Rugby: Black Ferns name squad for opening France test

  • 08/11/2018

The Black Ferns have made two changes to their starting line-up for the opening rugby test against France in Toulon on Saturday (NZ time).

Coming off their 67-6 thrashing of the USA Eagles, coach Glenn Moore has stuck with Krysten Cottrell, who came off the bench last week, to start at first-five, with regular Ruahei Demant shifting to second-five at the expense of Chelsea Alley.

Moore was pleased with what he saw of the Cottrell and Demant combination against the US.

"Ruahei and Krysten bring their own skillsets, which combine well in their positions," he said.

"Together - and working with [halfback Kendra Cocksedge] - they will bring new aspects to our game, which will be important against the French, particularly when it comes to our kicking options."

The reserves include one other change, with flanker Marcelle Parkes set to make her test debut off the bench.

The Black Ferns reserves will consist of six forwards and two backs, a proven combination from last year's Women’s Rugby World Cup.  

"It's an approach we used in Ireland and it worked well for us," added Moore. "We're expecting the French to be very physical up front and we’ve been training really hard to ensure we’re ready for that.

"Having an extra forward available will give us extra strength to combat the French pack."

The match is set to be a true battle, with the Black Ferns as current world champions and France completing the 'Grand Slam 'during this year's Women's Six Nations.

The full Black Ferns squad to face France is:

1-Phillipa Love, 2-Fiao'o Faamausili (c), 3-Aldora Itunu, 4-Eloise Blackwell, 5-Charmaine Smith, 6-Charmaine McMenamin, 7-Les Elder, 8-Aroha Savage, 9-Kendra Cocksedge, 10- Krysten Cottrell, 11- Ayesha Leti-I'iga, 12- Ruahei Demant, 13-Stacey Waaka, 14-Renee Wickliffe, 15-Selica Winiata

Reserves: 16-Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, 17-Leilani Perese, 18-Aleisha-Pearl Nelson, 19-Jackie Patea-Fereti, 20-Linda Itunu, 21-Marcelle Parkes*, 22-Kristina Sue, 23-Monica Tagoai

* test debut

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