Kiwis, Kiwi Ferns named for Tonga, Jillaroos
- Dave Worsley
- 44 minutes ago
- 3 min read
There are four changes including a Test debut for Brisbane Broncos forward Xavier Willison have been made for the New Zealand Kiwis’ Pacific Championships clash against Tonga at Eden Park on Sunday.
The Kiwi Ferns face the Jillaroos in the early game at Eden Park at 3.35, the Kiwis kick off is 6.05pm.
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The 23-year-old NRL premiership-winning Willison replaces Melbourne Storm power forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona on the interchange.
Raised in the remote Waikato town of Tahāroa near Kawhia, the Whatawhata Wolves junior previously represented the Cook Islands after making his NRL debut with the Broncos in 2021.
In 51 NRL appearances he has scored 10 tries, 21 of his outings coming this year when he averaged 111 metres and 23 tackles (95.6 per cent tackle efficiency) a game while making 39 tackle breaks.
He’ll debut alongside fellow Tahāroa native and cousin Te Maire Martin (30), who has been named as the side’s interchange utility in jersey #14.
The One New Zealand Warriors veteran was added to the New Zealand squad as one of two replacements for wing Ronaldo Mulitalo and hooker Jeremy Marshall-King, both ruled out after being injured in the Kiwis’ 24-18 win over Toa Samoa on October 19.
Martin was last an official squad member in 2022 but wasn’t used in the mid-year Test against Tonga. The last of his four internationals to date was the historic one-off Test against England at the Mile High Stadium in Denver in 2018.
Newcastle’s Phoenix Crossland, used off the bench against Tonga, starts at hooker this week while Canberra’s Sebastian Kris is the fourth change, coming onto the wing for the injured Mulitalo.
Predominantly used in the centres by the Raiders, the 26-year-old Kris will be making his second Test appearance, reprising the winger’s role he filled in his try-scoring Test debut in the Kiwis’ 68-6 win over Jamaica in Hull at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.
Earlier he scored a hat-trick in New Zealand’s 74-0 victory over the Leeds Rhinos in a warm-up match at Headingly.
Kris has come off an outstanding NRL season in which he scored nine tries in 24 games when he averaged 122 metres while finishing with 12 try assists, 16 line break assists and 61 tackle breaks.
The Kiwis are seeking to avenge last year’s controversial 24-25 loss to the Tongans at Go Media Stadium in last year’s Pacific Championships to earn a repeat meeting with the Samoans in the final in Sydney on November 9.
Meanwhile looking to claim a win over the current Pacific Champions, Kiwi Ferns head coach Ricky Henry has named another strong side, with an abundance of continuity maintained from the gritty lineup that faced Fetu Samoa.
The only changes come in the form of Raiders centre Leianne Tufuga and Knights prop Tiana Davison, who are injected into the starting lineup. Bulldogs second rower, Shaniece Monschau, will run out in black for her debut off the bench, and multi-code international Tyla King slots in as the 18th man.
“It will be an occasion on Sunday, and we look forward to having Shaniece join our honour roll of Kiwi Ferns,” said Henry.
“This match is always a big one for us, and the Jillaroos are the ultimate challenge, but we have a lot of belief in this group, so we haven’t reinvented the wheel this week.
“We have a lot of belief and we have the opportunity to show this when we play.”
The Kiwi Ferns are particularly motivated, having last got the upper hand over the green and gold team two years ago, in 2023. True arch rivals, Australia remain the only team that has ever defeated the Kiwi Ferns in their 30-year history, so it is sure to be a grudge match this weekend.
Kiwi Ferns team vs Jillaroos:
1. Apii Nicholls 2. Shanice Parker 3. Abigail Roache 4. Mele Hufanga 5. Leianne Tufuga 6. Patricia Maliepo 7. Raecene McGregor (co-captain) 8. Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa 9. Brooke Anderson 10. Tiana Davison 11. Annessa Biddle 12. Otesa Pule 13. Georgia Hale (co-captain)
Interchange: 14. Ashleigh Quinlan 15. Shaniece Monschau* 16. Alexis Tauaneai 17. Ivana Lauiti'iti 18. Tyla King.
Kiwis team vs Tonga XIII:
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Casey McLean 5. Sebastian Kris 6. Dylan Brown 7. Kieran Foran 8. James Fisher-Harris (c) 9. Phoenix Crossland 10. Moses Leota 11. Briton Nikora 12. Isaiah Papali'i 13. Joseph Tapine
Interchange: 14. Te Maire Martin 15. Naufahu Whyte 16. Erin Clark 17. Xavier Willison (debut) 18. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
