RICKY HENRY believes the Kiwi Ferns have benefitted from an evolution in women’s rugby league after booking their place in the World Cup final with a 32-0 victory over Fetu Samoa at the McDonald Jones Stadium.
Stacey Waaka was on hand with a hat-trick in Newcastle, while Mackenzie Wiki, Mele Hufanga, Kaiyah Atai and Raecene McGregor were also on the scoresheet.
After losing to Australia in the 2022 final at Old Trafford – a third straight defeat in the decider – the Kiwi Ferns will look to put past pain behind them at Suncorp Stadium next Sunday and build on their performance in the semis.
“We haven’t spoken about it too much but we’re always striving to be there – it’s another level up,” Henry said.
“It was a really good Samaon team we played tonight, they deserve credit, but we knew what we were coming into, and were primed and ready to go.
“We just put our heads down and trained really hard this week, with a lot of contact sessions. We got a lot of confidence on the back of that.
“We had to grind it out at the start, but at the back end of the game we deserved to score some tries.
“We’re a totally different squad (to 2022) – the women’s game has definitely evolved since the last one. It’s really pleasing to see.”
Samoa head coach Frank Pritchard was left emotional following the conclusion of his side’s tournament.
“We came into camp with the mission of being successful and to put our little nation on the map,” he said.
“We’ll take a lot from this, it’s a big learning curve. We’re a young team, and the future is bright for us.
“I’m a proud coach, and a proud Samoan. We’ve got a good pathway, we know what’s coming with the talent.
“We’re heading in the right direction.”
