Early in her reign as Black Ferns head coach, Whitney Hansen has plans to provide opportunities to build depth at test level.
A clash against Canada in what could well be a Pacific Four Series-deciding fixture, however, is not the time to be doing that.
Hansen has namedan unchanged side for Saturday morning’s test against the world No 2 Canadians in Kansas City, opting for the same 23 who beat the United States 48-15 in Sacramento last weekend.
Four players received their first test cap for the Black Ferns in that win, and there are a further five in the squad yet to debut.
Hansen said stability and continuing to build connections were the priorities against Canada, and that everyone who played last week had earned the right to do so again in Kansas City.
“I think stability was a priority in this space and having a really strong connection that we grow between key positions and getting continuity within those spaces.
Whitney Hansen: "Stability was a priority." Photo / Photosport
“We absolutely will look to grow opportunities for athletes where that creates depth, but that wasn’t the game to do this in. Keep your eyes posted, and we might see that come Aussie.”
Last week’s win over the US was the first of the team’s new World Cup cycle and provided some insights into how the side will look to play.
They were expansive at times, but that came after they had bullied their way through the middle to create a bit more room for the backline to move.
“Our rugby identity should be summed up by being a team that’s really unpredictable,” Hansen said. “So, you won’t know what’s coming next, but you’re excited for what it is.
“We’re a team that’s physically dominant. We’ve got different athletes to the rest of the world, and we want to be able to showcase that and winning collisions. We want to be relentless.
“I think the exciting thing is that we’re in a space where this team’s the fittest it’s ever been before, so that will allow us to work hard for each other.
“Then the last part of that is, as we work through the processes, we want to be a team that’s clinical and we haven’t put a huge amount of pressure on being that early. We probably saw that last weekend was a little bit clunky at times, but we know that part will come.”
Against Canada, they are sure to be tested across the park.
In past seasons, the Canadians have challenged the Black Ferns in the physical areas of the game and managed to keep the high-paced attack largely contained.
While they have a few new faces of their own, the Canadians are welcoming back captain Alexandra Tessier at second five-eighths and reigning World Rugby player of the year Sophie de Goede at lock. Tessier missed the side’s 24-0 win over Australia last week, while de Goede was named on the bench.
“They’re obviously one of the best teams in the world,” Black Ferns co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu said.
“So we’re looking forward to going out there and testing our rugby, our new style against them. And, again, it’s going to be our second game. We’ve gone away and worked on some of the things we did last week, and I think the girls are just going to be really excited to go and show some physicality and play some hopefully fast rugby in this unpredictable weather.”
