England 43 (Abbie Ward 2, Ellie Kildunne, Lark Davies, Holly Aitchison, Abby Dow, Zoe Harrison tries; Zoe Harrison 4 con) Black Ferns 12 (Alana Bremner, Stacey Fluhler tries; Kendra Cocksedge con). HT: 17-0
FULLTIME - That was quite a clinic from the English, who have bolted to their biggest-ever win over the Black Ferns. Click here for a full wrap.
81 mins - TRY ENGLAND to Zoe Harrison
Superb offload at the line puts the first-five over to rub salt into NZ wounds.
74 mins - TRY BLACK FERNS to Stacey Fluhler
Superb handling from the NZ backs, who find the centre unmarked to go over in the corner. (England 36-12)
71 mins - TRY ENGLAND to Abby Dow
The wing scoops up a dropped ball by Holmes and streaks 40m to put the nail in NZ's coffin, her second try of the night.
67 mins - Some rare field position for NZ. They drive the maul over the line but referee says held up and England clear from the tryline dropout.
61 mins - TRY ENGLAND to Holly Aitchison
Slick phase play from the English and the sevens star spots a gaping hole to accelerate 20m through to score on debut. Conversion wide. (England 29-7)
59 mins - More attacking lineout ball for England.
56 mins - TRY ENGLAND to Lark Davies
The pressure takes its toll and NZ can't withstand the rolling maul from the 5m lineout this time, hooker Davies coming up with the spoils. Conversion is over. (England 24-7)
54 mins - Poor clearance from NZ, Kildunne comes close again. Deliberate knockdown gives England a 5m lineout.
51 mins - England pulled down just short of the line. NZ cop a yellow card for cynical play, Bremner makes her way to the naughty chair. England go to the 5m lineout.
They're over the chalk but are brought back for a knock on. Penalty advantage means they'll get another crack.
England rumble a maul from 5m out and NZ do brilliantly to hold it off and force the turnover.
48 mins - Bit of push and shove after a scrum penalty goes NZ's way. Lineout at the England 10m. NZ win a lineout! But turn it over. England scrum.
45 mins - TRY BLACK FERNS to Alana Bremner
Chelsea Alley's chip kick sits up perfectly for Bremner who crashes over next to the post for a try on debut. That's exactly what NZ needed. Conversion is over. ( England 17-7)
42 mins - England immediately look for width, ball fumbled. NZ scrum at their own 10m.
41 mins - Second hlaf underway. Black Ferns with the wind at their back now. Cocksedge gets us restarted.
HALFTIME
40 mins - TRY ENGLAND to Ellie Kildunne
England spread the ball quickly and the stand-out fullback ghosts through a hole to run the ball around behind the posts for a well deserved try. Conversion wide, and that will send us to the sheds.
36 mins - England giving the ball width, looking threatening. NZ defence scrambles well to win a penalty but the ball hasn't found touch and England are back on attack. Questionable pass option gives NZ a scrum.
33 mins - NZ scrum after another promising England attack breaks down. England with a huge shove, win the tighthead and then curiously opt for the chip. Falls into touch 10m from the NZ line.
28 mins - Another penalty, and this time they opt for a scrum at the English 22m.
Leti-I'iga charges clear from the scrum but England win a defensive penalty metres from their own line and clear, then another punt puts them back inside the NZ half.
25 mins - NZ escape with a penalty and move to the English 22m for a lineout, which they, again, lose. Mistake from England though, and the Black Ferns will launch again.
22 mins - Fullback Kildunne wreaking havoc on the edges again. Ball into touch but NZ lose their third lineout throw of the day off their own ball. England into the red zone.
18 mins - TRY ENGLAND to Abbie Ward
After Dow is dragged down just short on the left flank, Ward is on hand to take the pass from the ruck and bulldozer her way over for her second try. Conversion is over. (England 12-0)
16 mins - Monster England scrum near halfway wins a penalty. Lineout at their 10m.
12 mins - TRY ENGLAND to Abbie Ward
Lovely handling from the English backs, as wing Abby Dow breaks down the left flank, then finds the lock inside in support to charge over the line. Conversion wide. (England 5-0)
10 mins - Slick setpiece from the attacking lineout, Leti-I'iga breaks a couple of tackles for NZ. England scramble a clearance from a loose ball, Cocksedge returns fire back to halfway for a lineout. Long sequence of play there.
6 mins - Sharp attacking movement from the Kiwis, keeping the ball alive. They force a goal-line dropout and launch again.
3 mins - England win another penalty and 5m lineout. Poor throw and Cocksedge clears with a thumping punt, back inside English territory.
1 min - Statement made early by the English, whose pack blows over the NZ ruck to turn the ball then win a penalty. Rolling the maul from the lineout, just 5m out now.
We're underway...
3:30am - Nice touch from the ladies, who lay out a No. 11 jersey in honour of the late Sean Wainui, before launching into their pre-game haka.
***
Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Black Ferns' historic clash against England at Sandy Park.
Not only is this test the Kiwi world champions' first since August 2019, it will also mark a century of Black Ferns test matches, dating back to 1991.
The last time these two rivals met was in 2019, when the Black Ferns prevailed 28-13 in San Diego.
We'll have all the live action from 3:15am.
TAB betting odds: New Zealand $2.02, England $1.73
Team line-ups:
Black Ferns: 1-Pip Love, 2-Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, 3-Aleisha Pearl Nelson, 4-Eloise Blackwell, 5-Kelsie Wills, 6-Alana Bremner, 7-Les Elder (captain), 8-Dhys Faleafaga, 9-Kendra Cocksedge, 10-Ruahei Demant, 11-Ayesha Leti-I'iga, 12-Chelsea Alley, 13-Stacey Fluhler, 14-Renee Wickliffe, 15-Renee Holmes
Reserves: 16-Grace Houpapa-Barrett, 17-Krystal Murray, 18-Aldora Itunu, 19-Liana Mikaele-Tu'u, 20-Kennedy Simon, 21-Ariana Bayler, 22-Patricia Maliepo, 23-Grace Brooker
England: 1-Sarah Hunter (captain), 2-Marlie Packer, 3-Zoe Aldcroft, 4-Abbie Ward, 5-Poppy Cleall, 6-Sarah Bern, 7-Lark Davies, 8-Hannah Botterman, 9-Claudia MacDonald, 10-Zoe Harrison, 11-Abby Dow, 12-Amber Reed, 13-Holly Aitchison, 14-Lydia Thompson, 15-Ellie Kildunne
Reserves: Amy Cokayne, Vickii Cornborough, Maud Muir, Harriet Millar-Mills, Alex Matthews, Leanne Infante, Helena Rowland, Lagi Tuima.
Fired-up Black Ferns determined to honour predecessors in historic 100th test
Black Ferns captain Les Elder admits there's been an extra edge to their week of preparation for their historic clash with England.
On Monday (NZ time), the Black Ferns will square off with their rivals at Exeter's Sandy Park, where they'll celebrate the team's 100th test match and their first taste of international rugby since August 2019.
That milestone, their first match in more than two years and the natural enthusiasm from nine debutants mean the squad's excitement levels are overflowing.
Returning from maternity leave to reclaim the captaincy, Elder admits managing that fervour has been a challenge.
"It's quite a balancing act," she says. "It's a special occasion, but we also just want to manage emotions as well.
"I think the debutants, who are coming out, have taken all of that on board... the emotion of that, the emotion of the 100th test.
"We're just here to make all of those who have gone before us proud."
The Black Ferns last played England at San Diego in 2019, where they prevailed 28-13.
Most played little part in the recent Farah Palmer Cup domestic competition, meaning competitive match conditioning has been in scarce supply.
But Elder quickly dismisses any suggestion her side may be rusty come kickoff, noting the circumstances are almost an uncanny nod to their predecessors, for whom lack of international women's teams meant tests were few and far between.
"It's not a factor to us," says Elder. "It's something the Black Ferns have always done - operated off hardly any rugby, and then gone and won test matches - so we're no different."
Elder notes the large squad has allowed them to split into 15 v 15 games for training, where she's encouraged by what she's seen.
"We've got threats all across the field. We've got the ability to power through the middle if we need to, so we'll be looking to use all the different tools from the tool box."
