Black Ferns captain Ponsonby braced for 'enemies on the field' reunion with Scotland club teammates

Georgia Ponsonby will swap coffee catch-ups for competitive scrums this Saturday when she leads the Black Ferns against Scotland at the Hive in Edinburgh, coming up against Trailfinders Women teammates Emma Wassell and Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm in the process.

Ponsonby spent the entire 2025/26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season with Trailfinders, forging close friendships with both players. The 26-year-old hooker was candid about the unusual dynamic it creates. “I caught up with Wass for a coffee yesterday which was really nice,” she said. “It’ll be a bit weird but funny. Friends off the field and enemies on the field. It’ll be a good tussle with them.”

The match carries broader significance beyond the personal storylines. It marks the first time New Zealand have played international rugby in Scotland, continuing a tour that has already made history — the Black Ferns faced the Springboks in South Africa for the first time earlier in the trip. “It’s cool to be a part of history,” Ponsonby said. “This tour for us has been a little bit about that.”

Ponsonby is captaining New Zealand for the first time during this tour, having previously been part of the leadership group without holding the official title. She described the appointment by head coach Whitney Hansen as both a surprise and a “huge honour”. “You go ‘are you sure? Me?’” she recalled. “But then reflecting back I have been in this team for six years. I am one of the more capped players as well. I guess with that eventually comes a responsibility to lead.”

She was initially named co-captain alongside first-five Ruahei Demant, but Demant has since been ruled out with injury, leaving Ponsonby to carry the captaincy alone. She said she is “devastated” for her teammate but that the change does “not massively” affect her own role.

Off the field, Ponsonby spoke warmly about the experience of touring Scotland, with the squad taking a day trip into Edinburgh ahead of the test. “It’s such an epic city,” she said. “The bonus of being able to travel the world and experience different cultures and food is always new and exciting. It adds to the gratitude of what we get to do and the places we get to see.”