Five Brumbies have been selected in the Wallaroos side to play Samoa in their opening pool match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup at Salford Community Stadium on Saturday (9:00pm AEST).
Starting are Katalina Amosa at hooker, Tabua Tuinakauvadra at number eight and Faitala Moleka at fly-half, with Ashley Fernandez and Tia Hinds set to come off the bench.
The Wallaroos have previously met Samoa once in a Test match for an 87-0 victory in 2010. More recently, an Australia A side defeated Manusina Samoa 50-22 in Canberra, in which Manu’a Moleka scored two tries.
Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp said: "We’ve had a good week settling into Manchester with everyone making us feel really welcomed and the players have hit the ground running at training.
"We know Samoa will be a tough, physical side and we need to match it with them on Saturday.
"There are no second chances at a World Cup and for us it starts with a good performance in our first match and building from there.”
The Wallaroos arrived in Manchester last week, settling into England ahead of their first match and engaging with the local community.
They’ll train again on Thursday afternoon local time before a final training run at Salford Community Stadium on Friday morning.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup will be the eighth campaign for the Wallaroos with their best finish coming in 2010 when they achieved third place.
Watch every Wallaroos match at the Women's Rugby World Cup, live and ad-free on Stan Sport or Channel Nine and 9GEM live.
WALLAROOS TEAM TO PLAY SAMOA
1. Faliki Pohiva (#219 – Blacktown Scorpions) – 4 caps
2. Katalina Amosa (#218 – Southern Districts) – 6 caps
3. Asoiva Karpani (#171 – Southern Suburbs) – 37 caps
4. Kaitlan Leaney © (#179 – SCU Marlins) – 31 caps
5. Michaela Leonard (#168 – Tuggeranong Vikings) – 38 caps
6. Piper Duck (#185 – Tumut Bullettes) – 18 caps
7. Emily Chancellor © (#158 – Sydney University) – 30 caps
8. Tabua Tuinakauvadra (#200 – Orange Emus) – 18 caps
9. Samantha Wood (#207 – Kalamunda Rugby) – 7 caps
10. Faitala Moleka (#199 – Blacktown Scorpions) – 22 caps
11. Desiree Miller (#204 – Eastern Suburbs) – 19 caps
12. Cecilia Smith (#190 – Leeton Dianas) – 24 caps
13. Georgina Friedrichs (#178 – Wests Bulldogs) – 34 caps
14. Maya Stewart (#196 – Nelson Bay Gropers) – 18 caps
15. Caitlyn Halse (#210 – Camden Rams) – 11 caps
Reserves:
16. Adiana Talakai (#182 – Sydney University) – 18 caps
17. Brianna Hoy (#203 – Coffs Harbour Snappers) – 8 caps
18. Bridie O’Gorman (#180 – Sydney University) – 33 caps
19. Ashley Fernandez (#221 – Uni-North Owls) – 4 caps
20. Ashley Marsters (#117 – Boroondara) – 41 caps
21. Layne Morgan (#188 – Merewether Carlton) – 36 caps
22. Tia Hinds (#222 – Randwick) – 6 caps
23. Lori Cramer (#172 – University of Queensland) – 30 caps
Players unavailable for selection due to injury:
Siokapesi Palu (foot)
WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP 2025:
Saturday, August 23: Wallaroos v Samoa, Salford Community Stadium, Manchester - 9:00pm AEST
Sunday, August 31: Wallaroos v USA at York Community Stadium, York - 4:30am AEST
Sunday, September 7: Wallaroos v England at Brighton and Hove Stadium, Brighton and Hove - 2:00am AEST
