The Wallaroos are ready for business. Australia’s 32-player squad have booked their tickets to the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England where they will not only aim to advance from a challenging group but also intend to prove their “worth” after gradual improvements in the backing they receive.
The players will jet off to England next week seated in business class for the first time as a team, two years after players lashed out at RA for inequities between the women’s and men’s national programs and called out differences in how the players were sent on long-haul flights.
World Rugby has funded the upgrade for the Wallaroos and New Zealand’s Black Ferns in what is seen as recognition for the growing professionalism in the game, but also to help level the playing field once players arrive.
“It’s a huge statement from Rugby Australia and World Rugby to invest in us, and I think the Kiwi girls, to fly business class because of the length of the trip,” Wallaroos veteran Emily Chancellor said. “I hope it’s going to have a really positive impact on the players’ feeling of worth, but also on performance.
“To be able to lie down and stretch your legs a little bit more for that 24-hour flight, rather than being stuck at the back of the plane, is a huge step forward for us.
“We’ve been reminded that it’s not a new standard, it’s not something that we will see for every tour, but it’s nice to see that World Rugby have acknowledged the length of travel that we’re going to have to go through to get over to the World Cup.”
Olympic sevens gold medallist Charlotte Caslick has been included in the squad announced by coach Jo Yapp on Monday after winning a race against time to recover from a syndesmosis injury, while captain Siokapesi Palu also returns to bolster the Wallaroos.
The squad includes 15 World Cup debutants but just as much has changed for the Wallaroos off the field since they were knocked out of the last tournament by England in the quarter-finals, including Yapp being brought in 18 months ago as the team’s first full-time coach.
Australia will open their tournament against world No 15 Samoa in Salford on 23 August before a crunch clash with the USA on 31 August. A showdown with top-ranked England will complete the pool matches on 6 September.
The Wallaroos have never beaten the Red Roses, but with only the top two teams in each group progressing to the knockout stage, Chancellor is confident the world No 8 team can hit the ground running and avoid a do-or-die meeting with the hosts.
“We obviously have a tough pool, but in my mind, there’s no question about us getting out [of the pool],” Chancellor said. “Success is not getting out of the pool, success is doing one better than what we did at the last World Cup when we were stoked to make the quarter-finals.
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“If we don’t do better than that this time, we will be disappointed in ourselves. I’m expecting that we will go one better and make the semis.”
The Wallaroos rediscovered their form with a rain-soaked victory over Wales in Sydney last Friday that helped wash away concerns over a shock defeat to the tourists a week before.
Chancellor captained the national side for the first time in the pair of internationals against Wales with Palu sidelined by a foot injury, and could be called on to lead the Wallaroos at the World Cup.
Yapp has not named Australia’s skipper for the tournament with uncertainty over whether Palu – and Caslick – will prove their fitness in time to line up in the opener against Samoa.
Australia squad: Katalina Amosa, Bree-Anna Browne, Charlotte Caslick, Emily Chancellor, Annabelle Codey, Lori Cramer, Piper Duck, Waiaria Ellis, Ashley Fernandez, Georgina Friedrichs, Caitlyn Halse, Tia Hinds, Brianna Hoy, Asoiva Karpani, Lydia Kavoa, Kaitlan Leaney, Michaela Leonard, Ashley Marsters, Desiree Miller, Faitala Moleka, Layne Morgan, Tania Naden, Bridie O’Gorman, Siokapesi Palu, Faliki Pohiva, Trilleen Pomare, Cecilia Smith, Maya Stewart, Adiana Talakai, Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Caitlin Urwin, Samantha Wood
