Black Ferns call in uncapped Hurricane for injured Chelsea Bremner

The Black Ferns have suffered a training injury ahead of the Pacific Four Series, with veteran lock Chelsea Bremner succumbing to a knee injury, ruling her out of the upcoming campaign.

The New Zealand team departed Auckland for North America this week, with round 1 of the tournament kicking off in Sacramento, California, against the USA.

Bremner was initially named as one of four locks in the first Black Ferns squad of 2026, and the first of head coach Whitney Hansen’s reign, alongside Laura Bayfield, Maiakawanakaulani Roos, and Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu.

The Black Ferns revealed the lock’s injury on Friday morning, confirming it was sustained during Tuesday’s training session before the team flew out.

Bremner is one of just two players in the squad aged 30, meaning her departure represents a loss in valuable experience for the team.

Her replacement, Sam Taylor, has toured with the Black Ferns XV twice under Hansen and is a rising force as a second-row forward in the Kiwi capital. The Hurricanes Poua representative is currently uncapped at the Test level.

The youngster’s inclusion brings the total number of fresh faces in the first Black Ferns squad of a new Rugby World Cup cycle to nine, with coach Hansen looking to the next generation of talent in the hope of building a squad that can return to the mountaintop the team last reached in 2022.

Taylor joins Maddison Robinson, Mo’omo’oga Palu, Taufa Bason and Mia Anderson as new-generation forwards in the Black Ferns squad.

After playing the USA in Sacramento on April 12, the Black Ferns will visit Kansas City for a rematch of the 2025 Rugby World Cup semi-final against Canada on April 18, before rounding out the Pacific Four Series on Australia’s Sunshine Coast against the Wallaroos on April 25.