It was just one of those rare sporting days at the Tauranga Domain where everyone left happy – even Bay of Plenty Volcanix coach Brendon Webby was smiling despite watching his team lose both the 'halves' they played in Saturday's Game of Three Halves, without putting a point on the board.

It was certainly no surprise they couldn't handle the scoring power of the world champion Black Ferns, going down 43-0 in the first 40 of the day.

They may however feel a little aggrieved justice wasn't done on the scoreboard in their second encounter against the Auckland Storm, who took it out 10-0 despite looking second best for long periods.

All three teams were using the occasion as a rehearsal for bigger challenges to come – for the Black Ferns in Sydney next week in the opening test against Australia, and for the two provincial teams their upcoming Farrah Palmer Cup Premiership campaigns.

Having had his team together for just three training runs Brendon was realistic in his expectations, and says he was happy with what they got out of day.

'Yeah definitely. We had a couple of small targets that we wanted to hit – we wanted to see a little bit of what we were practising, and we think we've done that.

'We really wanted to win the intent battle and the fun battle and I think we've done that as well.

'It's been a big day for the girls - I think they've done themselves proud. And it's really interesting with making some final selection decisions. They all put their hand up and we're really happy.”

The Black Ferns got the hitout they were looking for. Seven tries against a Volcanix side which was defending with passion was a decent 40 minutes work, and told the story of the difference in class between the world's best and the rest. Their cohesion, pace and creativity were simply too much for the Bay to handle.

Brendon was happy though with how his team's defence held together in the face of the Black Fern onslaught.

'They got a few tries but they had to earn those tries, they had to go wide. And those are things we can shore up when we've had a little bit more time together. But we're really happy with our defence.

He's pleased his team restricted the Black Ferns through the inside channels, but says the pace they had on the wings and their well-rehearsed precision were too much for them to cope with.

'They're a professional outfit - we've probably had the same amount of training in all of our trainings as they've had in one of theirs but that's the way it goes, we're really happy.”

When they managed to get ball in hand go forward was hard to come by for the Volcanix, with the Black Ferns quick to get in their faces, Brendan says.

'It was pretty hard to get some attack going up against them because obviously their line speed was awesome, and they've been together for a good long time.

'But defence was what we were really happy with and the rest of it we can work on.”

Watching their two Black Ferns representatives – Renee Wickliffe and Les Elder – putting in strong performances for the national side, and scoring tries, was also a positive for the Volcanix.

Renee Wickliffe scores for the Black Ferns against the Auckland Storm

Seeing the Auckland team in the second 40 minute spell of the day doing no better against the world champions than they had – and also conceding over 40 points without reply - was possibly another.

They may not be so pleased the Aucklanders managed to take advantage of the two scoring opportunities that came their way when they met in the third and final 'half' to take it out 10-0, but even then Brendon was taking the glass half full approach.

He was particularly proud of their effort in the final 15 minutes when they besieged the Auckland line and were unlucky not to get over.

'That just shows we wanted to see a couple of things happen today. That last 10-15 minutes showed us that our attack will work and can work - we just need to make sure we stick to our structures a little bit. There's a few little things we can iron out but we're really happy and we're in a good space moving forward to the premiership.”

The Farrah Palmer Cup kicks off for the Volcanix at the Tauranga Domain on September 1 against Canterbury, and Brendon believes they'll be ready for it.

'Yeah definitely. We've only had three trainings so just a little bit more time together and we'll gel a bit more, we'll get together more as a team. We'll iron out those few niggly little bits and we should be sweet.”