@Ian you raise a darn good point.
The last time I saw that want/mongrel from the Ferns was the bronze medal match in Birmingham. The swinging towels on the side line, the shoulders back and playing to win on the court. Before that the Ferns had been largely pedestrian.
NWC went by without a whimper and I suspect for all the spouting about 6 weeks together in the lead up, the team had probably spent too long in camp and already peaked by time the tournament started.
I noticed at 3/4 time on Sunday night Taurua and Gordon in really animated conversations and Taurua ‘geeing her up’. That sort of stuff, while might seem minor, really backs-up comments from Tuivaiti re Taurua working hard on how she connects with the younger players. Think she had Van Dyk, Kopua, Langman, Folau who are a different breed/era of player to the likes of Gordon, Heffernan, Nweke, et al. She needs to change her approach.
My 2c worth is Taurua is walking her own talk post the NWC debrief and reappointment process and it’s paying dividends.
I like Akle being in the mix, but definitely think there’s a missed opportunity for the likes of a YMD to also be around the Ferns traps – acknowledging she is coaching the Fast5 team but thinking purely about the Ferns 7-aside group. She’s the future Ferns coach IMO.