
Black Ferns halfbacks headline tight positional battles ahead of Rugby World Cup defence
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With the squad tasked with defending the World Cup in England now named, the Black Ferns are making sure all bases are covered.
A 33-strong team was announced late last week, with the World Cup set to begin in late August. It was a squad with big variations in experience.
Among them, 14 were named for their first World Cup campaign – including six players to feature in three tests or fewer – while others head into their third and fourth.
It's a balance that will benefit the side in the quest to hoist the biggest prize in the sport for a seventh time, assistant coach Tony Christie said.
'I think we did a really good job of getting that balance right between the experience. We've got girls here who [have] won pinnacle events, whether it be World Cups or gold medalists, and then we've got some young players with some real flair and a real high-risk attitude which we love in this team,' he said.

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