"Centre Amy du Plessis has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament. It's a blow to the Black Ferns, but one they should be able to absorb. Outside back Katelyn Vahaakolo joins the group and will make an appearance off the bench. There are 16 players who won the World Cup last time out though it's hardly a grizzled team. 18-year-old sensation, Braxton Sorensen-McGee make her tournament debut on the wing."
"At last, the business end. The place where every ruck, every tackle, every pass has meaning. A place where there's no second chance and only victory will suffice. Welcome to the knockouts of the World Cup. Four teams are clearly head and shoulders above the rest. But that doesn't mean we have no chance of an upset. Will we get one today? Unlikely. We kick things off with the reigning champions New Zealand playing the lowest ranked team left in the competition."
Amy du Plessis has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament, removing a starting centre from New Zealand's lineup. Katelyn Vahaakolo has been added to the squad and is expected to make an appearance from the bench. Eighteen-year-old Braxton Sorensen-McGee makes her tournament debut on the wing. Sixteen players in the squad previously won the World Cup. The New Zealand starting XV and replacements include Renee Holmes, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, Ruahei Demant, Maia Joseph, Jorja Miller and others. New Zealand faces South Africa in the opening knockout match at 1pm BST, with South Africa making their first knockout appearance. New Zealand enter as heavy favourites, and any result other than a rout would be a seismic shock.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]