Six-times champions are aiming to play with courage as they seek to defend the title they won at home in 2022
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hen New Zealand’s director of performance, Allan Bunting, took to the mic to sing a rendition of Dua Lipa’s Levitating at Manurewa intermediate school, the Black Ferns’ last stop before travelling to England for the Women’s Rugby World Cup, he was not only making headlines but perpetuating the champions’ message for the tournament: be brave.
Bunting has been putting himself out of his comfort zone in the lead-up to the competition, on another occasion performing a Haka in front of his players and staff. His karaoke turn caught the team’s attention and the wing Ayesha Leti-I’iga, who scored two tries in the World Cup final in 2022, cracked up laughing when asked about it.
“It’s kind of like that family member who embarrasses you, that was that moment,” Leti-I’iga says, chuckling. “But I’m also not surprised he does things like that from out of nowhere.
