New Zealand showed once again why they are the favourites to claim a third successive IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup title with a 50-0 defeat of Samoa at St Albert Rugby Football Club in Edmonton, Canada.
Full back Amiria Marsh scored a first half hat-trick for the Black Ferns who, despite the one-sided look on the scoreboard, did not have things all their own way against a physical and committed Samoan team.
The opening minutes of the game saw some great defence from both teams, Samoa initially holding out against the Black Ferns before spending several minutes themselves camped in the New Zealand half.
A missed tackle eventually led to New Zealand taking the lead in the 12th minute, flanker Melissa Ruscoe breaking through before finding Marsh racing up on her shoulder in support to claim her second try of the tournament.
The Black Ferns upped their intensity after this score and within minutes had claimed a second try, a turnover leading to some great passing play which allowed wing Victoria Blackledge to cross the try line.
A deep restart from Samoa was collected by the Black Ferns, who immediately broke through, Exia Edwards breaking the tackle before feeding centre partner Hannah Myers, who lacked the pace to finish but had Marsh on hand to touch down.
The Black Ferns scored two further tries through Rochelle Martin, who got her hands on the ball after a strong drive over from a lineout, and a third for Marsh to stretch their advantage to 29-0 at half-time.
Standing firm
Samoa came out fighting in the second half, but once again struggled to find a way through New Zealand’s rock solid defence. They did though remain strong themselves and held out for the first 20 minutes of the second half.