Hong Kong have suffered their second heavy defeat in as many matches at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Dublin, going down 121-0 to powerhouses New Zealand on Sunday.

It was all the Black Ferns from the word go, with Carla Hohepa crossing within the first minute of the match to set the ball rolling for her side, who are ranked second in the world and, along with England and Canada, are among the favourites for the tournament.

Coach Jo Hull was obviously disappointed with the enormity of the margin, but wasn’t surprised by just how good the Black Ferns were.

“We played against world-beaters and when they got the ball in in their hands and moved it wide, we just couldn’t stop them,” Hull said. “Credit to them, they came on and played the game they wanted to play, but at the same time, I was proud of our girls.”

New Zealand raced to a 57-0 lead by the half-time break, with Portia Woodman scoring two first-half tries before exploding in the second half to finish with eight.

Kendra Cocksedge was on target from the tee and converted 13 of her side’s 19 tries, while Theresa Fitzpatrick scored two tries, but it wasn’t all negative for Hong Kong.

“I think that we caused them a few problems at the breakdown and we survived the scrum, which was a big one for us,” Hull said.

“We did a lot of our basic jobs OK, but you can’t play against a world-class team like that without making mistakes.

“We held the ball for three or four phases and then they forced an error with their physicality.

“But we enjoyed it out there and I think the crowd were with us again and that’s given us so much encouragement and energy, it’s been great.

The likes of Chong Ka-yan, Natasha Olson-Thorne, Kelsie Bouttle and Royce Chan Leong-sze battled hard for Hong Kong against an overwhelming wave of Kiwi strength.

For a period after half-time Hong Kong held their own against their all-conquering opponents and kept them scoreless while creating some attacking opportunities of their own.

“I think again Ka-yan was good, she’s a little pocket rocket, she just keeps getting up,” Hull said. “She’s a professional rugby player and that’s what her job is and I expect her to be able to do that.

“I think Royce did a good job today at hooker, she was relentless and at times I think Kelsie did well again with her ball carrying and defensively. Tash gave us some good go-forward and gain-line, which was good.”

With the score at 69-0 at the 59-minute mark after Hong Kong had slowed the Black Ferns’ scoring, the onslaught began once again.

New Zealand went on a spree that netted eight tries in the final 21 minutes of the match to ensure the scoreboard was not pretty by the final siren, with five of the eight scored by Woodman alone.

Wales are next for Hong Kong on Thursday(HK Time - Friday) and should provide some relative relief for Hull’s side after two intense games so far, however Hull is not underestimating the world’s 10^th-ranked side.

“Wales caused these guys [New Zealand] some problems so we’re certainly not underestimating them in any way, shape or form,” she said.

After failing to trouble the scorers in the opening week of the tournament, Hull is hoping that, along with strengthening their defence, Hong Kong can start to express themselves a bit more with ball in hand.

‘We haven’t done much attacking and when we do have the ball we need to look after it,” she said.