Black Ferns have huge shoes to fill

THE New Zealand Black Ferns have big shoes to fill at the Oceania 7s Championship which kicks off today at the ANZ Stadium in Suva.

Team captain Janna Vaughan said the team would have to play a little harder in order to defend their title this weekend.

“We have just been training together as a team for the past few weeks because we are from different parts of New Zealand,” Vaughan said.

“We understand that we have big shoes to fill since our elite team won it last year.

“We are confident of our abilities and will play hard tomorrow (today).

“We are focusing on our individual performances and if the result is a win, then that would be a bonus for us.

“We want to make sure that our structure is good and we are all comfortable to express ourselves.”

Vaughan, who leads the team for the first time, is confident of NZ’s win this weekend.

“It is a great privilege to lead the girls in the Oceania 7s. We have a good bunch of talented individuals and I am excited on what the tournament has in store for us,” said Vaughn.

The team will play its first game against New Caledonia at 11:20am at the ANZ Stadium today