1
Wallaroos swing the axe for second Test with Black Ferns
Wallaroos coach Jay Tregonning has made sweeping changes as the Australian women’s rugby team tries to make a dent on a dominant New Zealand.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Wallaroos will play their first ever Test at Adelaide Oval on Saturday in a double-header with the men’s Australian team, who take on South Africa.
In the first Test of the O’Reilly Cup last weekend in Christchurch, the women were thrashed 52-5 by the Black Ferns to record Australia’s heaviest loss in five years.
Among the seven changes to his starting side, Tregonning has handed a Test debut to Brumbies centre Siokapesi Palu and winger Bienne Terita, a member of the World Series-winning Sevens squad.
Liz Patu returns to the starting side in place of injured Bree-Anna Cheatham while Adiana Talakai and local Adelaide product Eva Karpani have been elevated from the reserves in a new-look front row.
Waratahs lock Atasi Lafai, who made her return from injury in New Zealand, will start in the second row alongside Michaela Leonard.
Grace Hamilton has been rewarded for her training effort with selection, replacing No.8 Grace Kemp who is out after a head knock.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’ve made some changes this week off the back of last week’s result, as well as some minor injuries within the squad,” said Tregonning.
“We’re lucky to have built significant depth within the group over the last few months.
“We have two new players coming into the backline this week in Siokapesi and Bienne, and we believe they both have a lot to offer the team.
“We’ve had another solid week of training, off the back of an in-depth review following last weekend’s match, and the team are really looking forward to playing in Adelaide for the first time ever.”
The teams are preparing for the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October, where the host will start among the favourites.
ADVERTISEMENT
The trans-Tasman rivals are slated to meet on the opening night of the tournament at Auckland’s Eden Park on October 8.
Wallaroos: Pauline Piliae-Rasa bale, Bienne Terita, Georgina Friedrichs, Siokapesi Palu, Ivania Wong, Arabella McKenzie, Iliseva Batibasaga, Grace Hamilton, Shannon Parry (capt), Emily Chancellor, Michaela Leonard, Atasi Lafai, Eva Karpani, Adiana Talaka, Liz Patu. Res: Ashley Marsters, Emily Robinson, Bridie O’Gorman, Kaitlan Leaney, Piper Duck, Layne Morgan, Trilleen Pomare, Lori Cramer.
Comments on RugbyPass
Dad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
129 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
129 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
129 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
129 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
129 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
129 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
129 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
129 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
129 Go to commentsHo hum.
129 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
129 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
129 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
129 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
129 Go to commentsSpringboks won! Stop winging. You can change the game however much you and your rugby colonizing IRB want to and the Springboks will win you at that too. Your mind is colonized my friend get a life
129 Go to commentsBen, nobody gets fooled anymore by selective and biased data to support an hypothesis. Games are decided on such small margins these days that you win some and lose some, and dominance is a thing of the rugby past. Look at the RWC circle of fortune…. Ireland beats SA who beat France who beat NZ who beat Ireland. And so it goes on. Match officials help to eliminate real indiscretions. If they had been with us years before, no doubt results would have been different. Remember Andy Haden’s dive from a lineout in 1978 for which a match-wining penalty was awarded? Wales should have beaten the ABs that day. They took the loss like the gentlemen they were.
129 Go to comments