Our Kiwi wāhine stood tall across a substantial weekend of international sport. And if you didn't have time to be glued to a screen, LockerRoom has you covered.
From football to cricket to sevens to netball, New Zealand's sporting wāhine enjoyed different degrees of success around the world over the weekend, as many prepare for their looming World Cups.
The Black Ferns Sevens scored a sensational and poignant World Series victory in Hamilton, while the Silver Ferns had a strong start to their 2023 campaign, which includes the defence of their world title. And also in South Africa, the future White Ferns continued their march towards the semifinals of the U19 T20 World Cup.
Away from the heat of the African summer, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott had a career first, winning the LAAX Open Slopestyle World Cup in Switzerland.
And while the Football Ferns couldn't match the might of the US, the crowd support was a good sign for the FIFA Women's World Cup, co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia across July and August.
SEVENS
The Black Ferns Sevens were barely troubled in the final edition of the HSBC Sevens tournament to be held in New Zealand.
A 58-0 win over Papua New Guinea, 27-0 over the usually strong Fiji and 20-0 against Great Britain sent the Kiwis flying into the semifinals, where Japan became the first team to score against them all weekend.
The 43-12 win over Japan and then a 32-0 victory over Ireland in the semis were easy work for the side, welcoming back Rugby World Cup winners Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Stacey Fluhler, Theresa Fitzpatrick and Sarah Hirini.
The final against the USA started strongly for the Ferns, superstar Michaela Blyde scoring within 20 seconds. With the US threatening to score close to halftime, the Black Ferns chose to kick it out, up 14-0.
The start of the second half echoed the first, Blyde sprinting away to score in less than 20 seconds, and responding to a converted try from the Americans with her third try of the game. The hattrick made Blyde the top try-scorer of the tournament - with 10 - as the Black Ferns Sevens finished 33-7 victors.
NETBALL
The Silver Ferns opened their Quad Series campaign on Sunday morning (NZ time) with a comfortable win over South Africa, a 20-5 third quarter giving the Ferns a 61-41 win.
Both Karin Burger and Jane Watson returned to the black dress, with coach Dame Noeline Taurua managing to give all of her 12-strong squad at least 30 minutes on court.
Grace Nweke continued her outstanding international form, shooting 46 from 47, while Kate Heffernan (the other player to have a full game) was also strong in the midcourt.
However, the Ferns’ biggest challengers are always Australia and England - the last four Quad Series have been won by the Diamonds, with the English Roses taking second every tournament since 2018.
The Ferns came out to a good start against Australia on Monday morning, holding a 17-13 lead at quarter time, and extending the lead to eight goals in the second stanza.
But the Diamonds fought back, thanks to some smooth shooting from Steph Wood and basic errors from the Ferns. Taurua yet again gave her all her squad game time, Nweke on court for a consecutive full game.
The final score was 59-57 to the Diamonds, the Ferns pulling a few goals back in the final minutes, but unable to draw level.
In order to make the final for the first time since 2017 (the sole time the Kiwis have won the Quad Series), they'll need to beat the England Roses, who earlier drew with South Africa in a thrilling encounter.
FOOTBALL
The Football Ferns had two tough encounters with the USA - the world number one football team - at home over the past week, ultimately ending in two predictable defeats, although keeping the visitors scoreless for a half in the first game was very pleasing for the team.
Missing a lot of their star players due to the fixtures occurring outside the official FIFA window, it was always going to be a tough challenge for the 24th ranked Ferns.
When the World Cup kicks off in July, the Ferns will take on Norway (ranked 13th), Switzerland (21st) and the Philippines (53rd) - with their goal to have their first World Cup win and make it through pool play for the first time.
Despite the 4-0 and 5-0 losses, the Football Ferns saw their biggest home crowds - Wellington breaking the record on Wednesday with 12,508 fans and Auckland’s Eden Park (the home of their opening World Cup match) bettering that with 12,721 in Saturday's match.
Football Ferns captain Ali Riley was optimistic speaking to Sky Sport after the second match.
“I think that’s the biggest thing that’s so meaningful and powerful to us, is to set a new record," she said. "We’re so grateful, we appreciate the fans here, it gave us a taste of what it’s going to be like when we return here, hopefully to set a new record again.
“We can take a lot away from these two games, we have things we need to improve on and we’re going to learn from that," said Riley, earning her 149th cap.
"If I know anything about this team, it’s that the next six months, we will do everything we can so that we're ready for that game and we can put on a show for the crowd here.”
(A special mention must go to the Wellington Phoenix, featuring four Football Ferns, who scored their first win of the season on Sunday, a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Canberra United).
CRICKET
The New Zealand U19 women’s cricket team faced their toughest challenge yet at the inaugural U19 World Cup in South Africa, coming up against Rwanda after beating Indonesia, Ireland and the West Indies in pool play.
The Kiwis were sent in to bowl first for the fourth consecutive time in the tournament and restricted Rwanda to 95 runs from their 20 overs; Kate Chandler and Olivia Anderson both with two wickets.
Having only lost one wicket so far in the competition, a silver lining to Rwanda’s strong bowling effort was the chance for more of the New Zealand team to bat.
White Ferns Georgia Plimmer and Izzy Gaze couldn’t convert their international experience into runs, leaving the chase to 16-year-old Emma McLeod, who scored 59 runs off 39 balls.
New Zealand won by six wickets, chasing down the total in the 17th over with a boundary from Chandler.
The Kiwis next face Pakistan on Wednesday morning, looking for a chance to make the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the White Ferns leave today for their T20 World Cup, also in South Africa, next month - with Bernadine Bezuidenhout receiving a recall after two years away from the crease, to recover from RED-S.
In another big year for women’s sport, with World Cups for cricket, netball and football, this weekend shows that New Zealand has what it takes to compete.
