Household rivalry intensifies as Wallaroos lock Leaney looks to one up Welsh mates

Fri, Sep 27, 2024, 6:08 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson

Wallaroos lock Kaitlan Leaney didn’t need last week’s game to familiarise herself with her Welsh opposition.

The Harlequins lock lives with Welsh hooker Carys Phillips and lock Abbie Fleming after making the move from NSW.

Watch the Wallaroos tackle Wales live and exclusively on Stan Sport.

It left extra sting in last week’s result as they caught up after the game following the seven point defeat.

“We don’t talk about it too much before the game but there’s a couple winks and what not on the field,” Leaney said.

“We’re all very serious players when we cross that white line so we’ll have a laugh about it and a hug after the game but nothing too much before that.

“I think the beauty about it is we train all the time together at Harlequins so I know how they play and what to expect.

“It’s like those contact days within your own days where you go hard at your teammates so you just flip that switch, especially when you’re representing your country, it’s a whole different ball game.”

Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp has kept faith in the squad that went down after the siren in Newport.

Yapp said discipline was a major fix for the side if they wished to turn the result and fight for the WXV 2 crown.

"The girls and staff are pretty hard on ourselves," she said. 

"We don't cover over the cracks…everyone knows that those discipline errors weren't good enough.”

The Wallaroos are eager to use their scrum as a weapon in the rematch after drawing three penalties in the defeat.

“I think we’re taking a lot of confidence out of that last game,” hooker Tania Naden said.

“We were very positive as we were stepping into it, especially after that second scrum we got a penalty, which was a real confidence booster for us.

“We previewed them as a really strong scrummaging team with a bigger pack than ours but after that second scrum, we were getting around each other and saying ‘We’ve actually got them here.’

“That was a really good feeling to be part of that pack that we’re able to execute those scrums.”

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