News

Counties Power Heat Hooker Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate has been selected in the Black Ferns squad for the end of year tour to Europe.

Ngata-Aerengamate is set to add to her 30 test caps on a tour that includes two test matches each against both England and France.

Surprisingly there was no room in the squad for Heat skipper Hazel Tubic.

Not considered due to injury are Counties Manukau Heat pair of Langi Veainu and Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu.

Selection conversations were thrown a curve ball with the latest Covid 19 outbreak forcing a halt to the Bunnings Warehouse Farah Palmer Cup which Black Ferns head coach Glenn Moore said changed how the selectors looked at assembling the squad.

“The lockdown probably did mean some players weren’t able to cement their positions in the squad and it meant we had to reflect more on the early rounds of Farah Palmer Cup and some of the situational games we’d played in camps this year. This would be one of the most difficult selection processes I can recall in my time in rugby,” said Moore.

“We’ve had to take a Covid mindset to ensure enough coverage across all positions because calling on a replacement is not as easy as it usually would be.”

“With a World Cup just around the corner this programme is critical for us. We’re playing against two the best teams in the world and they’ve come off Six Nations so we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can under these conditions to be prepared,” said Moore.