Black Ferns’ big test: Are England ripe for the taking?

“Scrums are art,” Chrys Viliko, a feature at loosehead prop in 25 of the Black Ferns’ last 29 tests, mused ahead of this weekend’s WXV I showdown against world champions England at Twickenham.

“Hold on,” Viliko stammers before giggling.

“Go away. That’s Ayesha (Leti-I’iga). She’s a back; she wouldn’t understand. How are you going to get the ball?”

“Scrums involve bind battles, closing the gap, weight considerations, and manipulating your opponent and the referee,” Viliko continues.

“The tighthead holds the scrum while the loosehead pushes against the rival tighthead and protects the hooker. Hang on, I’m telling you too much.”

Viliko is locked in, discussing one of sport’s most unique, demanding and strategically important stoppages typically performed by the unfashionable.

She and her teammates will require similar conviction in thought and muscle to topple the Red Roses – female rugby’s most formidable scruminging, mauling powerhouse on Sunday (3 am NZT).

Since the Black Ferns beat England 34-31 in the Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park on November 12, 2022, ending England’s world record 30 consecutive wins, England have been unbeaten in 40 Tests. They recorded three convincing wins against New Zealand: 33-12 in Auckland in 2023, 24-12 in London in October 2024, and 49-31 in Vancouver in 2024. In that Vancouver Test, England scored a record nine tries but kicked just two conversions.

However, after 39 wins in a row, England was held to a shock 26-26 draw by Canada in Exeter last Saturday. New Zealand have won all seven tests in 2026 by a combined score of 336-101.

Are England ripe for the taking?

The Black Ferns’ victory prospects are boosted with the return of injured talents Kaipo Olsen-Baker, Ayesha Leti-I’iga, and Laura Bayfield. Loose forward Olsen-Baker was nominated for Black Ferns Player of the Year the past two seasons, winning in 2024. She will line up for her 21st test. Winger Leti-I’iga scored two tries in the 2022 Rugby World Cup final and will appear in her 30th test. Lock Bayfield has started five of seven tests in 2026.

Viliko says of the England challenge: “No team is the same after the World Cup; there is a rebuilding phase for everyone.

“Everybody has had to adapt to new coaches, players, and challenges, which makes things exciting.

“England is the number one team, a country that challenges you physically and mentally like no other.

“I first played them in 2024 at Twickenham. The crowd was huge. They got ahead by a lot, early. We came back, but it was too late. They thrashed us the next time. That was hard. I’ve learned more about myself as a rugby player on occasions like England than in any other game.”

Viliko debuted for the Black Ferns in a 43-3 win against Australia in Hamilton in 2023. In her second test, against France, she was red-carded after coming on as a substitute. The Black Ferns lost their 16-game winning streak in an 18-17 defeat in Wellington.

She overcame that blemish after a short lecture from Dad and a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude that prevails in the family.

The youngest of six siblings (by 15 years), Viliko grew up in Māngere East. Her mother, Millie, is an ESOL teacher, and her father, John, drives a bus. They built another house on their property to reduce crowding. Chryss laughs; it made little difference because they still wanted to be together.

“I’m so glad you asked about my parents,” she added. “Nobody asks that. They’re everything. They deserve the credit.”

Viliko attended Onehunga High School and only started taking rugby seriously because her dad was coach. Onehunga was a good team but always lost the final to Southern Cross because they were huge.

Viliko started as a centre, then was moved to No.8 before settling at prop, where her potential was harnessed by Marist senior coach JP Faamausili, who won two Coleman Shield titles in 2017 and 2019.

“JP spoke to my Dad and said I had a shot at rugby as a prop.

“When I made the Auckland team in 2019, it was way different to club. The intensity and standards are way higher. I’ve been lucky to rub shoulders with Black Ferns greats like Aldora Itunu and Aleisha-Pearl Nelson.”

Viliko has played 30 matches for Auckland (20 wins), helping the Storm win the 2023 Premiership and finish runners-up to Canterbury in 2019 and 2022. She has struggled with a troublesome knee.

“I didn’t know I tore my ACL until I joined the Auckland team. I had problems with my knee, but it wasn’t until our physio investigated it properly that she realised my knee was loose. I kept playing like that for a year, and then I injured it again,” Viliko rued.

She has overcome that ailment with emphatic performances for the Blues in Super Rugby Aupiki. She’s played 25 of a possible 30 Blues games and been part of 18 of their 20 all-time victories, including the last three finals. In 2024 she played all eight Black Ferns Tests and at the 2025 Rugby World Cup she played every match as the Black Ferns finished third. She scored her first Black Ferns try in the 40-0 whitewash of Ireland in Brighton in pool play.

Legendary Manu Samoa prop Census Johnston (60 Tests) has been a mentor and he said of Viliko: “Chryss is a special talent who I expect will be around for a long time. She has a good attitude and a big engine. She can play 80 minutes. Her carry is very good.”

The Black Ferns and England have jousted 33 times; New Zealand have won 19, England 13, with a draw back in 2011. The Black Ferns hold the edge on aggregate points, 734 to 596, but England are seeking four consecutive wins for the first time.

England are unbeaten in 53 successive internationals in their home country. Their last loss at home was to the Black Ferns 25-20 at the Stoop in London in November 2016.

England, so big and powerful. How can they be toppled? Inspiration can be drawn from the past, and the Black Ferns’ most famous scrum against England at Burnham Military Camp in 1997. Former coach Mike “Machine” Casey takes up the story.

“We played England for the first time in Christchurch in 1997 and were consistently reminded of the huge repetition the tourists had. They’d won the World Cup in 1994, which we weren’t at, and apparently scored 25-metre tries from scrums. We deliberately warmed up out of sight and kept them waiting for several minutes before kick-off to try and get to them mentally. We kicked off, and the ball didn’t go 10 metres. At the scrum on halfway, Emma Thomas pushed like nothing I’ve even seen before. We won a tighthead and scored a try.

“The final score was New Zealand 67, England 0. They didn’t turn up to the after-match. Sir Steve Hansen and Sir Wayne Smith were at that test watching on behalf of the rugby union, trying to decide whether it was feasible for us to go to the World Cup the next year. We went to Amsterdam and won the bloody thing.”

(England’s first match at Twickenham was in February 2003, when they whitewashed France 57-0. Since then, they have won 25 of 27 internationals, with their only two defeats to France in 2013 and 2015. The Black Ferns have lost all four tests they’ve played at Twickenham against England. Their only win at the home of rugby was in last year’s third-placed playoff against France (42-26) at the Rugby World Cup.)