Rotorua players trial for Black Ferns

FERN HOPES: Luka Connor.

Two players from Rotorua club teams have been selected to trial for the New Zealand Black Ferns.

Waikite's Luka Connor, a loose forward, and Ngongotaha midfield back Hana Tapiata will be among 50 players trying out for the national team today at Pukekohe's Bombay Rugby Club.

From there, 45 players will be selected for a second trial in Palmerston North at the end of the month. The final Black Ferns squad selection will be announced the week of June 1.

The team will assemble in Auckland on June 18 and depart on June 22 for the Canada Women's Rugby Super Series.

Connor said she was "very excited about the trial".

"I have been training hard for the past couple of months with the academy. Everything is going well at the moment. I am injury free and well prepared.

"It is a great opportunity and I intend to give it my all."

Connor and Tapiata became the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union's first contracted women's rugby players at the beginning of this year.

"It's been great having the ability to use the resources available to us," Tapiata said.

"A lot of hard work has been put in to get this far, so I feel well prepared for this weekend and I am excited to trial".

The Bay union's director of coaching, Clayton McMillan, said both players had showed great commitment in their training.

"Luka and Hana came into the high performance programme on a trial off the back of their dedication and commitment to improve their game. They were then contracted to the union. It is great to see their hard work has been recognised and they have been selected to trial."

Greg Smith will head the Black Ferns coaching team, with Gareth Duncan as manager. Hannah Porter has been chosen as campaign manager, and will be responsible for building a plan for New Zealand to be successful at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup.