No Ruby Tui
For the Black Ferns’ last game before the WXV kicks off in their own country, Allan Bunting has chosen the following 23 players to face Australia in the return match of the O’Reilly Cup:
15 Patricia Maliepo, 14 Mererangi Paul, 13 Amy du Plessis, 12 Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu Atai’i (Sylvia) Brunt, 11 Katelyn Vahaakolo, 10 Ruahei Demant (co-captain), 9 Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu, 8 Liana Mikaele Tu’u, 7 Kennedy Simon (co-captain), 6 Alana Bremner, 5 Charmaine Smith, 4 Maiakawanakaulani Roos, 3 Amy Rule, 2 Georgia Ponsonby, 1 Krystal Murray.
Bench: 16 Luka Connor, 17 Chryss Viliko, 18 Tanya Kalounivale, 19 Lucy Jenkins, 20 Layla Sae, 21 Iritana Hohaia, 22 Rosie Kelly, 23 Martha Mataele
It sees the welcome return of Charmaine Smith after an absence of four years. Patricia Maliepo plays for the first time in 2023, now at full-back.
But an unexpected absentee is Ruby Tui; the Wallaroos won’t mind, but the publicity agents certainly will.
New Zealand does have concerns. There is a lot of sporting competition for attention at the moment, so NZR will be anxious to fill the Hamilton ground. The All Blacks will mop up attention in their match against Italy in their World Cup. The Black Caps also start their Cricket World Cup against champions England on 5 October.
And once more big names from the Sevens squad are missing, for example, Portia Woodman, Tenika Willison and Kelsey Tenet.
The inevitability of the result is another headache for the authorities. Put simply: the Black Ferns never lose to the Wallaroos in the O’Reilly Cup. This close to the WXV NZR need to be sure of building up good crowds. They had to work very hard to encourage people to turn up to World Cup matches; they won’t want a repeat battle of that sort. Kiwi devotion to the game will be put to the test again.
Details: 30 September, FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton; KO 16.35 (local time)
