Black Ferns Sevens icons stand tall during second-half blitz in Perth

Stacey Waaka. Michaela Blyde. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe. All three players will go down in history as icons of the Black Ferns Sevens, and they showed the world why once again on Friday.

It didn’t come easy but defending world champions New Zealand kicked off their Perth SVNS campaign with a promising 29-5 win over Japan at Perth’s HBF Park.

The full-time score might not necessarily show that the game was close, but Japan shot out of the blocks with an admirable start. They certainly threatened to take the lead, too.

Jazmin Felix-Hotham scored the opener for the New Zealanders in the second minute, but after a try to Japan’s Michiyo Suda shortly after, Felix-Hotham was shown a yellow card.

Down to six players, the Black Ferns Sevens were on the back foot. While their backs weren’t exactly up against the ropes, the Kiwis braced for a defining two-minute period.

But they stood tall. The first half was scoreless from that point, with the previously mentioned legends – including another generational talent – piling on the points.

That ‘generational talent’ is none other than Jorja Miller – the teenager who signed the longest contract by a women’s player in New Zealand last November.

Waaka, Blyde, Woodman-Wickliffe and Miller all lived up to their reputations as world-class players during a second-half blitz from Australia's neighbours from across the ditch.

“I’m not the new girl anymore but it’s cool,” Miller told RugbyPass after the match.

“Being able to go out there and keep doing my job. The main thing is having fun and sevens is all fun.

“Being out there with the girls, I can’t complain and the pressure’s just on the outside.

“Being able to have cool, calm-headed players across the field makes it a lot easier,” she added.

“Especially for when the girls come on and bring impact, to stay connected and just stay calm, trust our process.

“It’s pretty special to have such an experienced bunch.”

It was a tough afternoon for everyone, not just the New Zealanders, on Australia’s west coast. With the temperature up around 30 degrees Celsius, players braced for gruelling matches.

Miller, 19, walked off the field still breathing heavily after the match. The rising star was exhausted, but she still let out a chuckle when asked about the heat.

It’s hot in Perth – and that’s underselling it.

“I thought we had an upper hand coming from summer, whereas some of the countries are coming from winter but it’s definitely hot out here,” Miller said.

“We thought we’d be able to cope because it’s been windy the last couple of days but nah, it’s hot on that field.

“It’s been hot at home so we thought ‘surely this is good enough’ but we’ve been in the saunas trying to adjust.

“But there’s nothing like the heat playing rugby.”

The Black Ferns Sevens had their 41-game unbeaten streak brought to an end in the final of last month’s Dubai SVNS out in the desert. Australia emerged victorious that night.

Australia continued to stamp their authority on the SVNS Series in Cape Town a week later, while their Trans-Tasman rivals fell short with a shock loss to France in the semis.

But they’re not panicking. The Black Ferns Sevens are focusing on themselves as they look to bounce back in Perth.

“From the start of the season, we’ve known our journey and we’ve really bought into that so we’ve done a lot of work on our vision, our team culture and connection.

“We trust that if we all buy into that, the results should follow.”