Shaun Johnson will have a new halves partner for Saturday night’s Rugby League World Cup clash against Scotland with Te Maire Martin to wear the number 6 jersey in just his second Test.
Jason Nightingale, Peta Hiku and Dean Whare all get starts in a reshaped backline while Addin Fonua-Blake is set to earn his first Kiwis cap coming off the bench. Kenny Bromwich is fit and rearing to go in the back row. Elijah Taylor will start at hooker, rounding out the seven changes to the side that beat Samoa 38-8 at Mt Smart.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Russell Packer and Danny Levi will again provide spark off the bench.
Thomas Leuluai and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak are 18th and 19th men respectively, Simon Mannering and Jordan Rapana are 20 and 21.
NEW ZEALAND v SCOTLAND CHRISTCHURCH STADIUM 4 NOVEMBER 2017 KIWI NO. JERSEY NO. NAME TEST APPEARANCES 779 1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK 13 747 2 JASON NIGHTINGALE 32 776 3 DEAN WHARE 16 803 4 BRAD TAKAIRANGI 1 781 5 PETA HIKU 9 802 6 TE MAIRE MARTIN 1 774 7 SHAUN JOHNSON 22 785 8 MARTIN TAUPAU 17 770 9 ELIJAH TAYLOR 10 755 10 JARED WAEREA-HARGREAVES 20 796 11 KENNY BROMWICH 2 800 12 JOSEPH TAPINE 3 732 13 ADAM BLAIR 42 804 14 NELSON ASOFA-SOLOMONA 1 768 15 RUSSELL PACKER 4 * 16 ADDIN FONUA-BLAKE – 806 17 DANNY LEVI 1 704 18 THOMAS LEULUAI 39 794 19 DALLIN WATENE-ZELEZNIAK 4 731 20 SIMON MANNERING 43 798 21 JORDAN RAPANA 6
New Zealand scored five unanswered second half tries to win in a physical opening round World Cup clash in Auckland, but the win was soured by the loss of centre Gerard Beale with a leg injury.
Beale was taken from the field on a medicab, suffered a suspected broken leg as he was running in support and fell to the ground without being touched.
His loss is a blow for the new-look Kiwis, who had to overcome an emotion-charged Samoa side, with blood, sweat and tears all shed on the field as both teams wore their jerseys with pride in a tough and hard-hitting match.
Hardman Junior Paulo went from tears to aggression as he sung the national anthem before leading Samoa in a spine tingling pre-game war dance.
Following a blood pumping Haka from New Zealand, the opening minutes of the game featured hard straight running, and brick wall defence.
But it took only five minutes for New Zealand to break through Samoa’s defence and record their opening try of the World Cup.
40 meters out from Samoa’s line, Rapana flicked the ball inside to Shaun Johnson who drew the full-back and returned the ball to a full flight Rapana who ran down the field for New Zealand’s first try.
Following Johnson’s unsuccessful conversion, the match fell into an arm wrestle as the big men of both teams tried to bash their team into good field possession.
But it would be the footwork of New Zealand forward Simon Mannering that created a chance for Shaun Johnson to extend their lead 20 minutes out from half time.
Holding onto a slim 10-0 lead, Samoa needed to strike before half time to get back into the game.
And with just four minutes left to play in the half, Joey Leilua came off his edge and threw a long cut out ball to Ken Maumalo who picked up the bouncing ball and planted it down to bring the score line to 10-4 shortly before half time.
After a scrappy start to the game, completing just over 50% of their sets, New Zealand started to show glimpses of their world-class talent.
Then in the 56th minute, Johnson launched a grubber off his right boot, which sat up perfectly for Kodi Nikorima to give New Zealand a confident 20-4 lead as their attack started to gel.
New Zealand’s momentum was dealt a big blow in the 61st minute when Beale was taken from the field after suffering his injury. Beale was motionless on the field as his teammates were clearly distressed after falling to the ground after a tackle.
Despite the injury, New Zealand continued to rally and put Samoa to the sword as they ran in three unanswered tries in 20 minutes to finish the match.
As the siren sounded to finished the match, Samoa finally broke through New Zealand’s defensive line for a late consolation try, but it meant little as New Zealand finished winners, 38-8.
NZ 38 Jordan Rapana, Shaun Johnson, Brad Takairangi, Kodi Nikorima, Issac Liu, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Nelson Asofa-Solomona tries; Shaun Johnson 5 goals Samoa 8 Ken Maumalo, Joseph Paulo tries
James Coman1 | @JamesComan1 Rugby League Wolrd Cup 2017 Reporter
October 28 at Mt Smart
Kiwis Coach David Kidwell has named an attacking line up to tackle Samoa in their opening Rugby League World Cup match at Mt Smart on Saturday October 28.
The mix of youth and enthusiasm as well as experience in Kidwell’s side is displayed with the fact the Kiwis will cap player #804 during the match, whilst Kiwi #704 Thomas Leuluai will start at hooker.
Brad Takairangi will become Kiwi #803 earning his first start in the centres alongside Gerard Beale while Kodi Nikorima will partner Shaun Johnson in the halves.
Martin Taupau will be joined in the front row by skipper Adam Blair with the back row made up of Simon Mannering, Joseph Tapine and Kenny Bromwich.
Russell Packer who will provide a further spark off the bench along with Danny Levi, Isaac Liu and Nelson Asofa-Solomona will also earn their first Kiwis cap.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is named in 18 with Peta Hiku in 19, Te Maire Martin 20 and Addin Fonua-Blake in 21.
NEW ZEALAND v SAMOA MOUNT SMART STADIUM AUCKLAND Saturday 28 October 2017
KIWI NO. JERSEY NO. NAME TEST APPEARANCES 779 1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK 12 794 2 DALLIN WATENE-ZELEZNIAK 3 767 3 GERARD BEALE 10 * 4 BRAD TAKAIRANGI – 798 5 JORDAN RAPANA 5 793 6 KODI NIKORIMA 5 774 7 SHAUN JOHNSON 21 785 8 MARTY TAUPAU 16 704 9 THOMAS LEULUAI 38 732 10 ADAM BLAIR (C) 41 796 11 KENNY BROMWICH 2 800 12 JOSEPH TAPINE 2 731 13 SIMON MANNERING 42 * 14 NELSON ASOFA-SOLOMONA – 768 15 RUSSELL PACKER 3 * 16 ISAAC LIU – * 17 DANNY LEVI – 755 18 JARED WAEREA-HARGREAVES 19 781 19 PETA HIKU 9 802 20 TE MAIRE MARTIN 1 * 21 ADDIN FONUA-BLAKE –
The confirmed squads for the RLWC2017 Men’s Tournament have been confirmed today. Get behind your Kiwis!
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Pool A
Australia 1.Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Penrith Panthers), 2.Will Chambers (Melbourne Storm), 3.Boyd Cordner (Vice-Captain) (Sydney Roosters), 4.Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm), 5.Josh Dugan (St George Illawarra Dragons), 6.Tyson Frizell (St George Illawarra Dragons), 7.Dane Gagai (Newcastle Knights), ,8.Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos), 9.Wade Graham (Cronulla Sharks), 10.Valentine Holmes (Cronulla Sharks), 11.Ben Hunt (Brisbane Broncos), 12.Felise Kaufusi (Melbourne Storm), 13.David Klemmer (Canterbury Bulldogs), 14.Josh McGuire (Brisbane Broncos), 15.James Maloney (Cronulla Sharks), 16.Josh Mansour (Penrith Panthers), 17.Jordan McLean (Melbourne Storm), 18.Michael Morgan (North Queensland Cowboys), 19.Cameron Munster (Melbourne Storm), 20.Billy Slater (Melbourne Storm), 21.Cameron Smith (Captain) (Melbourne Storm), 22.Jake Trbojevic (Manly Sea Eagles), 23.Tom Trbojevic (Manly Sea Eagles), 24.Aaron Woods (Wests Tigers).
England 1.John Bateman (Wigan Warriors), 2.Kevin Brown (Warrington Wolves), 3.Sam Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs), 4.Thomas Burgess (South Sydney Rabbitohs), 5.Ben Currie (Warrington Wolves), 6.Luke Gale (Castleford Tigers), 7.James Graham (Canterbury Bulldogs), 8.Ryan Hall (Leeds Rhinos), 9.Chris Heighington (Cronulla Sharks), 10.Chris Hill (Warrington Wolves), 11.Josh Hodgson (Canberra Raiders), 12.Jonny Lomax (St Helens), 13.Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield Giants), 14.Mike McMeeken (Castleford Tigers), 15.Sean O’Loughlin (Captain) (Wigan Warriors), 16.Mark Percival (St Helens), 17.Stefan Ratchford (Warrington Wolves), 18.James Roby (St Helens), 19.Scott Taylor (Hull FC), 20.Alex Walmsley (St Helens), 21.Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos), 22.Elliott Whitehead (Canberra Raiders), 23.Gareth Widdop (St George Illawarra Dragons), 24.George Williams (Wigan Warriors).
France 1.Bastien Ader (Toulouse Olympique), 2.Olivier Arnaud (SO Avignon XIII), 3.Lucas Albert (Catalans Dragons), 4.Jason Baitieri (Catalans Dragons), 5.William Barthau (Toulouse Olympique), 6.Guillaume Bonnet (SO Avignon XIII), 7.Julian Bousquet (Catalans Dragons), 8.Clement Boyer (Toulouse Olympique), 9.Damien Cardace (FC Lezignan), 10.Nabil Djalout (Catalans Dragons), 11.Theo Fages (Captain) (St Helens), 12.John Boudebza (London Harlequins), 13.Benjamin Garcia (Catalans Dragons), 14.Maxime Herold (XIII Limouxin), 15.Benjamin Jullien (Warrington Wolves), 16.Thibault Margalet (Catalans Dragons), 17.Anthony Maria (Toulouse Olympique), 18.Hakim Miloudi (Doncaster/Hull FC), 19.Mark Keirallah (Toulouse Olympique), 20.Roman Navarette (Catalans Dragons), 21.Eloi Pelissier (Leigh Centurions), 22.Mickael Rouch (XIII Limouxin), 23.Gadwin Springer (Castleford Tigers), 24.Fouad Yaha (Catalans Dragons).
Lebanon 1.Robbie Farah (Captain) (South Sydney Rabbitohs), 2.Mitchell Moses (Vice-Captain) (Parramatta Eels), 3.Danny Barakat (Wentworthville Magpies), 4.Jamie Clark (Auburn Warriors), 5.Adam Doueihi (South Sydney Rabbitohs), 6.James Elias (West Newcastle), 7.Ahmad Ellaz (Auburn Warriors), 8.Nick Kassis (Blacktown Workers), 9.Andrew Kazzi (Wests Tigers), 10.Anthony Layoun (Parramatta Eels), 11.Michael Lichaa (Canterbury Bulldogs), 12.Mitchell Mamary (Wentworthville Magpies), 13.Bilal Maarbani (Manly Sea Eagles), 14.Abbas Miski (North Sydney Bears), 15.Tim Mannah (Parramatta Eels), 16.Ray Moujalli (Canterbury Bulldogs), 17.Reece Robinson (unattached), 18.Travis Robinson (Newtown Jets), 19.Chris Saab (Blacktown Workers), 20.Raymond Sabat (Lycans FC), 21.Jaleel Seve-Derbas (Wests Tigers), 22.Elias Sukkar (Wentworthville Magpies), 23.Alex Twal (Wests Tigers), 24.Jason Wehbe (unattached).
Pool B
New Zealand 1.Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Melbourne Storm), 2.Gerard Beale (Cronulla Sharks), 3.Adam Blair (Captain) (Brisbane Broncos), 4.Kenneath Bromwich (Melbourne Storm), 5.Addin Fonua-Blake (Manly Sea Eagles), 6.Peta Hiku (Warrington Wolves), 7.Shaun Johnson (New Zealand Warriors), 8.Thomas Leuluai (Wigan Warriors), 9.Danny Levi (Newcastle Knights), 10.Isaac Liu (Sydney Roosters), 11.Simon Mannering (New Zealand Warriors), 12.Te Maire Martin (North Queensland Cowboys), 13.Jason Nightingale (St George Illawarra Dragons), 14.Kodi Nikorima (Brisbane Broncos), 15.Russell Packer (St George Illawarra Dragons), 16.Jordan Rapana (Canberra Raiders), 17.Brad Takairangi (Parramatta Eels), 18.Joseph Tapine (Canberra Raiders), 19.Martin Taupau (Manly Sea Eagles), 20.Elijah Taylor (Wests Tigers), 21.Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (New Zealand Warriors), 22.Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (Sydney Roosters), 23.Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (Penrith Panthers), 24.Dean Whare (Penrith Panthers).
Samoa 1.Frank Pritchard (Captain) (Parramatta Eels), 2.Bunty Afoa (NZ Warriors), 3.Leeson Ah Mau (St George Illawarra Dragons), 4.Fa’amanu Brown (Cronulla Sharks), 5.Herman Ese’ese (Brisbane Broncos), 6.Pita Godinet (Manly Sea Eagles), 7.Tim Lafai (St George Illawarra Dragons), 8.Joseph Leilua (Canberra Raiders), 9.Ricky Leutele (Cronulla Sharks), 10.Sam Lisone (NZ Warriors), 11.Jarome Luai (Penrith Panthers), 12.Suaia Matagi (Parramatta Eels), 13.Peter Mata’utia (Newcastle Knights), 14.Ken Maumalo (NZ Warriors), 15.Zane Musgrove (South Sydney Rabbitohs), 16.Josh Papalii (Canberra Raiders), 17.Joseph Paulo (Canberra Raiders), 18.Junior Paulo (Cronulla Sharks), 19.Ben Roberts (Castleford Tigers), 20.Sam Tagataese (Cronulla Sharks), 21.Jazz Tevaga (NZ Warriors), 22.Young Tonumaipea (Melbourne Storm), 23.Frank Winterstein (Manly Sea Eagles), 24.Matthew Wright (Manly Sea Eagles).
Scotland 1.Alex Walker (London Broncos), 2.Andrew Bentley (Toulouse Olympique), 3.Ben Hellewell (London Broncos), 4.Ben Kavanagh (Hull KR), 5.Brandan Wilkinson (Bradford Bulls), 6.Callum Phillips (Workington Town), 7.Dale Ferguson (Huddersfield Giants), 8.Danny Addy (Hull KR), 9.Danny Brough (Captain) (Huddersfield Giants), 10.David Scott (Batley Bulldogs), 11.Frankie Mariano (Featherstone Rovers), 12.James Bell (NZ Warriors), 13.Jarred Anderson (Sydney Roosters), 14.Johnny Walker (Darlington Point Roosters), 15.Kane Bentley (Toulouse Olympique), 16.Kieran Moran (Hull KR), 17.Lachlan Stein (Penrith Panthers), 18.Lewis Tierney (Wigan Warriors), 19.Luke Douglas (St Helens), 20.Matthew Russell (Warrington Wolves), 21.Oscar Thomas (Bradford Bulls), 22.Ryan Brierley (Toronto Wolfpack), 23.Sam Brooks (Featherstone Rovers), 24.Shane Toal (Barrow Raiders).
Tonga 1.Andrew Fifita (Cronulla Sharks), 2.Mahe Fonua (Hull FC), 3.David Fusitu’a (NZ Warriors), 4.Siliva Havili (St George Illawarra Dragons), 5.Ata Hingano (NZ Warriors), 6.Will Hopoate (Canterbury Bulldogs), 7.Konrad Hurrell (Gold Coast Titans), 8.Michael Jennings (Parramatta Eels), 9.Solomone Kata (NZ Warriros), 10.Sione Katoa (Penrith Panthers), 11.Samisoni Langi (Leigh Centurions), 12.Tuimoala Lolohea (Wests Tigers), 13.Sika Manu (Hull FC), 14.Manu Ma’u (Parramatta Eels), 15.Sam Moa (Catalans Dragons), 16.Ben Murdoch Masila (Salford Red Devils), 17.Joe Ofahengaue (Brisbane Broncos), 18.Tevita Pangai jnr (Brisbane Broncos), 19.Ukuma Ta’ai (Huddersfield Giants), 20.Sio Siua Taukieaho (Sydney Roosters), 21.Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland Cowboys), 22.Peni Terepo (Parramatta Eels), 23.Daniel Tupou (Sydney Roosters), 24.Manu Vatuvei (Salford Red Devils).
Pool C
Papua New Guinea 1.David Mead (Captain), Brisbane Broncos), 2.Ase Boas (Vice-Captain) (PNG Hunters), 3.Enoch Maki (PNG Hunters), 4.Garry Lo (Sheffield Eagles), 5.James Segeyaro (Cronulla Sharks), 6.Justin Olam (Melbourne Storm/Sunshine Coast Falcons), 7.Kato Ottio (Canberra Raiders), 8.Kurt Baptiste (Canberra Raiders), 9.Lachlan Lam (Sydney Roosters), 10.Luke Page (Burleigh Bears), 11.Moses Meninga (PNG Hunters), 12.Nene MacDonald (St. George Illawarra Dragons), 13.Nixon Put (PNG Hunters), 14.Paul Aiton (Catalan Dragons), 15.Rhyse Martin (Canterbury Bulldogs), 16.Rod Griffin (Canterbury Bulldogs), 17.Stanton Albert (PNG Hunters), 18.Stargroth Amean (PNG Hunters), 19.Thompson Teteh (Redcliffe Dolphins), 20.Wartovo Puara Jnr (PNG Hunters), 21.Wellington Albert (PNG Hunters), 22.Watson Boas (PNG Hunters), 23.Willie Minoga (PNG Hunters).
Ireland 1.Liam Finn (Captain) (Wakefield Trinity), 2.Scott Grix (Vice-Captain) (Wakefield Trinity), 3.James Hasson (Wakefield Trinity), 4.Kyle Amor (St Helens), 5.Liam Kay (Toronto Wolfpack), 6.Will Hope (Sheffield Eagles), 7.Oliver Roberts (Huddersfield Giants), 8.Ed Chamberlain (Widnes Vikings), 9.George King (Warrington Wolves), 10.Joe Keyes (Bradford Bulls), 11.Joe Philbin (Warrington Wolves), 12.Jack Higginson (Wigan Warriors), 13.Anthony Mullally (Leeds Rhinos), 14.Tyrone McCarthy (Salford Red Devils), 15.Brad Singleton (Leeds Rhinos), 16.Micky McIlorum (Wigan Warriors), 17.Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook (St Helens), 18.Api Pewhairangi (London Broncos), 19.Matty Hadden (Rochdale Hornets), 20.Shannon McDonnell (Camden Rams), 21.Michael Morgan (Canterbury Bulldogs), 22.Casey Dunne (Athboy Longhorns), 23.James Kelly (Sheffield Eagles), 24.Alan McMahon (Waterford Vikings).
Wales 1.Courtney Davies (Gloucestershire All Golds), 2.Steve Parry (Gloucestershire All Golds), 3.Chester Butler (Halifax), 4.Danny Ansell (Hunslet), 5.Sam Hopkins (Leigh Centurions), 6.Michael Channing (London Broncos), 7.Ben Evans (London Broncos), 8.Dalton Grant (London Broncos), 9.Elliot Kear (Vice-Captain) (London Broncos), 10.Rhys Williams (London Broncos), 11.Matty Barron (Newcastle Thunder), 12.Joe Burke (Oldham Roughyeds), 13.Gavin Bennion (Rochdale Hornets), 14.Craig Kopczak (Captain) (Salford Red Devils), 15.Matty Fozard (Sheffield Eagles), 16.Andrew Gay (South Wales Ironmen), 17.Christiaan Roets (South Wales Ironmen), 18.Regan Grace (St Helens), 19.Morgan Knowles (St Helens), 20.Ben Morris (St Helens), 21.Rhodri Lloyd (Swinton Lions), 22.Josh Ralph (Tweed Heads Seagulls), 23.Phil Joseph (Vice-Captain) (Workington Town), 24.Matty Seamark (Wynnum Manly Seagulls).
Pool D
Fiji 1.Kane Evans (Sydney Roosters), 2.Salesi Faingaa (Parramatta Eels), 3.Jarryd Hayne (Gold Coast Titans), 4.Tui Kamikamica (Melbourne Storm/Sunshine Coast Falcons), 5.Viliame Kikau (Penrith Panthers), 6.Apisai Koroisau (Manly Sea Eagles), 7.Joe Lovadua (St George Illawarra Dragons), 8.Henry Raiwalui (Mounties), 9.Taane Milne (St George lIlawarra Dragons), 10.Sitiveni Moceidreke (South Sydney Rabbitohs/North Sydney Bears), 11.Marcelo Montoya (Canterbury Bulldogs), 12.Kevin Naiqama (Captain) (Wests Tigers), 13.Ben Nakubuwai (Gold Coast Titans/Tweed Heads Seagulls), 14.Mikaele Ravalawa (Canberra Raiders), 15.Junior Roqica (London Broncos), 16.Jacob Saifiti (Newcastle Knights), 17.Ashton Sims (Warrington Wolves), 18.Korbin Sims (Brisbane Broncos), 19.Pio Seci (Nabua Broncos), 20.James Storer (Port Kembla Blacks), 21.Akuila Uate (Manly-Sea Eagles), 22.Eloni Vunakece (Sydney Roosters/ Wyong Roos), 23.Suliasi Vunivalu (Melbourne Storm), 24.Brayden Wiliame (Catalans Dragons).
Italy 1.Daniel Alvaro (Parramatta Eels), 2.Mirco Bergamasco (Saluzzo Roosters), 3.Nathan Brown (Parramatta Eels), 4.Christophe Calegari (Palau XIII Broncos), 5.Terry Campese Queanbeyan Blues), 6.Justin Castellaro (Northern Pride), 7.Chris Centrone (Wyong Roos), 8.Geole Cellurino (Saluzzo Roosters/Tully Tigers), 9.Mason Cerruto (Penrith Panthers), 10.Ryan Ghietti (Northern Pride), 11.Gavin Hiscox (Central Qld Capras), 12.Jack Johns (Newcastle Knights), 13.Richard Lepori (Oldham Roughyeds), 14.Josh Mantellato (Wyong Roos), 15.Mark Minichiello (Captain) (Hull FC), 16.Nathan Milone (Wests Tigers), 17.Joel Riethmuller (Northern Pride), 18.Brendan Santi (Sydney Roosters/Wyong Roos), 19.James Tedesco (Vice-Captain) (Wests Tigers), 20.Joel Tramontana (Canterbury Bulldogs), 21.Paul Vaughan (St George Illawarra Dragons), 22.Jayden Walker (Cronulla Sharks), 23.Colin Wilkie (Northern Pride), 24.Shannon Wakeman (Huddersfield Giants).
USA 1.Jonathan Taylor Alley (Central Florida Warriors), 2.Ryan Burroughs (Toronto Wolfpack), 3.Charles ‘CJ’ Cortalano (White Plains Wombats), 4.Joseph Eichner (Toronto Wolfpack), 5.Bureta Faraimo (NZ Warriors), 6.Gabriel Farley (Philadelphia Fight), 7.Kristian Freed (White Plains Wombats), 8.Daniel Howard (Wentworthville Magpies), 9.Stephen Howard (Mounties), 10.Martwain Johnston (Delaware Black Foxes), 11.Andrew Kneisly (Philadelphia Fight), 12.Corey Makelim (Mounties), 13.Fotukava ‘Hiko’ Malu (Atlanta Rhinos), 14.David Marando (Belrose Eagles), 15.Nicholas Newlin (Atlanta Rhinos), 16.Mark Offerdahl (Captain) (London Broncos), 17.Edward Pettybourne (Tweed Heads Seagulls), 18.Joshua Rice (New York Knights), 19.Matthew Shipway (South Newcastle), 20.Samuel Tochtermann-Talbott (Tweed Heads Seagulls), 21.David Ulch (Tampa Mayhem), 22.Taioalo Junior Vaivai (Illawarra Wests Devils), 23.Matthew Walsh (White Plains Wombats)
New Zealand’s Kiwi Ferns will assemble mid-November in preparation for their tilt at returning the Women’s Rugby League World Cup to NZ. The three-time champions (2000, 2003 & 2008) have been working hard for months to prepare for the tournament.
For the first time this selection process has included talent based in Australia, with a number of players making the trip to NZ to trial with their NZ based counterparts before the squad was selected.
Coach Tony Benson said, “It has been exciting to see the lift in intensity at training and at the trials since we were able to commit more resources to the team.
“They have been working on their fitness levels with our trainers and Athlete Nation at the NZIS gym facilities and refining our nutrition with Lee-Anne Wann, performance nutritionist to prepare themselves for this campaign.
“All the players have really embraced the challenge and I am confident they will give the very best of themselves at this year’s tournament.”
The following squad, led by Laura Mariu, will head to Australia where they will play all their pool games in Sydney. The Women’s final will be played prior to the Men’s final in Brisbane on December 2, 2017. All Kiwi Ferns game will screen live on SKY in NZ.
(In alphabetical order) 1. Raquel Anderson * 2. Ngatokotoru Arakua 3. Sharlene Atai 4. Maitua Feterika 5. Teuila Fotu Moala 6. Louisa Gago * 7. Georgia Hale (VC) 8. Honey Hireme 9. Amber Kani 10. Bunty Kuruwaka-Crowe 11. Laura Mariu (C) 12. Lilieta Maumau 13. Nita Maynard * 14. Raecene McGregor * 15. Krystal Murray 16. Kimiora Nati 17. Apii Nicholls-Pualau * 18 Annetta-Claudia Nuuausala 19. Hilda Peters 20. Kahurangi Peters 21. Krystal Rota 22. Aeishaleigh Smalley * 23. Atawhai Tupaea 24. Shontelle Woodman
* Denotes Debutant
The Kiwi Ferns will play a warm-up game prior to the men’s Samoa v Tonga match in Hamilton on November 4. Buy Tickets.
Tournament details and to buy tickets
The World’s best are coming for the Rugby League World Cup and that includes the match officials. RLWC2017 head of officiating Tony Archer today announced a squad of match officials for the World Cup and for the first time each of the 26 is drawn from the NRL or Super League competitions only.
In another first, Belinda Sleeman is set to become the first female match official appointed to a World Cup fixture after being included in the squad chosen by Archer and RLWC2017 match officials coach Steve Ganson.
The match officials will act as the tournament’s 15th team and like the players representing each of the 14 nations they will go into camp together in Brisbane for the duration of RLWC2017, which begins in Melbourne on 27 October when Australia plays England.
They will have their own performance manager, a physiotherapist, a logistics and operations manager and three coaches – Ganson from England, Australia’s Russell Smith and New Zealand’s Luke Watts – working under Archer.
Archer said the performances of the match officials during the tournament would determine who was appointed to the World Cup final in Brisbane on 2 December.
There will be some key differences to the way NRL matches are officiated, with World Cup games controlled by one referee – not two – and an in-goal video referral system replacing the Bunker for checking contentious decisions.
There will also be no shot clock for scrums and goal lines drop outs but common rules used in Super League and the NRL will be in operation, including a seventh tackle from the 20-metre re-start if the ball is kicked dead and a tap re-start from a 40:20 kick. Golden point will only be used in finals matches.
NZRL National Referees Manager Luke Watts said.” This is a fantastic reward for Henry Perenara and Chris McMillan. They have been selected in the squad on merit, as the criteria for selection was based purely on performance with no automatic country allocation. Both have made tremendous strides in 2017 moving up the NRL ranking. We are making excellent headway in international referee relations.
“Their selections will have a flow-on effect for NZ officials. Both Henry and Chris are also active in the development of domestic NZ officials, giving up their time to speak at courses and offer coaching to referees.”
