Whitney Hansen has just published her choice of 30 players to represent the Black Ferns in this year’s Pacific Four Series.
It’s vital she does well, not just for her own sake or her team’s, but for women’s rugby in general. All around the world the men who run national unions look askance at placing women in charge.
The Squad, with caps:
*MADDISON ROBINSON, AWHINA TANGEN-WAINOHU (10), CHRYSS VILIKO (19), VICI-ROSE GREEN (5), ATLANTA LOLOHEA (10), GEORGIA PONSONBY (37), TANYA KALOUNIVALE (27), VEISINIA MAHUTARIKI-FAKALELU (3), *MO’OMO’OGA PALU, LAURA BAYFIELD (6), CHELSEA BREMNER (24), MAIA ROOS (38), MAAMA MO’ONIA VAIPULU (7), *MIA ANDERSON, *TAUFA BASON, LIANA MIKAELE TU’U (35), KAIPO OLSEN-BAKER (16), KENNEDY TUKUATU (35, co-captain), MAIA JOSEPH (16), *TARA TURNER, RUAHEI DEMANT (51, co-captain), HANNAH KING (10), SYLVIA BRUNT (29), AMY DU PLESSIS (22), *HOLLYRAE METE-RENATA, RENEE HOLMES (29), AYESHA LETI-I-IGA (30), *JUSTINE McGREGOR, MERERANGI PAUL (14).
*uncapped
Schedule
The tournament is over in a flash – just three weekends. It means that a leading player might well start in all three. That helps to explain the presence of, for example, only two scrum-halves. This has proved a problem position since Kendra Cocksedge’s retirement. Hansen’s first choice is Joseph; Turner is her uncapped deputy.
At No 10 the big question is whether King can at last prove herself an adequate alternative to the undisputed leader, Demant.
But it’s up front where the selectors will hope to have unearthed new talent capable of holding their own against the two nations ranked above them. That’s what undid them at the RWC.
Another unknown is how strong a given bench will prove. Benches these days need to be teak-strong rather than comfortable.
Home, sweet home
One novelty is the influx of players from the English PWR. They will be fit, but will have to re-adapt to Kiwi methods, after having (old-fashioned?) methods drilled into them. Layla Sae is one of the injured unfortunates, her career at Quins having been brought to an early halt.
Fixtures, from 11-25 April:
1 v USA
2 v Canada
3 v Australia
You’ll have spotted that the start date tallies with the first round of the Six Nations. Quite a programme.
Last year things worked out like this:
NZ 79 USA 14
Australia 12 NZ 38
NZ 27 Canada 27
The last game was the classic; the Black Ferns came top by virtue of a better points difference. But this time the clash of the highest ranked sides is placed second. No question yet of copying the 6N pattern, where England and France have the privilege of meeting in the final round.
That fixture will once more be the key.
If the Ferns don’t manage to beat the Maple Leafs, then they’ll have even less right to that WXVGS fixture at Twickenham I queried just a few hours ago.
