'Ruthless' Ireland upset Black Ferns in momentous occasion

New Zealand Black Ferns form a team huddle after their defeat to Ireland. Photo: Paul Yates / www.photosport.nz

Irish are calling it one of their best days in women's rugby.

A match that will be in the memory bank of the playing group, the coaches and the fans for many years.

In a true underdog win the world number seven ranked Ireland, in their first match of top tier tournament play at WXV1, defeated the world champion Black Ferns 29-27 in Vancouver.

With time ticking down on the clock at BC Place the Irish found a way to get in front, held their nerve and then let the emotions of what they had achieved spill over as the final whistle blew.

Coach Scott Bemand said Ireland's victory "wasn't perfect" but he would take it.

"We're starting to build our pressure moments against tier one opposition and we just [can't] get ahead of ourselves we've won a game it's a really big moment for this group it's a really big moment for Irish women's rugby but we've got to keep going after it."

Every win counts during tournament play and for co-captain Edel McMahon there was never a doubt that her side could win against the Black Ferns in just the third ever meeting between the two nations.

"An unbelievable feeling but the group had a massive belief all week. We believe in what we're doing, we believe in the connections we have with each other we believe in the staff," McMahon said.

"We work really really hard off pitch we work even harder on pitch we're competing every training session so for us this validates exactly what we're doing and I couldn't be more proud of the girls."

Bemand said the way the game was won will be looked back on for a while to come.

"We lost the lead we managed to come back up the pitch but ourselves in the right part of the pitch to then go and win a penalty and then get over [the try line] and Dannah [O'Brien] kicking the points at the end is a massive evidence based confidence piece that we can keep referring back to now."

For all the jubilation in the Ireland dressing room the Black Ferns were downcast and perhaps in disbelief.

Coach Allan Bunting and co-captain Ruahei Demant struggled to find the words to describe what a loss in their first game of the WXV1 tournament meant.

They were considered in their musings about yet another loss against a Northern Hemisphere side - after a loss a few weeks earlier against England at Tickenham.

Bunting was emphatic that the Black Ferns were learning the lessons that the group first needed to put in place after a poor result at the last WXV1 tournament in New Zealand last year.

"Ireland were ruthless," Bunting said.

"Our ladies were really giving it their best out there and probably a few decisions on the field in certain parts of the game we will definitely need to learn moving forward."

Demant was "gutted" but optimistic.

"If we look at the opportunities missed in the game a lot of those opportunities that we missed the skillset that we have and the decisions that we can make those are all factors that are within our control as individuals and as a team and on the other side of the ball as well those are all things we can control our tackles our decision making around rucks and so I guess the good news is we can get better," she said.

The Black Ferns had several disallowed tries during the match as the TMO got involved on multiple occasions for foul play and a ball knocked on over the line.

"I'm really proud of the attitude the team showed in those moments to continue to try and win the next moment regardless of whether that was a tackle or defence... it's just pretty tough."

The Black Ferns play their second game of the tournament against England next Monday.

England are the WXV1 defending champions and won their first game against USA 61-21.