Three One New Zealand Warriors named after Kiwi

Three One New Zealand Warriors were included along with five Test debutants in the Kiwis’ sold-out Pacific Championship clash against the Kangaroos at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on Sunday (kick-off 6.05pm).

The match is the return leg of the Trans-Tasman Labor Day doubleheader after the Kiwi Ferns meet Australia’s Jillaroos (kick-off 3:35pm).

Shaun Johnson plays as a midfielder with clubmate Charnze Nicholl-Klokstad paired with him in the half, while defender Marata Nykore figures in the interchange.

Future New Zealand warrior and captain James Fisher-Harris will start in the front row, while Warriors returnee Erin Clarke has been selected as the 18th player.

The 17-man squad also includes former Warriors center Peta Hiku, second rower Isaiah Papali and midfielder Cody Nikorima.

In his debut as Kiwi head coach, Warriors assistant coach Stacey Jones handed first tests to Gold Coast defender Keano Keaney, Melbourne forward William Warbrick, Newcastle hooker Phoenix Crossland, Brisbane second rower Jordan Reekie and Sydney Roosters forward Naufah White.

While Crossland is in the New Zealand camp for the first time, Keaney and White did not play in last year’s Pacific Championship title-winning Kiwi squad, Ricky was in New Zealand’s half-year test squad for 2022 and Warbrick played for the Kiwi A team against Tonga A last season.

Warbrick, 26, becomes a triple international after scoring an impressive 32 tries in 49 appearances in his first two seasons in the NRL.

He first represented New Zealand in Australian football before becoming an international rugby union player with the All Blacks Sevens and winning a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Keaney, the Titans’ player of the year, starts at fullback with Nicoll-Klokstad moving into opposition, a role he filled as the One New Zealand Warriors stunned premiers Penrith 22-20 during the magic round NRL in May.

Nicoll-Klokstad will team up in the half with his 34-year-old clubmate Shaun Johnson, who returned to the international stage for his 33rd Test just weeks after announcing his retirement.

Hull Kingston Rovers center Hiku, who returned to New Zealand on Sunday, becomes the first Super League player to feature for the Kiwis since Thomas Leuluai returned home from Wigan for the 2017 Rugby World Cup.

The starting pack includes two four-time premiership-winning Penrith forwards: captain and prop Fisher-Harris and second-rower Scott Sorensen.

Christchurch-raised Ricky, named on the bench for his debut, is one of five players with South Island ties.

As a junior with the Riccarton Knights and Hornby Panthers, he was joined by Christchurch-born and trained forward Jamaine Isaako (Aranui Eagles junior), while Greymouth-born forward Griffin Neame played for the Halswell Hornets as a junior and Crossland’s maternal family line originally from the West Coast. Nikorima lived in Christchurch as a youth, playing for the Burnham Chevaliers, Hornby Panthers, Halswell Hornets and Lynnwood Keas.

Apart from Johnson, the Kiwis’ most experienced Test players are Joseph Tapine (19 Tests), Hiku (17 Tests) and Fisher-Harris and Nikorima (15 Tests each).

Seven players were in the New Zealand team that beat Australia 30-0 in last year’s Pacific Championship final – Isaako, center Matt Timoko, Nicholl-Klokstad, Fisher-Harris, Tapine, Papalii and Neame, and eighth prop Leo Thompson. has been ruled out as he serves a one-match ban from his final appearance of the NRL season.

After facing Australia, the Kiwis will take on Tonga at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Saturday 2 November. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

The Kangaroos arrive in Christchurch tonight after opening their campaign with an 18-0 win over Tonga in Brisbane last Friday night.

The Kiwis, Kiwi Ferns, Kangaroos and Jillaroes will gather at Wainoni Park in Aranui for a puhiri tomorrow at 3.30pm, followed by a fan day.

NZ KIWIS vs KANGAROO

Apollo Projects Stadium
Christchurch
18:05, Sunday, October 27, 2024

1 Kiano Kini | Debutant
2 Jamain Isaako | 808
3 Matthew Timoko | 832
4 Peta Hiku | 781
5 William Warbrick | Debutant
6 Charnze-Nikoll-Klokstad | 820
7 Shawn Johnson | 774
8 James Fisher-Harris (c) | 801
9 Phoenix Crossland | Debutant
10. Griffin Neame | 834
11 Isaiah Papalia | 817
12 Scott Sorensen | 831
13 Joseph Tapine | 800
14 Cody Nikorima | 793
15 Naufahu White | Debutant
16 Marata Nyukore | 825
17 Jordan Rickey | Debutant
18 Erin Clark | Debutant
19 Trent Toelau | Debutant
20 Casey McLean | Debutant