Wallaroos out to end hoodoo in milestone Test
The Wallaroos are looking to draw inspiration from their influx of sevens stars to help them end a dismal 32-year losing streak against New Zealand.
Australia will play their 100th Test on Saturday at Auckland's Go Media Stadium, but they'll be desperate to make more history by beating the Black Ferns for the first time.
The Wallaroos' maiden Test was against New Zealand in 1994, and by April this year a 40-5 thumping only heaped further misery on the lopsided rivalry.
But captain Siokapesi Palu Sekona says the squad will be more up to the task come Saturday as their feeling buoyed from the recent Super W season.
The Australians are also taking confidence from their sevens stars who claimed the world championship in June.
"They (sevens players) are no foreigners to this level of playing, and it gives confidence to the rest of the team knowing that there is going to be an extra level of speed and skill," the captain said.
"The sevens girls have been in a space where they have beaten that New Zealand side, so it's just up to us to make sure we piggyback off that success to rewrite our history.
"They've done really well to find that medium ground with us, knowing that we've come from programs that have been run differently previously."
Maddison Levi is the newest convert, set to make her Wallaroos debut from the bench, joining former sevens players Tia Hinds, Maya Stewart, Alysia Lefau-Fakaosilea and Bienne Terita in the line-up.
But the occasion will mean even more for Lefau-Fakaosilea, who will feature in her first Wallaroos game since 2019 after she switched to the sevens code.
"She (Lefau-Fakaosilea) has been unreal so far for us in defence and attack," Palu Sekona said.
"Missing the likes of G. Fred (Georgina Friedrichs), we know that Alysia can step up and fill those shoes.
"She's no foreigner to the game ... The game probably has evolved since then, but we have so much confidence in her to go out there."
Palu Sekona also reflected on what it means for the Australians to bring up 100 Tests as they eye completing the next century much quicker.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.perthnow.com.au — the content belongs to PerthNow.