The Kiwi Ferns will kick off their 2021 Rugby League World Cup (played in 2022) campaign against France in York, England, on Thursday.
Bowing out of the 2017 World Cup due to a 23-16 defeat to Australia in Brisbane, redemption will be fresh in the minds of coach Ricky Henry’s squad, which includes an exciting mix of returning veterans and soon-to-be-blooded youth.
Here are two players to keep an eye on:
Georgia Hale
Debuting for the Kiwi Ferns in 2015, Hale is one of the squad’s most experienced players.
The 27-year-old is vice-captain and plays a number of positions with flair and determined defence. On and off the field, Hale has a “follow me attitude”, a quality which contributed to being awarded Young New Zealander of the year in 2020, when she was the Warriors captain.
Having been in and around the Kiwi Ferns environment for a long time, Hale is witnessing first-hand the progression the women’s game has made in a short timeframe.
“Our preparation has gone really well, we have access to a lot more resources in comparison to the last World Cup I attended... but we are still semi-professional, so we do have mums and bubs here [in York], some of the girls are still studying and working remotely, so we do still juggle the other side of our lives,” she said.
Hale has an incredible work rate. She averaged 44 tackles per game for the Gold Coast Titans in this year’s NRLW competition. She also topped the Kiwi Ferns stat chart with 28 tackles against Tonga in their Test earlier this year, and will be crucial to the Kiwi Ferns' success in a tournament format.
Hale’s physicality will play a big part in the Kiwi’s game plan, ahead of their opening match on Wednesday.
“We’ve spoken about being a really tough team to handle with how hard we run," she said. "Our completion of sets, and how well we transition between attack and defence are some of our key focuses. As we become more connected we can look to fine tune detail."
Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly
One of the many talented athletes in the Kiwi Ferns that made the switch from rugby union to league, Stephens-Daly first burst on to the footy scene for Bay of Plenty in the Farah Palmer Cup. A change in codes in 2020 was rewarded with a Kiwis debut against Samoa later in the year.
Selection for her first League World Cup comes off the back of a 2022 NRLW season with the Newcastle Knights. It was a season cut short due to a nasty tear in her knee (Grade 2 MCL), in round two of the competition. After a projected 4-6 week recovery, she was excited to make it through a full-contact training in York, England, today.
“I'm just very grateful, you never really know how it's going to go with your injuries, especially with the short turnaround," she said. "I had really good support with the Knights, the physios and trainers really encouraged a positive mindset and just focused on what I can do in the moment, and now I'm here.”
“Sometimes I still can't believe [I’m here]), not many people get to go to a World Cup, so to be able to represent my country at this level is unreal and something I never thought I could achieve,” she said.
Covering a number of positions, Stephens-Daly’s versatility and line-breaking ability will be one of her biggest assets at this World Cup.
“I'm covering a lot of positions, so where I go and wherever I can get on I will just be happy with that. I'm hoping the weather here stays nice, because you know the backs like a good, fast pitch. We're going to try and truck it up the middle, and really give it to them there. Hopefully, that will pull players in and we can play some expansive footy,” she said.
The Kiwi Ferns begin their campaign in York against France on Thursday morning NZT.
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