October 27, 2022
Richmond utility Abigail Roache has been brought into the Kiwi Ferns touring squad to replace prop Kararaina Wira-Kohu who unfortunately suffered a calf tear last Saturday.
Roache was awarded the Cathy Friend Women’s Player of the Year Award at the Auckland Rugby League Annual Awards earlier this year and is yet to make her Kiwi Ferns debut.
“Losing Kararaina was a huge loss for us knowing how hard she worked over the past four years, on behalf of the team I wish her well on her recovery,” Head coach Ricky Henry said.
“Abigail’s selection was a reward for her current form in New Zealand right now.
“She can cover multiple positions and I’m looking forward to seeing what she has to offer in this campaign.”
Kiwi Ferns World Cup squad (amended) by touring number:
1 Apii Nicholls
2 Katelyn Vahaakolo
3 Autumn-Rain Stephens Daly
4 Page McGregor
5 Madison Bartlett
6 Laishon Albert-Jones
7 Raecene McGregor
8 Mya Hill-Moana
9 Krystal Rota
10 Annetta-Claudia Nu’uausala
11 Roxette Murdoch-Masila
12 Amber-Paris Hall
13 Georgia Hale
14 Nita Maynard
15 Abigail Roache
16 Charlotte Scanlan
17 Christyl Stowers
18 Otesa Pule
19 Hailee-Jay Ormond-Maunsell
20 Crystal Tamarua
21 Shanice Parker
22 Karli Hansen
23 Brianna Clark
24 Mele Hufanga
Auckland, New Zealand, September 14, 2022 – New Zealand Rugby League selectors have added 10 players to the Kiwis’ mid-year Test line-up in a 34-man wider squad to prepare for the Rugby League World Cup in the United Kingdom starting next month.
Among the additions are experienced Kiwis Shaun Johnson, Kodi Nikorima and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves along with Corey Harawira-Naera, Braden Hamlin-Uele and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who all made their New Zealand Test debuts in 2019.
Also included are Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs hooker Jeremy Marshall-King and Parramatta Eels winger Bailey Simonsson, both selected in the Kiwis’ squad for the 2019 World Nines in Sydney.
The only two new faces are in-form Canberra centres Sebastian Kris (23) and Matthew Timoko (22) who have been instrumental in the Raiders’ surge into week two of the NRL finals after eliminating Melbourne Storm 28-20 on Saturday night.
Of the 25 players named in the extended squad for the 26-6 win over Mate Ma’a Tonga in June only Gold Coast hooker Erin Clark isn’t included after being ruled out following knee surgery.
Seven of the players are yet to make their Test debuts for the Kiwis – Kris, Timoko, Marshall-King, Simonsson, Griffin Neame, Jordan Riki and Scott Sorensen – but Neame, Riki and Sorensen were in camp for the Tonga Test.
“We wanted to name a wider squad so we have all options covered while the NRL finals are playing out,” said Kiwis head coach Michael Maguire.
“We’re excited about the depth of players available and the form they’re in. The vast majority of them are in sides that made it into the finals which is a real positive as we look ahead to the tournament.”
The Kiwis are due to assemble in Sydney on September 27 where they’ll train for two days before flying to England on September 30. Players selected from the two teams in the grand final will travel separately the following week.
The New Zealanders will warm up for their World Cup campaign with a match against the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley on October 8 when 2008 World Cup winner Thomas Leuluai will be guest captain in the final match of his decorated career before retiring.
The Kiwis will then move to their RLWC base in York. Their opening Pool C match is against Lebanon in Warrington on October 16 followed by Jamaica in Hull on October 22 and Ireland in Leeds on October 28.
The quarter-finals are scheduled for November 4,5 and 6, the semifinals on November 11 and 12 and the final at Old Trafford in Manchester on November 19.
Australia will meet Fiji, Italy and Scotland in Group B, while New Zealand were drawn against Ireland, Jamaica and Lebanon in Group C and Tonga play Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea and Wales in Group D.
In the women’s tournament, New Zealand were drawn in the same pool as Australia in a massive boost for the likes of England and PNG.
However, most interest in the Throne Room at Buckingham Palace centred on which team Prince Harry picked as England’s opponents in the opening match on October 23, 2021. The match will be played at St James’ Park in Newcastle.
Tournament organisers couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome as Samoa have the potential to be a massive drawcard if Williams chooses to play for them.
The host nation narrowly lost the 2017 final 6-0 to Australia and would be expected to top their pool but Great Britain’s disastrous Southern Hemisphere tour at the end of last season and the retirement of Sam Burgess have raised concerns.
Samoa are the obvious threat but their only win since 2016 was a 24-6 defeat of PNG in last year’s Pacific Test.
It would take a stunning upset for the Kangaroos to fail to top their pool but Tonga showed what is possible by beating Australia last November in Auckland and Fiji aren’t too far behind.
The Bati have qualified for the semi-finals of the last three World Cups and will be battle-hardened by Tests against New Zealand and Tonga this year.
Scotland drew with New Zealand in 2016 and Samoa at the 2017 World Cup but its hard to see them or Italy making it out of their pool.
This is probably the most wide-open pool, with the exception of the current No.1 ranked Kiwis.
Jamaica qualified for their first World Cup by beating the USA more than a year ago, while Lebanon are likely to field a young team after the retirements of Robbie Farah and Tim Mannah from the team that made the quarter-finals in 2017.
Ireland were unlucky not to have advanced to the 2017 quarter-finals in place of Samoa and would have under the format for the 2021 tournament.
However, the results in Group C are likely to come down to which of Ireland, Jamaica and Lebanon has the best heritage players to help claim second spot.
After beating Great Britain and Australia at the end of last season, as well as New Zealand at the 2017 World Cup, Tonga are aiming to win the 2021 tournament and few doubt they are capable.
Besides Tonga, Group D is also wide open as PNG beat Great Britain at the end of last season and Cook Islands have the potential to field a strong line-up if all of their heritage players make themselves available.
Wales have been disappointing in recent seasons but the tournament being in the UK will be of benefit to the Dragons.
The Orchids, Ravens and Brasileiras would have been doing handstands after being drawn in Group A with England.
Brazil will meet the host nation in the opening game of the women’s World Cup at Emerald Headingley Stadium on November 9, 2021.
Most interest in the women’s draw was always going to revolve around which side of the draw the Kiwi Ferns were in and France and the Cook Islands now face a tough World Cup campaign.
The Jillaroos are the defending World Cup champions and also won the 2013 final but New Zealand had won every tournament before that.
Defending World Cup winners France will meet Wales, Scotland and USA in pool B.
The 2021 World Cup is the first in which the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments have been staged concurrently, with all three finals to be played on the same weekend.
Brad Walter – NRL
Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021) has today revealed the confirmed nations who will participate in the women’s tournament in 2021.
The announcements were made across the tournament’s official social media channels, we saw each of the eight individual nations revealed with a unique video showcasing what each nation will bring to RLWC2021.
Set to be the most inclusive rugby league event ever, RLWC2021 will see the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments played concurrently for the first time. International nations were asked to submit their expressions of interest earlier this year for RLWC2021 and Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) representatives to review.
The nations confirmed for the women’s tournament are:
Each nation was assessed against set criteria that reviewed their current international and domestic infrastructure, their plans for growth and their potential impact on RLWC2021. The draw for the tournament will take place in November 2019.
Speaking about the announcement, Jon Dutton, Chief Executive of the Rugby League World Cup 2021, said: “We’re delighted the three-times world champions, the Kiwi Ferns, will be taking part in the biggest and best Women’s RLWC in 2021. The Kiwi Ferns have fantastic quality in their ranks, and it will be brilliant to see them showcased to the world, here in England.
“I would like to congratulate each nation that has been chosen to take part in the women’s tournament. We had some fantastic submissions and unfortunately, we couldn’t say yes to each nation, however, we’re confident the chosen nations will play their role in delivering the greatest, and most inclusive, Rugby League World Cup of all time. It is especially pleasing to see an inaugural South American nation compete in a Rugby League World Cup”
RLIF Chief Executive Officer Nigel Wood added: “Women’s sport is growing exponentially, and rugby league is no exception. The fact that we were oversubscribed for this competition demonstrates the immense appetite for our sport. We are encouraged that female athletes around the world are participating and rising to the challenge of skill, fitness, strength and mental toughness provided by rugby league.
“I would like to add my congratulations to each nation and wish them all the best in their build-up to what will be a fantastic event in 2021 and to thank all the nations who participated in this process and we hope that they will join in the women’s Emerging Nations World Cup, which will be a part of the Festival of World Cups 2021.
“We have to ensure that there is clear pathway developed quickly to cater for a fuller women’s international programme with events organised locally, regionally and globally, all leading to a full qualification process for the RLWC2025.”
RLWC2021 will begin with the men’s opening fixture featuring England at St James’ Park on Saturday 23rd October 2021. The women’s tournament will begin at Anfield on Saturday 13th November 2021 and the wheelchair tournament will begin on Sunday 14th November 2021 at the Copper Box Arena, with England both featuring in those opening fixtures. The event will finish with a finals weekend (27th-28th November) with the wheelchair tournament concluding at the M&S Bank Arena and men’s and women’s final held as a double-header at Old Trafford.
