Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
The Wallaroos are gearing up for more wild weather in Kansas City for their Pacific Four rugby clash with the USA after tornadoes forced the evacuation of their hotel rooms.
The Australian women were relocated away from windows at their team hotel this week because of passing tornadoes and their preparation for Friday night’s (local time) second series match has been hampered by high winds.
But Wallaroos winger Maya Stewart said the players were embracing the good and bad of mid-west America, using both the extreme weather and a visit to a barbecue restaurant as bonding experiences.
Thunderstorms are forecast for game time this week.
“It’s just been really cool for the group … these are things that we’ll look back on in like five years,10 years’ time and be like ‘remember that time over in America’,” the 26-year-old said.
“They’re really unique situations and everyone has a different recount of what happened over here, and it’s cool reflecting back on that stuff, those shared experiences.
“Obviously we get those on the field, but off the field as well, so it does bring the group together, and hopefully that helps with our performance on Friday.”
The Wallaroos opened their Pacific Four campaign with a 24-0 loss to world No.2 Canada, with that match in Sacramento delayed for 90 minutes by lightning, then played on rain-soaked turf.
The USA had a 48-15 loss in the four-team competition to defending champions New Zealand.
With Australia ranked one place above world No.8 USA, there’s little between the teams, sharing two wins, two losses and a draw from their past five meetings, although the Americans can boast six wins from 10 clashes overall.
The 31-31 draw at last year’s Rugby World Cup in England helped the Wallaroos take a quarter-final berth above their pool rivals.
America’s Freda Tafuna, who is set to start at No.8 this week, scored a hat-trick, while current Wallaroos winger Desiree Miller collected two tries in that match.
“They’re such an emerging side and they’re obviously quite athletic,” said Stewart, the Wallaroos’ all-time leading try-scorer.
“It’s always a contest between us. It seems to go a bit tit for tat, so it’s one that sort of stood for a bit of time now in regard to that sort of rivalry.
“They put up a great performance against New Zealand on the weekend and were able to sort of run it with them until about the 50-minute mark, and then the floodgates opened.
“So we know that they’re going to be hungry and they’re going to come out firing and, yeah, we’re ready to play against them.”
