The Black Ferns laid down a marker of intent with an eight-try walloping of the Wallaroos in the first of two O'Reilly Cup tests.

The 52-5 thrashing at the Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch did not come as a complete surprise, but it reminded the few lingering sceptics just how good New Zealand is.

At the heart of all that was good was co-captain Ruahei Demant, who led from the front and grabbed two tries for her efforts. Winger Ayesha Leti-I'iga also scored a double, as the Black Ferns put on an exhibition of free-flowing, attacking rugby that sliced apart the opposition's defense.

The win meant New Zealand retained the O'Reilly Cup and extended the Wallaroos hunt for a first win over the Black Ferns to 21 unsuccessful attempts. That extraordinary record looks set to grow even bigger next Saturday when the teams reconvene at the Adelaide Oval in the final test of the series.

Despite the huge scoreline, newly appointed Black Ferns head coach Wayne Smith remained mellow and even was a little critical of his side's fourth successive win since his tenure began.

"You've got to be happy with the score, no doubt about that, but we were disappointed with some of the skill level," he said. "We'd had a really good week, working really hard on playing an expansive game. I think we probably left five or six tries out there through either being too flat or just dropping the ball. Hey, it's good. We've still got a lot of work to do."

Australia will hope to build upon the late consolation try Piper Duck scored in the final minute of the match, but will know it needs to do much more to quell the pace of ball its opponents created.

"Full credit to the Kiwis, they put us to the sword, and they really made us pay as we struggled to grind them down and stop their possession," said Wallaroos captain Shannon Parry. "It's a stepping stone to the back end of the year. I think we've come a long way in a short time, and we're looking forward to what's ahead at the end of the year.

"There's nothing like playing at home, so we're really looking forward to getting to Adelaide Oval and playing in front of the green and gold army."

The Christchurch blowout will give the Black Ferns some much-needed momentum, as they look ahead to Oct. 8, when they begin their battle to retain the Rugby World Cup on home soil. 

Incidentally, their first hurdle will be the Wallaroos, who they face in the Pool A opener at Eden Park.

New Zealand will be the firm favorites to top Pool A. Australia, Scotland and Wales will be hard pushed to contend with the reigning world champions, especially if they put up a display similar to the one they mounted against the Wallaroos on Saturday.

Their biggest foes are stationed in Pool C. There lies England and France, the two premier outfits in the Northern Hemisphere. England is the team New Zealand beat 41-32 in 2017 to win the World Cup in Belfast.

Achieving a repeat of that result will be hard. 

It was not long ago the Red Roses were doing the double over New Zealand, blowing apart the Black Ferns 43-12 last autumn, before backing up that statement win with another 56-15 bashing in early November.

Since then, England has only got better. 

In late April they beat close rivals France to lift the Six Nations trophy and clinch a Grand Slam, which precisely is why they are the No. 1-ranked side in the world at present.

To challenge their Northern-Hemisphere rivals, the Black Ferns will need to sure up their set piece, and specifically their line out, which looked incredibly lackluster against England in the fall.

Travel Day with the Black Ferns 📹

CHC ➡️AKL ➡️ADE#LikeABlackFern | #OReillySeries pic.twitter.com/9eeV9scniR

— Black Ferns (@BlackFerns) August 22, 2022

But it looks as though the necessary changes have been made. Against Australia, Smith's side looked well-rehearsed and used the lineout to launch fast-paced attacks through a variety of channels.

Pair that with the dominance they possessed in the scrum, and the Black Ferns look in good shape heading into the World Cup - which they have won five times.

Whether they can make it six is another matter altogether, but with home advantage for the first time in the tournament and set piece ball flourishing, they look to be in very good shape.

Written by Stefan Frost