Overview
- Whitney Hansen unveiled a 31‑player squad with nine changes to the Pacific Four group, naming several uncapped players from Super Rugby Aupiki on August 9.
- Blair Baxter named a 23‑player Black Ferns XV to face the national side at Maidstone Park in Upper Hutt in a fixture staged as a Test‑week simulation.
- Five Aupiki standouts earned call‑ups — Ngano Tavake, Amarante Sititi, Elinor‑Plum King, Maia Davis and Shyrah Tuliau‑Tua’a — underlining domestic form as a selection pathway.
- The squad includes notable returns from long absences such as Alena Saili and Santo Taumata and the recovery of Layla Sae while Kennedy Tukuafu and Jaymie Kolose are listed unavailable with injury.
- Coaches say the changes aim to build depth before the O’Reilly Cup, a fixture versus South Africa on the RGR tour and the WXV Global Series and to lay groundwork for future programmes such as a Black Ferns XV pathway toward the Lions series.