By Paul Eddison, Sportsbeat

Spain knew they were up against it by taking on the world champions in their first match of England 2025, but centre Zahia Perez is confident the Black Ferns will remember Las Leonas after the sides met in York.

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While New Zealand came away 54-8 winners in the Pool C clash, the expansive nature of the game made it a thriller for fans of both teams.

Spain earned their reward of a try in the final play of the game, a well-deserved score from Ines Antolinez after they had contributed a lot to the game.

And for Perez, who started alongside Harlequins’ Claudia Peña in the midfield, there was a lot to take from the performance against the six-time champions.

She said: “It was an incredible match for everyone; we had a great time on the field. In the end, we all know the New Zealanders, but they don’t know us, and we wanted them to remember us, so I think we played a good game despite their standard.

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“We’re really looking forward to playing against Ireland and Japan, and we’re going to give it our all in every game.”

Spain will now prepare for their second game against Ireland, knowing that they must win to retain any realistic chance of making it through to the quarter-finals.

They will hope that Alba Vinuesa and Victoria Rosell recover from knocks they took in York although skipper Laura Delgado is confident that she will be fine after coming off at half-time.

The prop expressed her pride at the way the team fronted up against a dangerous Black Ferns outfit.

She said: “We are very proud. We told the team to give it their all. The score didn’t go our way but we are very proud of what we did.

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“It was what we expected and what we wanted; that’s how I would define it. Obviously, they’re the current world champions, and we are ranked 13th. We demanded to be in shape and be at 200% for 80 minutes, and that’s what we did.

“We know our strengths and have worked on our weaknesses, and we’re proud of our performance. That doesn’t mean we are too happy to celebrate today, but we’re also focused on recovering and moving on to the next one. This has only just begun.”

With more than 330,000 tickets already sold, and prices starting at just £5 for children and £10 for adults, fans are encouraged to secure their tickets now via tickets.rugbyworldcup.com