Ruahei Demant: 'They were a quality side then and are still a quality side now'

Ruahei Demant went from an uncertain Black Ferns second five in 2021 to a Rugby World Cup-winning captain in 2022.

The 2022 World Rugby Player of the Year moved inwards to ten and in just 159 days helped transform the Black Ferns from fragile losers to vibrant, fearless, national heroes.

Between June 6 and November 12, a dozen consecutive wins were achieved, including the glorious and transformative 34-31 upset of England in the World Cup final at Eden Park.

In front of 42,579 adoring fans the Red Roses seemingly endless winning streak was dramatically halted on 30. The Black Ferns only led for 13 minutes.

The momentum of Demant has continued in 2023 again nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year. She was imperious during the Black Ferns Pacific 4 title triumph breaking the most tackles (18), making the joint-most line-breaks (6) and breakdown steals (4). New Zealand scored 141 points in three games.

Additionally, she led Auckland to their first Farah Palmer Cup Premiership success since 2015. In the final against Canterbury, she scored the last try in a 39-27 victory in Christchurch.

With such success, has Demant’s approach to leadership changed?

“I hope I haven’t changed too much. I’m very grateful that we have a great group of leaders who led in different ways. There is a lot of diversity in our leadership group so a lot of the responsibility you’d assume co-captains have, I don’t feel because of the strong leaders surrounding us,” Demant told Rugby Pass.

Such a response is typical of Demant who’s leadership style harnesses collaboration to try and get individuals to express the best of themselves.

On Saturday at the Go Media Stadium Mount Smart in Auckland, the Black Ferns must beat England while picking up more or the same number of bonus points to capture the inaugural WXV 1 title. It’s the first meeting between the countries since the Rugby World Cup final almost a year ago.

England remains a formidable beast. They have won all nine Tests in 2023 and have prevailed in 57 of their last 60 internationals. Their lineout drive is kryptonite. Hooker Lark Atkin-Davies scored a world record four tries in a 45-12 hammering of Canada on Friday. That followed a 42-7 mauling of Australia.

England boasts 525 more caps than the Black Ferns. Demant is the most experienced local with 32 Tests. England captain Marile Packer has 98 caps.

“The only thing we do focus on, when we compare last year to this year is that they were a quality side then and are still a quality side now,” Demant said.

“We've looked inwards more and asked how can we as individuals and as a team be in the best position possible to combat what they're going to throw against us?”

The Black Ferns haven’t been without adversity this season. They surrendered their 16-match winning streak when they were toppled by France (18-17) in Wellington a fortnight ago. Prop Chryss Viliko was sent off. In a 39-17 win against the USA, they played with 14 players for 78 minutes after halfback Iritana Hohaia saw red.

“That was a gift because it gave us an opportunity. We thought we had a plan, but we had to adjust a bit. We’ve planned for a lot of ‘what ifs.’ We know what playing with 14 or 13 looks like. We trust our process and each other,” Demant said.

Such meticulous planning wasn’t possible in the past but as full-time professionals with more resources than ever, Demant believes the Black Ferns “Rugby IQ” has expanded enormously.

Different coaches bring specific strengths that expand ideas and create “better reading of pictures and solutions” within a game. Good habits around diet, gym and video analysis are becoming more ingrained.

Preparation and positivity are hallmarks of Demant who provided a rare insight into the Black Ferns game plan (which appears largely unchanged) in Smithy – Wayne Smith with Phil Gifford.

“Initially, the work we did was more around the execution of our skill sets, setting high standards there, rather than tactical stuff. He made footy so simple, and such fun. He always said that he wanted us to play with our minds free, and to play with joy.

“We’d work on shaping the opposition so that when you wanted to move the ball wide and play to the edge, you first had to suck them into being narrow. It was like a game of chess in many ways.

“We pretty much stopped kicking the ball out. All our kicks had to be either three-bounce kicks, or they had to be kick passes, where you could retain the ball. We didn’t even have a name for a long kick downfield for territory because we didn’t ever kick one.”

Whether the Black Ferns can once again topple England in, as England lock Rosie Galligan put it 'the biggest fixture in the women's game' remains to be seen, but all fans will be watching eagerly to see if the world champions can once again undo the number one team in the world this Saturday.