Photo: Rugby Australia
Fresh off a Super Rugby W grand final win over Queensland, NSW are off to meet New Zealand’s domestic Super Rugby champions, the Blues.
The two teams will face off on Thursday in Auckland to determine the inaugural Super Rugby Champions winner.
The game is seen as a first step towards a joint competition involving both countries; NSW thumped Qld 43-21 in Sydney on Saturday while the Blues survived a late red card for a 26-19 win over Matatu.
“They’ll get an opportunity to go out and celebrate. They’ve worked super hard.
“We’ll be back in at training on Monday and traveling on Tuesday. We’ll look forward to the opportunity,” coach Mike Ruthven told RA’s website rugby.com.au.
“We have spoken about it; the importance of it in terms of the growth of the women’s game and the opportunity to go over there and compete against New Zealand.”
TRANS-TASMAN HOPES
The Waratahs faced the Blues during pre-season trials; the game ended in a 36-all draw.
“It’s definitely important. Not only to compete with the New Zealand side because that’s where we want the content, we want that merge, but to show Australia and New Zealand and potentially the world that this is where it needs to be and this is where it needs to grow,” winger Desiree Miller says.
“Women’s rugby is only getting bigger. We’ve got to jump on the ride to propel it forward further.
“… You’ve got to work for your opportunity. I think we showed that now, so hopefully, next year, we see a little bit of a change, and we can see that cross-Tasman competition.”
The Waratahs are set to be without winger Maya Stewart after she picked up a concussion in the second half of Saturday’s game.
However, hooker Adiana Talakai may return for the game after she had to withdraw from Saturday’s game due to a neck injury that she sustained in the semi-final.
