‘‘We are going to have to be really diligent’’ Glenn Moore plots Black Ferns path to the World Cup

Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore saw in four weeks how much the women’s game has advanced in his six years in the job.

The Black Ferns for so long have been the benchmark, winning five of the last six Rugby World Cups, but the rise of England and France has shaken up the world order.

Those European powerhouses have benefited from greater financial support and more professional, high performance environments since the Black Ferns won the last World Cup under Moore in 2017.

The Black Ferns went down to their four heaviest defeats in history on their northern tour last month, losing to England (43-12 and 56-15) and France (38-13 and 29-7) on their comeback to test rugby after an absence of more than two years.

While Moore is confident his side has not fallen that far behind their two northern rivals, who have emerged as strong favourites for next year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, the manner of the heavy losses in Europe was an alarming indication of their shortcomings.

Moore was unhappy with the conditioning of his squad after a

Covid 19-disrupted season, as well as their inferior kicking game against the English and the French.

‘‘They’ve improved a little bit, but I don’t think it’s massively. A lot of what they’re doing now is what they were doing in the Six Nations,’’ Moore told the Sunday Star-Times.

‘‘They’re fulltime athletes, they’ve played a lot of test matches, they’ve got professional club competitions, and those are very strong.’’

‘‘They’re also branching out with women’s under-20s programmes and there is lots of growth over there.’’

The question for the Black Ferns, who still operate as a semiprofessional outfit, will be whether they can catch up to England and France.

England, the world No 1 team, have won 18 successive tests since their last defeat to the Black Ferns in 2019 and have narrowly got the better of France in their competitive Six Nations clashes.

Until last month, the Black Ferns had played none since the start of the pandemic last March. That lack of tests was evident against sharper, more organised and more intense English and French teams who had regular fixtures.

Does that mean New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has adequately supported the Black Ferns while Covid-19 is still causing chaos?

Moore, who is full-time with assistants John Haggart and Wesley Clarke, is happy with the increased backing of NZR since the last World Cup, with contracts first awarded to Black Ferns in 2018, but he said preparing the team has been difficult.

Their eight-test schedule in 2020 was cancelled, their first World Cup at home was delayed 12 months, and the build-up to the northern tour was wrecked by the return of lockdown in August.

‘‘The board and the senior management have always been supportive, but we also realise the last two years have been really challenging.

‘‘We are going to have to be really diligent to ensure we get what we need leading into [the World Cup].’’

An acclaimed former Warriors fitness coach, Craig Twentyman, is now on board, an appointment that looks vital.

‘‘We are going to have to be really diligent to ensure we get what we need leading into [the World Cup].’’ Glenn Moore