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National | Black Ferns

Marino-Tauhinu one of four new contracted Black Ferns players

The Black Ferns contracted squad for 2019 has been named with four newly contracted players making up the final 29-man squad.

Black Ferns Head Coach Glenn Moore has retained most of his experienced players to play along side newbies Bay of Plenty’s Luka Connor and Karli Faneva, Counties Manukau’s Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu and Auckland’s Natahlia Moors

“We’re confident we have the mix right. We’re in the fortunate position of being able to draw on the experience and skill of seasoned players like Kendra Cocksedge, Selica Winiata and Eloise Blackwell and pair them with new talent, like Luka Connor and Karli Faneva"

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Moore said all four of the newly contracted players impressed selectors with not only their performances in the Farah Palmer Cup last year, but also their determination to keep striving and improving outside of the provincial competition.

“Arihiana was named in the Black Ferns in 2015 but is yet to be capped. Her contract is a testament to her strength of character and work ethic to keep chasing her black jersey dream.

The Black Ferns will play two Test matches against Australia on 10 August in Perth, Australia and on 17 August in Auckland. Both matches will be double header fixtures with the All Blacks and Australia contesting the Bledisloe Cup.

The 2019 Black Ferns contracted squad is (* Denotes first-time contracts):

Forwards:

Eloise Blackwell

Auckland

Luka Connor *

Bay of Plenty

Lesley Elder

Bay of Plenty

Karli Faneva *

Bay of Plenty

Aldora Itunu

Auckland

Phillipa Love

Canterbury

Charmaine McMenamin

Auckland

Toka Natua

Waikato

Aleisha Nelson

Auckland

Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate

Counties Manukau

Marcelle Parkes

Wellington

Jackie Patea-Fereti

Wellington

Leilani Perese

Counties Manukau

Charmaine Smith

Auckland

Harono Te Iringa

Counties Manukau

Cristo Tofa

North Harbour

Backs:

Chelsea Alley

Waikato

Grace Brooker

Canterbury

Kendra Cocksedge

Canterbury

Krysten Cottrell

Hawke's Bay

Ruahei Demant

Auckland

Dhys Faleafaga

Wellington

Ayesha Leti-I’iga

Wellington

Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu *

Counties Manukau

Kilisitina Moata'ane

Otago

Natahlia Moors *

Auckland

Monica Tagoai

Wellington

Renee Wickliffe

Bay of Plenty

Selica Winiata

Manawatu