The Wallaroos' preparations for their clash against the Black Ferns have been thrown into chaos, with halfback Georgia Cormick ruled out after being hit in the face by a ball kicked by teammate Lori Cramer.
Cormick slumped to the ground after being hit front-on in the face by a shanked kick from Cramer and while she was able to leave the ground under her own steam, she did not complete the session.
Medicos assessed Cormick had sustained a concussion and she was ruled out of Saturday's clash at Eden Park.
Already without Cobie-Jane Morgan, who has missed the New Zealand series for personal reasons, the Wallaroos will bring Alana Elisia on to the bench after initially considering an 11th-hour SOS to Queensland halfback Asako Ono to fly to Auckland.
Iliseva Batibasaga, who was named on the bench earlier this week, will start at no.9.
It's a blow the Wallaroos did not need as they attempt to fight back from last week's 47-10 loss in Perth but one they hope will galvinise them even further if they are a woman down.
Captain Grace Hamilton is adamant her team will put on a better showing than last week despite the Black Ferns' resolve to take their own game to another level.
"It hurt, it was disappointing and I know we're better than that," Hamilton said.
"But now is our chance to rectify that and show them how we actually can play."
Words are cheap but Hamilton said the Wallaroos had worked hard over the past week to rectify the issues that plagued them in the opening leg of the Laurie O'Reilly Memorial Trophy in Perth.
"We've come together well … for us it's about coming together as a team and executing and about more cohesion on the field and retaining the ball and getting that momentum with the ball in hand," she said.
Ball retention was a massive issue for the Wallaroos last week and they have vowed to be more physical on Saturday to turn things around.
"I think it's an easy fix. We've just got to value that possession and we've done a lot of that this week.
"We have to value that ball. You win the game if you have the ball and are scoring tries, so we just have to retain that and value that possession.
"I don't think we executed what we wanted to but we get the opportunity tomorrow to execute how we want to play rugby."
Hamilton said there had been no real surprises from the Black Ferns, with the Wallaroos' own foibles causing their downfall.
"They're smart rugby players and I've played them a few times now. They're a quality team but there's quality in our team too and I don't think the girls got to (show) their skills on the field last week," Hamilton said.
"I'm hoping that tomorrow we get an opportunity to do that."
The Wallaroos take on the Black Ferns at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, August 17, kicking off at 5pm AEST (3pm local), with the match shown LIVE on Foxtel, Kayo and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO.
