Tuinakauvadra returns from knee injury to boost Wallaroos for WXV Global Series

Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Australia’s reigning Wallaroos Player of the Year, has been named in the squad for the WXV Global Series after recovering from separate knee injuries that kept her out of Test rugby since the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. The 23-year-old back-row forward missed the Pacific Four Series and the second Laurie O’Reilly Cup match in Auckland during her absence.

Alongside Tuinakauvadra, Director of Women’s High Performance Tom Walsh has recalled Georgina Friedrichs and Faliki Pohiva. Tiarah Minns also returns after recovering from the neck injury that sidelined her throughout the Super Rugby Women’s season.

Not everyone is available, however. Maya Stewart has been ruled out of the September fixtures against England, France and Scotland with an Achilles injury, while Maddison Levi and Bienne Terita will miss the European leg of the campaign as they compete in Ultimate Sevens.

The squad includes three potential debutants — Piper Flynn, Jemma Bemrose and Amelia Whitaker — reflecting a deliberate focus on building depth ahead of Rugby World Cup 2029.

Walsh was bullish about the tour’s ambitions. “The flight to England can’t come quick enough,” he said. “The team is ready to test themselves against the best and close the performance gap. The team selected for this tour is tilted towards youth with Rugby World Cup 2029 on the horizon whilst being surrounded by experienced veterans to lead the way.”

The most experienced players in the travelling party include Michaela Leonard (47 caps), Eva Karpani (46 caps), Georgina Friedrichs (42 caps) and Kaitlan Leaney (40 caps), providing the senior scaffolding Walsh referenced around the younger contingent.

Australia face England, France and Scotland in the WXV Global Series European fixtures in September.