutes.

That lead lasted less than five minutes, as a slick inside pass from Brunt set Ruahei Demant up for a try under the posts.

Tries to Brunt, Holmes and lock Laura Bayfield saw the Black Ferns take a 26-7 lead into the break. Two tries to Sorensen-McGee and a penalty from Holmes saw that lead pushed out to 39-7, before France scored three tries in 10 minutes to close the gap.

Ultimately, the Black Ferns’ lead was far too much to run down as they closed out the win to end their season on a high.

Black Ferns 42 (Braxton Sorensen-McGee 2, Ruahei Demant, Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu-Atai’i Sylvia Brunt, Renee Holmes, Laura Bayfield tries; Renee Holmes 3 cons, 2 pen)

France 26 (Pauline Bourdon Sansus, Lea Champon, Gaby Vernier, Emilie Boulard tries; Carla Arbez con, Lina Tuy 2 cons)

HT: 26-7