Double injury blow sours huge Wallaroos victory as coach sweats on stars before Rugby World Cup
Updated . First published at
A comfortable Wallaroos win in Suva on Saturday was blighted by a double injury blow that will have coach Jo Yapp hugely concerned.
Australia beat Fiji 43-7 to claim the inaugural Vuvale Bowl for the first time the nations had played a women's Test on the island nation.
But the biggest talking point was a non-contact knee injury to gun winger Maya Stewart in the 19th minute.
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Maya Stewart is in pain. Stan
Stewart, who suffered a serious ACL injury in 2022, went down in pain after throwing a pass, and there was a long delay while she was assessed.
The Waratahs star eventually limped off the HFC Bank Stadium playing surface, but was in real distress.
Stewart is one of Australia's attacking trump cards as they target the 2025 Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in England in August.
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Desiree Miller of Australia on her way to scoring a try. Getty
It got worse for Yapp when speedy centre Bienne Terita had to be carried from the pitch with a hamstring injury.
Terita had scored two tries before clutching at the muscle and succumbing as fellow sevens convert Charlotte Caslick replaced her on Wallaroos debut.
A Wallaroos spokesperson said both Stewart and Terita would require scans to determine the severity of their injuries.
Maya Stewart is in pain. Stan
"Both players are going to be checked out properly medically and until we've had that full update we don't actually know right now," Yapp said.
"They're both really popular players and everyone is always really sad at this point when we know we're going into a World Cup.
"Anyone that gets injured, everyone just feels for them, so we're hoping it's not too bad and we can see them back out there.
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"But yeah, it's definitely put a little bit of a dampener on it for the players and staff because we care a lot about the players, so hopefully it's not too serious."
Fiji opened the scoring through captain Alfreda Fisher but it was one-way traffic from there.
Fullback Caitlyn Halse, captain Siokapesi Palu, winger Desiree Miller, halfback Layne Morgan and hooker Tania Naden were Australia's other try-scorers.
Siokapesi Palu of Australia in Suva. Getty
"The (mild) weather definitely played in our favour," Palu said on Stan Sport's coverage.
"We talk about growth and super proud of our girls going out there, a few debutants, opportunities out there, but we've got to give credit to Fiji. They're a physical team, and in that second half, you could see."
The difficulty level now goes up several notches for Australia as they prepare to play world champions New Zealand in their Pacific Four Series opener in Newcastle next Saturday.
