Key events
Australia lineup
Wallaroos XV: 1 Lydia Kavoa, 2 Katalina Amosa, 3 Bridie O’Gorman, 4 Kaitlan Leaney, 5 Annabelle Codey, 6 Emily Chancellor (C), 7 Ashley Marsters, 8 Tabua Tuinakauvadra, 9 Layne Morgan, 10 Tia Hinds, 11 Desiree Miller, 12 Trilleen Pomare, 13 Georgina Friedrichs, 14 Waiaria Ellis, 15 Caitlyn Halse.
Replacements: 16 Tania Naden, 17 Bree-Anna Browne, 18 Eva Karpani, 19 Ashley Fernandez, 20 Piper Duck, 21 Samantha Wood, 22 Cecilia Smith, 23 Lori Cramer.
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the women’s rugby international between Australia and Wales at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane. The Wallaroos and Wales meet for the first time on Australian soil with both sides out to build momentum ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England next month.
The Wallaroos are also searching for winning form as they continue to find it tough to break through the glass ceiling and challenge the leading World Cup contenders. But they have a strong record over today’s opponents – the world No 10 – with seven wins in their past eight matches including a 37-5 thumping last year. Emily Chancellor will captain the Wallaroos for the first time, while veteran Ash Marsters becomes the first woman to reach 40 caps for Australia.
Wales are also looking to turnaround a run of poor results after failing to find a win and finishing bottom in the Six Nations. Prop Sisi Tuipulotu’s return will give the tourists a huge boost as they look to emulate their victory over Australia last year rather than the crushing defeat to the same that followed just a week later on neutral ground in South Africa.
This is the first leg of a rugby double-header feast with a certain touring side taking on the Wallabies in Melbourne later today, while the Wallaroos and Wales will also meet again next week in Sydney. The forecast in Brisbane is for wet and wild conditions surely perfect for an entertaining clash.
Kick-off is at 2pm local, or 5am for those following along on BST. I’ll be back shortly with the line-up. In the meantime, get in touch with any questions, thoughts and predictions. You can shoot me an email, or find me on X @martinpegan and Bluesky @martinpegan.bsky.social. Let’s get into it!
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