Du Plessis was injured after being tackled close to the try line in the first half, but was able to play through until halftime before being replaced. Leti-I’iga left the field midway through the second half and was seen receiving treatment on her left leg on the sidelines – but not before scoring a second-half double.

While du Plessis was replaced at the break, Black Ferns director of performance Allan Bunting opted not to replace Olsen-Baker and Leti-I’iga in the second half, playing a large chunk of the second stanza with 13 players.

“We had a fair idea we were probably going ot go down a bit. Ayesh probably could have stayed on,” Bunting said.

“Cards happen quite often and you have to play with players down, so it was a good chance for our ladies to play with 13 players.”

There will be plenty for Bunting and his team to take away from the match. The lineout and scrum functioned well, they were able to break Spain down and really implement their running game in the second half – coinciding with some of their more regular starters getting involved.

They struggled with handling and execution through the early stages of the match, but those errors seemed to lessen as they found the rhythm through the test.

Spain did have some success challenging the Black Ferns at the breakdown, though, and did threaten to break out on counterattacks off Black Ferns’ errors in the first half. The Black Ferns also conceded a try in the last play of the game, unable to keep a late Spanish surge at bay.

The win saw them go top of the group after the first round, with Ireland claiming a 42-14 win over Japan earlier this morning to sit second.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.