Rugby: Palmer to reach milestone against Australia

Black Ferns captain Farah Palmer will play her 20th test when New Zealand meet Australia in the second round of the women's rugby World Cup in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday.

The milestone is significant for any Black Fern because their limited international programme means only two players have previously passed the 20-test mark.

First five-eighth Anna Richards has played 23 tests since making her debut in 1991 and halfback Monique Hirovanaa has 21 caps.

Reaching the mark against Australia has a nice symmetry for Palmer because the Manawatu hooker, 31, made her international debut against Australia in 1996.

Palmer will lead a side containing four changes from the 15 who started the opening round match earlier this week against Germany which the Black Ferns won 117-0.

She will pack down in a new-look front row, with experienced Waikato prop Regina Sheck and Wellington's Rebecca Luia'ana replacing Casey Robertson and Helen Vaaga, while openside flanker Adrianne Lili'i comes off the reserves bench in place of Izzy Gray and Canterbury winger Amiria Marsh starts ahead of Vanessa Cootes.

Notable inclusions on the reserves bench include uncapped Auckland hooker Fiaoo Faamausili and Otago lock Fiona King, who is primed for a return to the side after a lengthy injury layoff.

Coach Darryl Suasua said the changes were due to a combination of his needing to rotate his squad early in the tournament and a desire to pick a horses-for-courses line-up.

"Rebecca and Regina are big, strong players who are solid tacklers and strong on their feet.

"We expect the Aussies to come at us with a lot of one-off runners, so the forwards will need to do a lot of tackling, and those two will do that for me," he said.

"We have real depth in our loose forwards so I want to give everyone a chance there, while Amiria deserves an opportunity to show her attacking ability early in the tournament too."

Suasua said he was looking forward to seeing Palmer lead the side out because she deserved any accolades that came her way.

"Farah's pretty special, not just on the field where she is a great player and a great leader, but also as a person off the field where she always sets such a great example to the whole team.

"It's hard to measure the value of having someone like her in your squad, because she offers so much."

Since her debut Palmer has missed just one game, against Spain at the 1998 World Cup, because of injury.

"It definitely means a lot to me to reach 20 tests, especially when the only other two are Anna and Monie, who are legends in women's rugby," Palmer said.

While reaching the milestone will be a personally satisfying for Palmer, she is far from distracted from the challenge of beating the eighth-seeded Australians, who beat Wales 30-0 in the first round.

"Over the years they have probably been our toughest opposition, and certainly several of our closest results have been in games against Australia, even though we haven't played them since 1998 (a 27-3 win in Sydney).

"You could say it will be one of our mini-peaks at this tournament. It will be a true test of our how good our preparation has been."

Teams:

Black Ferns: Tammi Wilson, Dianne Kahura, Annaleah Rush, Amiria Marsh, Suzy Shortland, Anna Richards, Monique Hirovanaa, Rochelle Martin, Adrianne Lili', Cheryl Waaka, Victoria Heighway, Monalisa Codling, Rebecca Luia'ana, Farah Palmer (captain), Regina Sheck.

Reserves: Fiaoo Faamausili, Helen Vaaga, Fiona King, Melodie Robinson, Emma Jensen, Hannah Myers, Vanessa Cootes.

Australia: Bronwyn Laidlaw, Jamie Blazejewski, Lisa Fiaola, Sharon O'Kane, Nyree Osieck, Tui Ormsby, Louise Ferris, Penny Anderson, Selena Worsley (capt), Bronwyn MacKintosh, Nicole Wickert, Mieke Gladwin, Pearl Palaialii, Elizabeth Andrew, Melissa Latu-Lutui.

Reserves: Louise Cooke, Rebecca Wakim, Ianthe Astley-Boden, Jennifer Egan, Cheryl Soon, Alyssa Campbell, Charmain Smith.

- NZPA