Black Ferns Sevens star Tyla Nathan-Wong has continued her rapid elevation into test rugby, named to debut off the bench against Australia at Christchurch on Saturday.
Head coach Wayne Smith has included Nathan-Wong among his reserves for the O'Reilly Cup series-opener, with Waikato prop Awhina Tangen-Wainohu also poised for her first international appearance.
After missing the Pacific Four series in June with injury, loose forwards Kennedy Simon and Charmaine McMenamin will take their place in the starting XV. Simon, who was 2021 Black Ferns Player of the Year, has been named co-captain, alongside first-five Ruahei Demant.
Veteran evens exponent Theresa Fitzpatrick also returns to the line-up for the first time since 2019, selected at second-five.
The series, named after original Black Ferns coach Laurie O'Reilly, holds special significance for Smith, who worked with O'Reilly during his formative years as a coach.
"My want to get involved with the Black Ferns started as a tribute to Laurie, who was a great mate and mentor of mine," said Smith. "He inspired me to be a coach and I feel really fortunate to have had such a great relationship with him.
“Every test match is special, but the significance of playing for this trophy in Christchurch this weekend is not lost on our team."
Black Ferns: 1-Pip Love, 2-Georgia Ponsonby, 3-Tanya Kalounivale, 4-Joanah Ngan Woo, 5-Chelsea Bremner, 6-Alana Bremner, 7-Kennedy Simon, 8-Charmaine McMenamin, 9-Kendra Cocksedge, 10-Ruahei Demant, 11-Ayesha Leti-I’iga, 12-Theresa Fitzpatrick, 13-Amy du Plessis, 14-Ruby Tui, 15-Renee Holmes
Reserves: 16-Luka Connor, 17-Awhina Tangen-Wainohu, 18-Amy Rule, 19-Tafito Lafaele, 20-Kendra Reynolds, 21-Tyla Nathan-Wong, 22-Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu Atai’I (Sylvia) Brunt, 23-Hazel Tubic
Join us at 7pm Saturday for live updates of the Black Ferns v Australia test
