Wallaroos look for World Cup measure against Canada
With the Rugby World Cup three months away, the Wallaroos are determined not to take a backward step when they face Canada in their final round of the Pacific Four tournament.
The Australian women tackle the Canadians at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on Friday, looking to make a dent in a 0-6 win-loss record.
While the Canada's men's team are ranked outside the top 20, their women are a rugby powerhouse, sitting at world No.2 - above world champions New Zealand, who they drew with last round.
Canada's set-piece and rolling maul are their major weapons, while the Wallaroos will look to get sevens superstar Charlotte Caslick heavily involved in her first start at inside centre.
"We know Canada are going to be physical and be on a high, with the draw last week with the Black Ferns," Wallaroos skipper Siokapesi Palu said at their final training session in Brisbane.
The Wallaroos are going into the match with confidence high after a rousing win over the USA in Canberra last round while in their first match of the tournament they also delivered an improved performance against the Black Ferns, who they have also never beaten.
"We're confident with what we produced last week and in the weeks before so we know what we need to do, it's just a matter of executing on the night when it matters," said Palu.
"A win gives us huge confidence but it's the way we won, knowing that we had to front up physically is something that we need to take into this game."
Brumbies flanker Palu said it was important to keep improving ahead of their World Cup opener, against Samoa in Manchester in August.
The Wallaroos have a potential Cup quarter-final match-up with Canada.
"Growth is a massive focus for us, which you can see as we shift and change different people in different positions - we're trying to build connections and depth," she said.
"We saw where we kind of sat with the New Zealand team and it shows that there has been a lot of progress.
"This game will definitely be crucial ahead of the World Cup but there's still a few more games for all of us to play so we don't know what can happen in that time."
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