The Black Ferns needed a 25-point win over the USA to reclaim the Pacific Four Series in the final game of the tournament.
That margin was claimed shortly into the second half and only widened as the game wore on. New Zealand were crowned champions with a 79-14 win.
It was a fierce Eagles team that greeted the Black Ferns, and after a rampaging driving maul got held up, it took just a few minutes of battering the line to get the opening try through the finishing power of Freda Tafuna.
Within moments, it was the Black Ferns battering the USA’s line, and after being held up once themselves, the hosts broke the line through Katelyn Vahaakolo to level the scores.
A line break from Braxton Sorensen-McGee followed to keep the crowd energised. Jorja Miller’s second break of the game resulted in Vahaakolo’s second try in just the 14th minute.
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Portia Woodman-Wickliffe got involved with a couple of carries in the 23rd minute, the second of which saw her go one-on-one with Ilona Maher and score through contact in the corner. The Kiwi icon had a second moments later after yet another Sorensen-McGee break and a string of offloads.
Just as it looked like the game would be all one-way traffic, the USA were making their way back into Kiwi territory. Bruising phase play eventually got some reward with Hope Rogers scoring.
New Zealand were eager to respond before halftime, and did so twice. Vahaakolo and Woodman-Wickliffe were the try-scorers, both completing first-half hat-tricks. Halftime score: 34-14.
New Zealand started the second half with two new props and immediately won a scrum penalty.
The USA probed but couldn’t connect to finish the effort. Once the Kiwis got their hands on the ball again, Stacey Waaka broke the line and offloaded to Miller, who had the ball ripped, only for it to find Woodman-Wickliffe, who scored.
A minute later, Vahaakolo was making a break down the left edge, leading to another five points, this time to Ruahei Demant. The co-captain slipped when converting but made the kick.
The Kiwi scrum continued to be a weapon in the second period and helped make up for a knock-on that spoiled what would have been a try on debut for Vici-Rose Green. New Zealand won the scrum penalty and took a quick tap, sending the ball wide to Woodman-Wickliffe, who claimed her fifth try through plenty of traffic.
The scoreboard hit 60 when Vahaakolo got her fourth try of the evening, with Hannah King’s goal-kicking off the bench adding insult to injury.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe’s immense legacy earned another stripe with her sixth try, which crowned her the all-time leading try-scorer in women’s rugby history.
Tries to Stacey Waaka and yet another to Woodman-Wickliffe closed out the game, pushing the lead to 79-14. That scoreline remained at the final whistle.
