2019 Black Ferns
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Black Ferns touring squad for the 2019 Women’s Rugby Super Series:
(Test caps in brackets, new caps *):
FORWARDS
Hookers
Forne Burkin Canterbury*
Luka Connor Bay of Plenty*
Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (23) Counties ManukauProps
Phillipa Love (7) Canterbury
Toka Natua (16) Waikato
Aleisha-Pearl Nelson (29) Auckland
Leilani Perese (5) Counties Manukau
Olivia Ward-Duin North Harbour*Locks
Eloise Blackwell (37) Auckland
Karli Faneva Bay of Plenty*
Joanah Ngan-Woo Wellington*
Charmaine Smith (21) AucklandLoose Forwards
Les Elder (Captain, 13) Bay of Plenty
Charmaine McMenamin (19) Auckland
Marcelle Parkes (2) Wellington
Kennedy Simon Waikato*
Pia Tapsell North Harbour*BACKS
Halfbacks
Kendra Cocksedge (Co-vice captain, 47) Canterbury
Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu Counties Manukau**Midfield* Chelsea Alley (18) Waikato Kelly Brazier (37) Bay of Plenty Krysten Cottrell (5) Hawke's Bay Ruahei Demant (2) Auckland Theresa Fitzpatrick (9) AucklandThis should obviously be:
First five-eights
Krysten Cottrell (5) Hawke's Bay
Ruahei Demant (2) AucklandMidfield
Chelsea Alley (18) Waikato
Kelly Brazier (37) Bay of Plenty
Theresa Fitzpatrick (9) AucklandOutside Backs
Carla Hohepa (19) Waikato
Ayesha Leti-I’iga (3) Wellington
Natahlia Moors (1) Auckland
Alena Saili (2) Southland
Renee Wickliffe (35) Bay of Plenty
Selica Winiata (Co-vice captain, 36) ManawatuMoore said Ward-Duin was called in late to the squad to cover for 20-Test cap Aldora Itunu who was recovering from a knee injury.Moore said Ward-Duin wouldn’t be alone in the rookie category as his squad included six new caps and Joanah Ngan-Woo (Wellington) and Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu (Counties Manukau) who have been named in previous squads and are yet to make their debut. “This is a very exciting squad – a real mix of experienced players and younger players ready to make their mark. “We will be facing four of the top teams in the world in USA, Canada, France and England – it’s going to be fantastic festival of rugby,” he said..
Women’s Rugby Super Series 2019 in San Diego, USAChula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center
Saturday, 29 June
v Canada
Kickoff: 11am (NZT)Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center
Wednesday, 3 July
v USA
Kickoff: 12.15pm (NZT)Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center
Sunday, 7 July
v France
Kickoff: 9.15am (NZT)Torero Stadium
Monday, 15 July
v England
Kickoff: 8am (NZT)The tests will be broadcast live on Sky Sport 1.
http://www.allblacks.com/News/34292/black-ferns-touring-squad-for-san-diego-named
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Black Ferns team to take on Canada (Sat 29 June 2019, 11.00am NZT - Sky Sport 1)
1 Toka Natua (16)
2 Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (24)
3 Aleisha-Pearl Nelson (29)
4 Eloise Blackwell (37)
5 Charmaine Smith (21)
6 Charmaine McMenamin (19)
7 Les Elder (Captain, 13)
8 Pia Tapsell*
9 Kendra Cocksedge (Vice captain, 47)
10 Ruahei Demant (5)
11 Ayesha Leti-I'iga (3)
12 Chelsea Alley (18)
13 Carla Hohepa (19)
14 Renee Wickliffe (35)
15 Selica Winiata (Vice captain, 36)Reserves
16 Luka Connor*
17 Phillipa Love (7)
18 Leilani Perese (5) / Olivia Ward-Duin*
19 Karli Faneva*
20 Marcelle Parkes (2)
21 Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu*
22 Krysten Cottrell (5)
23 Alena Saili (2)North Harbour No.8 Pia Tapsell has been named to make her first Test start in the series opener. Tapsell, 20, has been a standout for her province where she has established herself as the most prolific try-scorer in North Harbour women’s rugby history. The Bay of Plenty pair, of hooker Luka Connor and loose forward Karli Faneva, Counties Manukau halfback Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu have all been named to make their Test debuts from the reserves. Ward-Duin is bracketed with Leilani Perese at this stage.Centre Carla Hohepa and prop Toka Natua will wear the black jersey for the first time since the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup final in Belfast. Hohepa, 33, took time out to have a baby and Moore said the speedy Waikato midfielder/wing was back to her best form and eager to make her mark in the series. “Carla is a very experienced player and we’ve always believed she is world class. She’s worked hard to get back in great physical shape and shown some good signs in all the lead-up games. She’s also part of our leadership group and is influential on and off the field.” Moore said Natua – also from Waikato – had earned her selection in a highly competitive position. “We’ve decided to go with Toka in this instance. She was the player of the World Cup Final, she’s had a year off, she’s back, and we want to see what she brings.”http://www.allblacks.com/News/34328/black-ferns-named-to-play-canada-in-super-series
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@Bovidae Yeah, typical game for a squad that has had many personnel changes and hasn't played for a while. Combos didn't always work well. I guess that's what you get if you don't have a proper competition before you play test matches (like the All Blacks have Super Rugby; or the Black Ferns the Farah Palmer Cup before an EOYT).
Don't think Cocksedge had a bad game; she just didn't stand out as usual. Great with the boot though. Only missed one kick at goal. Stand-outs for me were Blackwell and McMenamin in the forwards, and Alley and Leti-l'iga in the backs. Good cameo off the bench from Saili.
It was clear that the conditions had some impact on the game, although the strong wind seemed to affect the Canadians more than the Kiwis. Their line-outs were terrible. It looked really hot in San Diego.
Fortunately, the BFs will play the USA first, before taking on the two strongest opponents, France and England. Those two countries have the advantage of having played Premiership and Top 16 respectively, as well as the Six Nations.
It will be interesting to see how they are going to rotate players with the next game already on Wednesday morning (NZT).
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@Stargazer Not talking about goal kicking, which was good by both kickers, but Cocksedge's general kicking was poor (missed touch, aimless box kicks) and some of her options weren't great either.
England beat the USA 38-5 so I'm not confident vs them or France.
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Black Ferns squad to play the USA (Wednesday, 3 July - kickoff: 12.15pm (NZT) - live on Sky Sport 1)
1 Phillipa Love (8)
2 Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (25)
3 Aleisha-Pearl Nelson (30)
4 Eloise Blackwell (38)
5 Charmaine Smith (22)
6 Charmaine McMenamin (20)
7 Les Elder (Captain, 14)
8 Pia Tapsell (1)
9 Kendra Cocksedge (Vice captain, 48)
10 Ruahei Demant (6)
11 Ayesha Leti-I'iga (4)
12 Chelsea Alley (19)
13 Carla Hohepa (20)
14 Natahlia Moors (1)
15 Renee Wickliffe (36)Reserves
16 Forne Burkin*
17 Toka Natua (17)
18 Leilani Perese (6)
19 Joanah Ngan-Woo*
20 Kennedy Simon*
21 Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu (1)
22 Kelly Brazier (37)
23 Theresa Fitzpatrick (9)(* indicates BF debut)
http://www.allblacks.com/News/34348/black-ferns-team-named-to-face-usa
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@Stargazer It was 3rd vs 4th in the rankings. They swapped after Canada's loss to NZ. I don't know the strength of the French team relative to the team that played in the 6N and beat NZ.
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@Bovidae Maybe the changes to the French team were already made before the 6 Nations. I just checked, and they finished only 3rd, well behind England (of course) and just behind Italy (their women's team does better than their men's).
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Half Time: Black Ferns 19 - 0 USA
USA had more opportunities to attack in the second quarter but handling errors prevented them from scoring. Their hooker can't throw a ball straight. Only one or two good line-outs out of 10+.
Ball handling from some BF players needs improvement, too.
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Full time: New Zealand 33 - 0 USA (5 tries to nil)
Good game from the BFs, completely dominating. Set piece was great. The USA did create some chances, but their hands let them down. I've never seen so many handling errors in one game! Their defence was better though.
The BFs fielded quite a few debutants and there are some really good players among them.
Of all the rookies, no. 8 Pia Tapsell and wing Ayesha Leti-I'iga impressed the most. I hope to see more of the new replacement halfback, Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu. Only got 17 minutes, but looked promising.
As usual, Eloise Blackwell , Charmaine Smith and Charmaine McMenamin were among the best, and hooker Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate was solid, too. Brazier awesome as soon as she came on.
It was quite funny to see how some of the American players just seemed to drop the ball when our big forwards came up in the rush defence. Like possums staring in headlights.
Some of our backs, particularly Hohepa, need to work on their passing.
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@Bovidae said in 2019 Black Ferns:
Temperature is only in the early 20s so I am surprised they are having quarter water breaks.
France are up next before the big game - England.
I understand those water breaks are in fact ad breaks. It's the USA ...
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@Stargazer said in 2019 Black Ferns:
@Bovidae said in 2019 Black Ferns:
Temperature is only in the early 20s so I am surprised they are having quarter water breaks.
France are up next before the big game - England.
I understand those water breaks are in fact ad breaks. It's the USA ...
FFS...
