Northern | US

‘Competitive edge’: Wallaroos coach on impact of potential debutant trio

Ella Ryan of the Brumbies relaxes against the posts before the round four Super Rugby Women's match between ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds at Viking Park on March 22, 2025 in Canberra, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

When the Wallaroos face the USA Women’s Eagles for the first time since last year’s thriller at the Rugby World Cup, three uncapped prospects will potentially get an opportunity to make their international debuts in Kansas City.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dillyn Blackburn, Ella Ryan and Ava Wereta have all brought their “competitive edge” into the Wallaroos environment, with interim coach Sam Needs rewarding the trio with spots on the bench for this week’s Pacific Four Series match.

Ryan started in Super Rugby Women’s with the NSW Waratahs before taking up an opportunity with the Canberra Raiders. After two years in NRLW, Ryan returned to rugby union with the ACT Brumbies ahead of the 2025 season.

VIDEO

The scrum-half replaces Australia Sevens representative Piper Simons on the bench, with goal-kicking ace Samantha Wood retained in the starting role. Blackburn will cover the backrow off the pine, while Wereta is an up-and-coming centre.

“Ella, Dillyn, Ava, they’ve all done really well since coming into the group. We first saw Dillyn and Ava at the end of last year, we’ve seen Ella over the last couple of years,” Needs told reporters.

“The energy that they bring in, that freshness and that really competitive edge is something that we’ve loved. It’s something that we’re really excited to see on Friday night.

“It’s really exciting. We had a couple of backrowers and we had some centres move on from the World Cup so the opportunity that both [Wereta and Blackburn] have had some coming into the group, they’re very young, they’re very excited. They haven’t had too much 15s experience at a high level, so it’s really exciting to see how much growth they’ve had.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Needs has made four personnel changes to the Wallaroos side after last weekend’s 24-0 defeat to world no. 2 Canada in Sacramento. Tania Naden is back from a stint on the sidelines, named in the run-on side at hooker.

Kaitlan Leaney shifts from blindside flanker to lock, with captain Siokapesi Palu Sekona and Emily Chancellor lining up in the loose forwards. World Cup tackle-machine Piper Duck has been promoted to the First XV at number eight for the first time in 2026.

Related

Michaela Leonard is in line to equal the long-held Wallaroos appearance record held by utility Ashley Marsters. If Leonard comes off the bench, it will be the second-rower’s 45th match in a golden Wallaroos jersey.

The Wallaroos last played the USA eight months ago, holding on for a dramatic 31-all draw at York Community Stadum. That was the latest in a series of thrilling matches between the sides, who have established an exciting rivalry.

ADVERTISEMENT

In the opening round of the Pacific Four Series, the USA trailed New Zealand by just four points at half-time. While the Black Ferns ran away with a solid win in the end, the Wallaroos understand they’ll need to be accurate in all areas to win this Test.

“There’s opportunities in all different areas. They showed some really good moments around some of their attack, something a little bit different to what we’re used to defending so that’ll be a good challenge for us,” Needs explained.

“We’re excited to get stuck into them at set-piece. We’ve had some good battles with them over the years so I know the forward pack’s really geared up for that.

“But they’ve got threats all over the park. We’ve got to make sure that we’re on in all areas if we’re going to come away with the result that we’re looking for on Friday.”

PAC4 series

 Watch the Pacific Four Series live on RugbyPass TV this month as USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand all battle it out! 

*available in all countries outside of the participating teams. 

ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Close
ADVERTISEMENT