Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

‘We’ve learnt a lot’: Wallaroos out to bounce back after tough start to year

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - MAY 25: Head coach Joanne Yapp of Australia talks to her team after losing the 2024 Pacific Four Series Round 4 & 2024 O'Reilly Cup 1st Test match between New Zealand Black Ferns and Australia Wallaroos at North Harbour Stadium on May 25, 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Captain Michaela Leonard is confident the Wallaroos have made some “big improvements” in key areas as they look to bounce back from a winless run in World Rugby’s Pacific Four Series when they take on Fijiana on Saturday.

ADVERTISEMENT

You could see it on the faces of the Australian players about 20 minutes after their first Laurie O’Reilly Test of the Year. As young fans called out for selfies, autographs and even a sock or two, the Wallaroos continued to process the disappointment of their 67-19 loss.

New Zealand had put on an attacking clinic as they returned to winning ways themselves at North Harbour Stadium on Auckland’s North Shore. It was Australia’s third loss in as many Tests and they’d have to wait more than a month to bounce back.

Video Spacer

Sarah Hirini on retiring legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe

New Zealand Sevens star Sarah Hirini gets emotional when asked by Finn Morton about Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who will retire after the Olympics.

Video Spacer

Sarah Hirini on retiring legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe

New Zealand Sevens star Sarah Hirini gets emotional when asked by Finn Morton about Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who will retire after the Olympics.

After going away and training in smaller, state-based groups, the women in gold have been back in camp chipping away as they seek to improve on their previous efforts. Coach Jo Yapp seemed positive about the preparation on Thursday, as did skipper Leonard on Friday.

At the time of writing, the Wallaroos are about 24 hours out from their third Test of the year on home soil. They’ll take on a Fiji outfit, who have attacking threats across the park, at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium as part of a double header with the Wallabies.

“Big review process after those games through Pac Four. What we highlighted is there was a lot of opportunity that we left out there and when we got our systems right and executed how we wanted to, things came away positively for us,” Leonard told reporters at Allianz Stadium.

“Looking back on those games, some little areas around our breakdown, set-piece execution and collision dominance have been big focuses for us over the last two weeks.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Some big improvements in those areas and hopefully everyone else will see that this weekend.

“Look, definitely wasn’t the result we wanted but it’s not something we’ve tried to dwell on,” she added.

“We’ve had a lot of big changes throughout the last couple of months in our program and we knew a lot of what we’re trying to do and we’re trying to achieve is going to be a growth process and it’s going to take time.

“We’ve reviewed on those games through Pac Four, we’ve learnt a lot, and we’ve all got our heads and our minds in the right places looking at how we can move forward now.”

Yapp has named a talented squad ahead of the clash with Fiji, including the experienced halves combination of halfback Layne Morgan and flyhalf Arabella McKenzie. Cecilia Smith and Georgina Friedrichs in the midfield are also ones to watch.

ADVERTISEMENT

The coach has also named four uncapped players in the matchday 23, including ACT Brumbies winger Biola Dawa who will start in the No. 14 jumper. Allana Sikimeti, Lydia Kavoa and Natalie Wright are also in line to debut off the bench.

It’s an exciting time for the Wallaroos as they continue to seek improvement, which includes building squad depth. With WXV2 and next year’s Rugby World Cup just around the corner, it would be massive for the group to get a win this weekend.

“I think it’d be huge for us to come away with the win this weekend. Double header on home soil, nothing really gets better,” Leonard explained.

“Hopefully a big crowd out there and (it’s) an opportunity for us, and hopefully the men as well, to put out some good footy, get Rugby Australia and everyone here behind us and set us up for a big backend of the year as well.”

ADVERTISEMENT

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 Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

286 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Cheslin Kolbe backed to end 16-year wait Cheslin Kolbe backed to end 16-year wait
Search