The Auckland Storm will be the hottest of favourites to win their 15th Women's Provincial Championship final (out of 16) tomorrow at Napier's McLean Park.
Their foes will be the Wellington Pride, 2006 champions, when they became the sole team to break Auckland's hegemony at this level.
That was at Eden Park, but tomorrow the match will be played at a neutral venue. It would have made sense for New Zealand Rugby to schedule the Auckland-Tasman ITM Cup semifinal for Saturday afternoon, thus cleaning the way for the Storm-Pride clash as curtainraiser. But it was not to be. Such a scenario is, however, not uncommon. Last year, for example, Auckland beat Waikato 28-14 in the decider at New Plymouth's Yarrow Stadium. It will not unduly concern the Storm, who are more than used to winning championships away from home.
Openside flanker Lydia Crossman, who played in all three loose positions in 2014, has thrived on her continuity in the No 7 jersey as she runs out for her 50th match for the union. She brings a hard, physical edge to her work. Seasoned fellow loosie and Black Fern Linda Itunu is out with a foot injury suffered in the semifinal, but Charmain McMenamin should pick up the slack. She, like lock Shannon Leota, has a made a successful transition into the pack. The latter is strong aerially and gives punch to the Storm second-row, along with Black Fern Eloise Blackwell.
The elder stateswomen of the side are the competition's most experienced players, captain and hooker Fiao'o Fa'amausili, who has again led from the front, while halfback Emma Jensen controls play around the base of the ruck and scrum. They have appeared since the NPC inception in 1999 and Fa'amausili, the Black Ferns skipper, suits up for her 89th game. Prop Aldora Itunu will add impact from the bench.
