New Zealand women's national rugby league team

The New Zealand women's national rugby league team, also known as the Kiwi Ferns or New Zealand Kiwi Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's rugby league. They are administered by the New Zealand Rugby League.

New Zealand won the Women's Rugby League World Cup in 2000, 2003 and 2008.

History The Kiwi Ferns were formed in 1995.

Touring Australia in June and July 1995, the team won all seven games that they played. Two of the games were full internationals against Australia.

The First Test Match was held on 1 July 1995 at Lidcombe Oval in Sydney. New Zealand 18 defeated Australia 14. The Second Test was held on 8 July 1995 at Hawker Oval in Canberra. New Zealand 14 defeated Australia 6.

In 1997, New Zealand hosted Australia for two Test matches, winning both.

New Zealand hosted a 1998 tour by Great Britain, winning all three matches by comfortable margins, the score of 28 to 6 in the First Test being the closest.

During a Trans-Tasman series in 1999, New Zealand experienced their first defeat, a narrow 20-22 loss in the Second Test at Penrith. New Zealand won the third Test in Auckland to claim the series two-one.

New Zealand competed in the 2000 World Cup, beating Australia and Great Britain twice each to claim the inaugural title.

New Zealand remained undefeated in the 2000s until a one-off Test Match against Australia in 2009. During this period, the Kiwi Ferns won one-off matches in 2001 and 2002, all six matches in the 2003 World Cup to claim their second title, two matches in 2004, another in 2006, and all five matches in the 2008 World Cup to claim their third title as World Cup champions. The winning streak extended to 21 matches.

Coaches Also see :Category:New Zealand women's national rugby league team coaches.

The current coach of the New Zealand team is Ricky Henry, who replaced Justin Morgan in 2020. Morgan had been the coach since 2018.

Name Tests Nines Ref. Span Matches W D L W% Span Matches W D L W% 19951997 4 4 0 0 100.00 N/A 19981999 6 5 0 1 83.33 N/A 20002001 5 5 0 0 100.00 N/A 20022004 9 9 0 0 100.00 N/A Stan Martin 20062009 7 6 0 1 85.71 N/A Lynley Tierney-Mani 20102013 6 5 0 1 83.33 N/A Rusty Matua 2014 1 1 0 0 100.00 2015 3 2 0 1 66.67 Alan Jackson 20152016 2 1 0 1 50.00 20162017 6 2 0 4 33.33 Tony Benson 2017 7 5 0 2 71.43 N/A Kelvin Wright 2018 1 0 0 1 0.00 N/A Justin Morgan 2019 2 1 0 1 50.00 2019 4 3 0 1 75.00 Ricky Henry 2020 15 9 0 6 60.00 N/A Note: Last updated: 10 November 2025

Players Current squad

The Kiwi Ferns squad for the 2026 Rugby League World Cup was announced on 6 October 2026.

Players' ages are as at the date that the table was last updated, 6 October 2026.

J# Player Age Position(s) Kiwi Ferns NRLW Other Reps Pts2026 Club Pts 30 2023 9 0 0 0 0 Dragons 0 48 5 0 0 20 1 2 2 24 2023 4 0 0 0 0 Warriors 0 19 2 0 0 8 24 2023 8 3 0 0 12 Sharks 32 32 6 0 0 24 2 31 2022 9 1 7 0 18 Broncos 43 49 4 16 0 48 2 1 31 2015 23 0 0 0 0 Titans 53 62 3 0 0 12 31 2022 13 7 0 0 28 Warriors 0 40 29 0 0 116 21 0 0 0 0 0 Sharks 22 33 5 31 1 83 4 3 20 2025 3 0 0 0 0 Warriors 0 13 4 0 0 16 28 0 0 0 0 0 Broncos 18 45 4 0 0 16 9 8 5 28 2017 18 9 5 0 46 Tigers 12 60 5 78 1 177 6 24 2025 2 0 0 0 0 Tigers 12 23 2 0 0 8 33 2017 19 5 6 0 32 Warriors 0 46 3 13 0 38 28 2022 11 3 0 0 12 Knights 53 58 15 0 0 60 1 1 5 2 23 2022 13 1 0 0 4 Roosters 53 53 11 0 0 44 3 31 2023 8 2 0 0 8 Bulldogs 19 42 7 0 0 28 4 1 30 2022 11 3 0 0 12 Cowboys 18 38 12 0 0 48 21 2024 6 1 0 0 4 Bulldogs 19 35 8 0 0 32 18 0 0 0 0 0 Dragons 0 19 1 0 0 4 24 2023 9 1 0 0 4 Bulldogs 21 40 2 0 0 8 29 0 0 0 0 0 Raiders 41 65 7 135 4 302 5 8 1 6 1 24 2023 7 4 0 0 16 Raiders 24 52 15 0 0 60 1 2 30 0 0 0 0 0 Warriors 0 16 15 0 0 60 28 0 0 0 0 0 Knights 31 31 10 0 0 40 1 Notes All 23 players played in the 2026 NRL Women's season. Three members of the squad have previously played for another nation: (2): Mato and Temara. (1): Chantay Kiria-Ratu (1): Tufuga Twelve squad members have previously played for Australasian based representative teams: Māori All Stars (8): Anderson, Biddle, Mato, McGregor, Parker, Quinlan, and Temara. New South Wales (2): Anderson and Parker Queensland (5): Clark, Chantay Kiria-Ratu, Mato, Pule, and Temara. NSW City (3): Anderson, Parker, Quinlan, and Tufuga. NRL All Stars (2): Parker and Temara.

Competitive record

Head to head records Opponent Win% Share 32 17 0 15 53.12% 616 523 54.08% 6 6 0 0 100.00% 196 24 89.09% New Zealand Māori 2017 4 4 0 0 100.00% 176 34 83.81% 3 3 0 0 100.00% 178 4 97.80% Tokelau 1 1 0 0 100.00% 84 0 100.00% 5 5 0 0 100.00% 206 40 83.74% 1 1 0 0 100.00% 72 0 100.00% 3 3 0 0 100.00% 120 26 82.19% 6 6 0 0 100.00% 204 42 82.93% 2 2 0 0 100.00% 134 0 100.00% 1 1 0 0 100.00% 50 4 92.59% 2 2 0 0 100.00% 74 0 100.00% Totals 66 51 0 15 77.27% 2,110 697 75.17% Notes: Table last updated 10 November 2025. Share is the portion of "For" points compared to the sum of "For" and "Against" points.

Results

Full internationals Date Opponent Score Tournament Venue Video Report(s) 1 Jul 1995 2 Test Series Lidcombe Oval, Sydney 8 Jul 1995 Hawker Oval, Canberra 20 Sep 1997 2 Test Series Petone Recreation Ground, Wellington 24 Sep 1997 Carlaw Park, Auckland 23 Aug 1998 3 Test Series Puketawhero Park, Rotorua 29 Aug 1998 Rugby League Park, Christchurch 4 Sep 1998 Carlaw Park, Auckland 23 Sep 1999 3 Test Series Leichhardt Oval, Sydney 27 Sep 1999 Penrith Stadium, Sydney 29 Oct 1999 Ericsson Stadium, Auckland 7 Nov 2000 2000 Women's Rugby League World Cup Rugby Ground, Orrell, Greater Manchester 10 Nov 2000 South Leeds Stadium 18 Nov 2000 Rams Stadium, Dewsbury 24 Nov 2000 Wilderspool, Warrington 23 Sep 2001 Test Match Carlaw Park, Auckland Oct 2002 Māori Test Match 28 Sep 2003 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup North Harbour Stadium 2 Oct 2003 Tokelau Marist Rugby Grounds 4 Oct 2003 North Harbour Stadium 6 Oct 2003 North Harbour Stadium 8 Oct 2003 North Harbour Stadium 12 Oct 2003 Māori North Harbour Stadium 14 Aug 2004 2 Test Series Bendigo Bank Oval, Ipswich 21 Aug 2004 Davies Park, Brisbane 1 Jul 2006 Māori Test Match Rotorua International Stadium 6 Nov 2008 2008 Women's Rugby League World Cup Stockland Park, Sunshine Coast 8 Nov 2008 10 Nov 2008 12 Nov 2008 15 Nov 2008 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 23 Sep 2009 Test Match Ellerslie Domain, Auckland 10 Oct 2010 2 Test Series Toll Stadium, Whangārei 16 Oct 2010 Waitakere Stadium, Auckland 5 Jul 2013 2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup The Tetley's Stadium, Dewsbury 8 Jul 2013 Post Office Road, Featherstone 11 Jul 2013 Fox's Biscuits Stadium, Batley 14 Jul 2013 Headingley, Leeds 9 Nov 2014 Test Match WIN Stadium, Wollongong 3 May 2015 Anzac Test Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 6 May 2016 Anzac Test Hunter Stadium, Newcastle 5 May 2017 Anzac Test GIO Stadium, Canberra 4 Nov 2017 Māori Warm-up Match Waikato Stadium, Hamilton http://www.nzrl.co.nz/fanzone/news/2017/8/kiwi-ferns-to-play-rlwc-warm-up-game-in-hamilton/ 16 Nov 2017 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney 19 Nov 2017 22 Nov 2017 26 Nov 2017 2 Dec 2017 Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane 13 Oct 2018 Test Match Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 22 Jun 2019 Test Match Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 25 Oct 2019 Test Match WIN Stadium, Wollongong 7 Nov 2020 Test Match Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 25 Jun 2022 Test Match Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland 2 Nov 2022 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup York Community Stadium, York 6 Nov 2022 10 Nov 2022 14 Nov 2022 19 Nov 2022 Old Trafford, Manchester 14 Oct 2023 Test Match Qld Country Bank Stadium 21 Oct 2023 Test Match Eden Park, Auckland 28 Oct 2023 Test Match AAMI Park, Melbourne 27 Oct 2024 2024 Pacific Championship Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch 3 Nov 2024 Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby 10 Nov 2024 CommBank Stadium, Parramatta 19 Oct 2025 2025 Pacific Championship Go Media Stadium, Auckland 2 Nov 2025 Eden Park, Auckland 9 Nov 2025 CommBank Stadium, Sydney

Nines

Date Opponent Score Tournament Venue Video Report(s) 31 Jan 2015 2015 Auckland Nines Eden Park, Auckland 1 Feb 2015 1 Feb 2015 6 Feb 2016 2016 Auckland Nines 7 Feb 2016 7 Feb 2016 4 Feb 2017 2017 Auckland Nines 5 Feb 2017 5 Feb 2017 18 Oct 2019 2019 World Cup 9s Bankwest Stadium, Sydney 19 Oct 2019 19 Oct 2019 19 Oct 2019

Upcoming fixtures New Zealand has qualified for the 2026 World Cup to be held in October-November 2026. All three of the Kiwi Fern's pool games have been scheduled within a multi-match game day. The second round match in Christchurch precedes a New Zealand men's team match. The third round match on the Queensland Gold Coast follows a women's match between Fiji and France and a men's match between New Zealand and Fiji.

Opponent Game Day Time Venue Weekday Date Format Local AEDT GMT Sponsored Name Actual Name Sunday 18 Oct 2026 1:50 PM 1:50 PM 2:50 AM McDonald Jones Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre Sunday 25 Oct 2026 3:50 PM 1:50 PM 2:50 AM One NZ Stadium Te Kaha, Christchurch Saturday 31 Oct 2026 4:55 PM 5:55 PM 6:55 AM Cbus Super Stadium Robina Stadium, Gold Coast Potential Semi-Final Saturday 7 Nov 2026 5:55 PM 5:55 PM 6:55 AM McDonald Jones Stadium Newcastle International Sports Centre Sunday 8 Nov 2026 5:55 PM 5:55 PM 6:55 AM Allianz Stadium Sydney Football Stadium Potential Final Sunday 15 Nov 2026 3:15 PM 4:15 PM 5:15 AM Suncorp Stadium Lang Park, Brisbane

Records

Individual records This section last updated 17 November 2024.

The tally of tries, goals and points for this section is missing All of the 16 points vs Australia on 23 September 2009. 4 of 44 points vs England on 10 October 2010 (First Test). A long report in the New Zealand Herald mentions the scorers of the ten tries but omits the goal-kicker.

Points scored: 246 Trish Hina (33 tries, 57 goals)

Tries scored: 45 Honey Hireme

Goals kicked: 57 Trish Hina

Points scored in a match: 40 Trish Hina (5 tries, 10 goals) vs , World Cup, 6 October 2003.

Tries scored in a match: 6 Fuarosa Time vs Tokelau, World Cup, 2 October 2003. Honey Hireme vs , World Cup, 19 November 2017.

Goals kicked in a match: 10 Trish Hina vs , World Cup, 6 October 2003. Laura Mariu vs Pacific Islands, World Cup 6 November 2008.

Notes: Most Games is not listed above as full line-ups are not known to contributors for multiple matches prior to 2011. Unknown: 1997 (both Tests), 1998 (2nd Test), 1999 (1st Test), 2002 (only match), 2003 (all six World Cup matches), 2004 (1st Test), 2006 (only match), 2009 (only Test), 2010 (1st Test). Known: 1995 (both Tests), 1998 (1st & 3rd Tests), 1999 (2nd & 3rd Tests), 2000 (all four World Cup matches), 2001 (only Test), 2004 (2nd Test), 2008 (all five World Cup matches), 2010 (2nd Test). For the 2nd Test of 1999, the try-scorers listed in the New Zealand Rugby League Annual 1999 differs from the try-scorers shown in the match video on YouTube. The Annual has the try-scorers as Nadene Conlon, Zavana Aranga, Rachel White, and Leah Witehira. The video shows the New Zealand try scorers as Nadene Conlon (video 0:10:31), Rachel White (0:47:46), Miriama Niha (1:02:21), and Michelle Driscoll (1:15:46). Try-scorers for the 1st Test of 1999 are listed in the Annual as Trish Hina (2), Leah Witehira, and Tasha Davie. A one paragraph report in The Press mentions two second-half try scorers for New Zealand in this match as Leah Witehira and Tasha Davie.

Team records Margins and streaks Biggest winning margins