New Zealand v England in WXV: Black Ferns not ‘invincible’ before game

This is not the first time that New Zealand’s aura of invincibility has started to fade.

Heading into their home World Cup in 2022 they were defeated four times in a row – twice by England and twice by France.

What followed was a 16-match winning run and a home World Cup triumph in front of a then record-breaking crowd for a women’s fixture of 42,579.

Part of a great plan? Trying combinations, testing depth and experiencing defeat may have helped in drawing up the required blueprint to retain the biggest prize.

But the stunning loss to sixth-ranked Ireland, who England thrashed 88-10 during this year’s Six Nations, will not have been in the plan, meaning defeat on Sunday would be a third straight defeat.

“We know that the Black Ferns will always come back stronger from disappointment, history tells us that,” England forwards coach Louis Deacon said.

“We are expecting a really tough game.”

Mitchell’s side have been doing plenty of testing of combinations too, with half-backs Lucy Packer and Zoe Harrison starting in the big win over the USA and Natasha Hunt and Holly Aitchison selected this week.

Scrum-half Hunt, who lined up alongside Aitchison against the Black Ferns last time out, takes a similar view to Deacon.

“New Zealand have always been very good at throwing the ball around but I think there’s a little bit of a danger about a New Zealand team that’s a little bit wounded.

“There is that ‘no fear’ element to it and they’ve probably just been given license to play.

“Especially in that nine and 10 jersey you need to mix it up and do something different, because whatever’s happened hasn’t worked.”

Lack of a New Zealand response on Sunday could have long-felt implications, while an England victory would stretch their winning run to 19, as they target their own unshakeable belief.