Brazier back for the Black Ferns

Sevens star Kelly Brazier is back in the Black Ferns for the first time since their 2017 Rugby World Cup win in Ireland.

Brazier, who was part of the Black Ferns Sevens World Cup winning team last year, will start from the bench against the USA tomorrow.

Brazier missed four of the Black Ferns Sevens’ tournaments this season with a calf injury and was only back fit for the Canada series, which New Zealand won in May. Coach Glenn Moore says the transition from sevens to 15s will be an easy one for the seasoned professional.

‘‘We all know how talented Kelly is and she can cover 10, 12 and 15. Kelly brings experience, she reads the game well, and is brave on defence.

‘‘She has a calm head and is conditioned to playing on the big stage. She will bring a steadying influence to the back line.’’

Moore said the players had recovered well from their match against Canada on Saturday and would need to step it up a notch against the USA.

‘‘We watched the match between USA and England, and the Americans brought a lot of physicality and made some big hits so we need to be ready for that. We’ve put strategies in place to counter what we expect them to bring and are ready.’’

The Black Ferns will debut three newbies against the USA in San Diego.

Wellington lock Joanah NganWoo, Canterbury hooker Forne Burkin and Waikato flanker Kennedy Simon will make their test debuts from the bench.

Ngan-Woo has toured with the team before, but not made a test appearance.

‘‘Joanah’s worked very hard in the off-season, taking the advice we gave her and has taken another step up. We’re looking forward to seeing her play, and when her name was read out this morning there was a massive cheer from the group.’’

Burkin was part of the Farah Palmer Cup-winning Canterbury side while studying in Christchurch, and Moore said the selectors had been watching her for the past couple of years. ‘‘We’ve been impressed with Forne for a while. She has good core skills and plays well out on the edge. We’re expecting a lot of

physicality from her against the USA.’’

Simon is both a sevens and 15s player. ‘‘Kennedy is very skilful and smart. She runs clever lines and we want to have a look at her in this game to see what she can achieve on a bigger stage.’’