Evans ready for huge tests

Extra resources and camps have been allocated to the New Zealand side over the past year, and there are talks in place to ensure there are further test games in 2014 for the World Champions before they head to Paris to defend their title, potentially against Canada and Australia.

Head coach Brian Evans is certainly upbeat.

??We had a very good camp earlier this year with about 40 players and then a trial in June from which the squad was selected. The preparation has been a bit better for us this year and we are really pleased with the plans being put in place for the 15s programme by the NZRU from now until the World Cup next summer. We??ve already got a few more camps in the diary and we are hopeful of playing a couple of games over here as well before we go. That would be fantastic for us.??

New Zealand??s countdown to the World Cup begins on Saturday, when they run out at Eden Park live on TV. It??s an important moment for the Black Ferns, who haven??t played a home test since 2007, and who have been somewhat in the shadows of the New Zealand women??s Sevens side, who lifted their own World title a few weeks ago in Moscow.

From that squad, into the Black Ferns come Kelly Brazier, Selicia Winiata, Renee Wickliffe and Portia Woodman, inclusions that Evans is pleased about.

??Those four are settling in very well. ?˜I would love for us to have more girls from the Sevens programme involved and that is something we will look at for next year??s World Cup. But those four we have are coming back with lots of extra skills and fitness under their belts and with lots of confidence. We are all enjoying a good build up here. We??ve done some great promotional work and the girls have loved it. Having the game this weekend live on Sky is also a great way for us to connect with the New Zealand public. They are getting a lot of respect and it??s been a very positive for us.??

To the rugby itself, and Evans says after five test losses in six games against England over the last two years, he is expecting to be up against it, because there is no escaping the fact that England have unquestionably been the superior team since 2010.?˜

??I have seen the England team for this weekend and my first thoughts were that it is a very strong experienced side. They have great depth so even though they are missing a few big names, it??s still a very very good side. It sounds like a clich?? but this weekend it will all start up front for us. I thought we gained a good bit of parity there at times last season, but England dominated us out wide and at times really took us apart. ?˜That is an area of their game which has improved so much ?? their back play really has been impressive and we have got to stop the flow of good ball out there. We??ve shuffled things around a bit and Victoria (Grant) and Amiria (Rule) coming back in gives us some more options and more experience there.??

A big focus for New Zealand over the past year has been on conditioning ?? an area Evans admits has been off the pace and is still a work in progress.

??We have been given extra training resources over the last year and conditioning has been a big part of that. We would be the first to admit that that element of our game wasn??t up to scratch in the last few years and we are working on it hard building towards next summer. It is an area we have to work really hard at and the girls are really putting the effort in. We are definitely in better shape right now ?? even the fact that we are not travelling has given us just that bit extra time and less tiredness.??

1. Saturday 13 July:?˜Eden Park, Auckland kickoff?˜5:05pm2.?˜Tuesday 16 July:?˜ ?˜Waikato Stadium, Hamilton, kickoff?˜7:00pm3.?˜Saturday 20 July:?˜ECOLight Stadium, Pukekohe, kickoff?˜2:35pm

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