Black Ferns

Black Ferns head coach Glenn Moore has named one debutant — flanker Marcelle Parkes from Wellington — in his lineup to face France in Toulon, while Hawke’s Bay’s Krysten Cottrell will start at first five, with Ruahei Demant moving to second five for tomorrow morning’s international.

Moore said 20-year-old Parkes had been going from strength to strength in training and was ready to make her mark on the big stage.

“Marcelle is like a sponge. She soaks up everything the coaches and her teammates teach her, and puts it in to practice.

“More than that, she studies the game in her own time and does a lot of work to make sure she thoroughly understands her role.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth in Marcelle since she’s been in the Black Ferns environment. We think this test The team is (number of caps in brackets * indicates debut): 1. Phillipa Love (5), 2. Fiao’o Faamausili (55, captain), 3. Aldora Itunu (18), 4. Eloise Blackwell (35), 5. Charmaine Smith (19), 6. Charmaine McMenamin (17), 7. Les Elder (12), 8. Aroha Savage (31), 9. Kendra Cocksedge (45, vc), 10. Krysten Cottrell (3), 11. Ayesha LetiI’iga (1), 12. Ruahei Demant (3), 13. Stacey Waaka (14), 14. Renee Wickliffe (33), 15. Selica Winiata (34, vc). Reserves: 16. Te Kura NgataAerengamate (23), 17. Leilani Perese (3), 18. Aleisha-Pearl Nelson (27), 19. Jackie Patea-Fereti (15), 20. Linda Itunu (38), 21. Marcelle Parkes*, 22. Kristina Sue (38), 23. Monica Tagoai (1).

match is the right opportunity for her, and we’ll be expecting good things.”

The combination of Demant and Cottrell was tried during last weekend’s