The Wairarapa-Bush secondary schoolgirls rugby team will be in the spotlight at Wanganui on Tuesday, October 16. They will play their Wanganui counterparts then in what will be the curtain-raiser to the "test" between the world champion Black Ferns and Australia. It will be second time in a fortnight that Wairarapa-Bush andWanganui have met, the first coming at the Hurricanes regional tourney in Wanganui last week Wairarapa-Bush prevailed on that occasion by 24-5. That match had been preceded for Wairarapa-Bush by a 29-7 win over Horowhenua-Kapiti and their only defeat came when they met Poverty Bay in their section grand final. The score was locked at 10-10 midway through the first half of that game but Poverty Bay pulled away to win 42-22. Meanwhile, Black Ferns coaches Dale Atkins and former All Black Warwick Taylor have named 10 new faces in their 25-strong squad to the two-test series against the Wallaroos, the one in Wanganui being followed by a second in Wellington on October 20. The newcomers are Kendra Cocksedge (Canterbury), Amy Farr (Wellington), Carla Hohepa (Otago), Ruth McKay (Manawatu), Tia Paasi (Wellington), Vita Robinson (Auckland), Aimee Sutorius (Wellington), Teresa Te Tamaki (Auckland), Anika Tiplade (Manawatu) and Kathleen Wilton (Otago). The squad will be captained by Canterbury's Melissa Ruscoe, who was part of the World Cup-winning Black Ferns in 2006. Atkins said the home series was a fantastic opportunity to watch the Black Ferns in action at home. "This is great for the ongoing development of women's rugby. We have some amazing athletes and the squad to face Australia is a good mix of youth and exeperience. I am sure that rugby supporters will enjoy the trans-Tasman rivalry," he said.
