Whitney Hansen has named a 31-player Black Ferns squad for the remainder of 2026, making nine changes from the group that contested the Pacific Four Series and handing places to three uncapped players.
The squad, announced on Monday, carries an unusual weight of scheduling behind it. Hansen's side meet the Black Ferns XV at Maidstone Park in Upper Hutt this Friday, then turn to the O'Reilly Cup against Australia, then to South Africa as part of the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour, before the WXV Global Series opens in September against France.
Chiefs Manawa outside back Shyrah Tuliau-Tua'a, 19, Blues lock Amarante Sititi, also 19, and Hurricanes Poua loosehead Ngano Tavake are the uncapped trio. Matatu outside back Maia Davis and Matatu loose forward Elinor-Plum King are also listed as uncapped in the squad.
There are two long-overdue returns. Alena Saili is back in the Black Ferns environment for the first time since 2018. Santo Taumata features for the first time since the 2022 Women's Rugby World Cup. Loose forward Layla Sae, who ruptured an ACL with Harlequins in 2025, has recovered and comes back into the group. Ruahei Demant, with 54 caps, continues as co-captain. Kennedy Tukuafu (hamstring) and Jaymie Kolose (ankle) were unavailable through injury.
Hansen framed the selection as a balancing act rather than a clean-out.
"This squad has an exciting blend of experience and emerging talent; finding the right balance was a key part of our selection process. We're also thrilled to welcome our new Black Ferns, who will bring different strengths to our environment on and off the field," Hansen said.
She was blunt about where the pressure is coming from.
"The quality of rugby in Sky Super Rugby Aupiki continues to rise every year. The competition for spots in the squad is stronger than ever, with so many talented players across every position. That's made selection decisions for us incredibly tough, but it's exactly where we want the game to be, and it's only going to get harder."
On what the back half of the year is for: "At the start of the year we wanted to bring our brand of rugby to life, and I think we saw that throughout the Pacific Four Series. The next phase is about evolving how we play and staying connected as a group. The challenges ahead will demand more of us, and we're looking forward to the opportunities of growing from good to great."
The fixture that stands out is the one in Soweto. On 5 September the Springbok Women meet the Black Ferns at FNB Stadium as the opening half of a double-header, with the third All Blacks-Springboks Test to follow. It will be the first time the two women's sides have played each other in South Africa. They have met twice, both at World Cups, in 2010 and again in the 2025 quarter-final in Exeter, where the scores were level at 10-10 at the break before New Zealand pulled away to win 46-17.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said the addition of the women's Test changed the shape of the tour.
"This double-header adds extra weight to what is already shaping up to be one of the most significant tours in modern rugby. It gives fans, players and the broader rugby community an opportunity to witness the depth, history, and intensity of rivalry between four of our national teams," Robinson said.
SA Rugby chief executive Rian Oberholzer tied it to a specific set of numbers rather than sentiment.
"Our Springbok Women made history in England with a best-ever World Cup performance and for the first time broke into the top ten on the world rankings," Oberholzer said. "For them to be playing the Black Ferns in South Africa for the first time, as a double-header before the Boks take on the All Blacks, is fantastic."
Springbok Women head coach Swys de Bruin, who named a wide 49-player training group in July after a drawn home series with the United States, put it more simply. "We want to become the best by playing the best and knowing that we will face the Black Ferns as part of a double-header with the Springboks and All Blacks in such a wonderful venue like FNB Stadium is massive for us," De Bruin said.
De Bruin's group has had a mixed winter. South Africa retained the Rugby Africa Women's Cup in Kenya, then beat the USA 34-21 in Johannesburg before losing the second Test 26-19 at Loftus Versfeld. "The next phase of our preparation starts now, and we have extended invitations to some players outside of the group that did so well in Kenya and against the USA," he said at the time.
FNB Stadium holds more than 90,000. Neither team has played in front of a crowd like it.
