Captain Palu pumped for Wallaroos Canberra homecoming

Fri, May 16, 2025, 6:16 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson

Captain Siokapesi Palu is enjoying a rare Test in Canberra as the Wallaroos look to bounce back against the USA.

Palu is one of several players in the squad with connections to the capital as they play their first Test in the ACT since 2008.

Catch the Wallaroos take on the USA live, ad-free and on demand on Stan Sport.

ACT Brumbies' Tania Naden, Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Faitala Moleka and Palu have been named in the starting side, with Canberra-born Michaela Leonard in the second-row.

They will face off with club teammate Keia Mae Sagapolu Sanele, named in the front-row for the USA.

"It's super special, obviously home for me and my rugby and it's just nice to know that we're in a not mainstream city so we get to each to generations and other young players who probably don't see enough international women's games," Palu said to reporters.

"We talk about how we want to inspire the next generation. It's our key focus, one of our visions as a squad.

"Being a local Canberran at the moment it's nice to just give back to my community."

The Wallaroos showed signs of growth in their 38-12 defeat to the Black Ferns but Palu knows they need to turn those performances into wins, especially given last year's defeat in Melbourne.

"We're quite confident in what we're trying to execute tomorrow," she said.

"We know the USA are going to be a quality side and we just want to make sure we put in a performance that we're proud of and that we know we're capable of.

"It's all about us and just making sure we're confident in what we do but it's being brave and taking those actions.

"We know they're a physical side but after I guess the performance that we were able to put on last week it shows that we can front up physically."

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