Injury forces Black Fern out of final test against France

The Black Ferns will go into their final test of the season without the services of Atlanta Lolohea. 

The Blues hooker has been ruled out of this weekend’s test against France in Christchurch due to an ankle injury, with Matatū’s Holly Wratt-Groeneweg instead included among those available for selection as injury cover. 

Lolohea was slated to come off the bench in the Black Ferns’ 31-12 win in Whangārei on Saturday, but was a late withdrawal after suffering an ankle injury at training on Thursday. 

Wratt-Groeneweg was called into the squad as injury cover and will remain with the group in Christchurch and be available for selection in the final test of the season. 

The Black Ferns are yet to confirm the status of No 8 Kaipo Olsen-Baker (ankle), centre Amy du Plessis (concussion) or tighthead prop Mo’omo’oga Palu (ankle). 

Du Plessis was also a late scratch from the side in last weekend’s test, replaced in the starting line-up by Justine McGregor. Palu was not named to play, but also injured an ankle during a training session earlier in the week. 

Olsen-Baker started against France but left the game midway through the first half after going down away from the play and having to be helped from the field. Speaking after the match, Black Ferns head coach Whitney Hansen said she thought the injury occurred in a collision. 

On Sunday, Hansen told Newstalk ZB’s D’Arcy Waldegrave that Olsen-Baker was dealing with a high ankle sprain and was unsure of her return-to-play timeline. 

“Fingers crossed she comes through this and is available too, but, if not, what we know is that we’ve got a group of loose forwards who already do a job for us and that space is still really competitive to pick from with or without her in the mix.” 

While Du Plessis still has some things to tick off to ensure she is available, Hansen praised the leadership qualities she has brought to the team this year. 

“She’s had a phenomenal year this year with us and I think her leadership and performance have been really standout for us,” Hansen said. 

“I think we’ve got to make sure that we’ve got depth in that midfield because the reality is some weeks we won’t have her. We’ve tried a combination of that and we’ll keep thinking about different ways around being able to do that. The exciting thing is we’ve got a multitude of ways we can do that now.” 

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.