The Wallaroos will be looking to make up for lost time when they make their long-awaited return against Fijiana.
Friday's match at Suncorp Stadium officially starts their build to the World Cup later this year, with 11 debutants named in the first side of 2022.
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Several of the debutants have been involved with the program for a number of years, with new coach Jay Tregonning excited to provide them with a chance to impress on the International stage.
“I think a lot of those girls have been around the squad for years but they haven’t had the opportunity to play so if we had those Tests, it’d only be a couple of debutants,” he told Rugby.com.au
“I think that the experience that is there and the form the players are in from Super W is key for us and we’ve really hit the ground running.
“It’s such an exciting time for them. There’s so many being capped that haven’t played for 2 1/2 years, they're all chomping at the bit to put their best foot forward for Australia."
There's added motivation for the Wallaroos players following Super W, with the Fijiana Drua going through the tournament undefeated.
This includes 15 Waratahs named in the matchday 23, who lost to the Drua in a thrilling Final during Super Round.
With plenty of tape to analysis their game, including Sunday's narrow defeat to Japan, Tregonning was expecting the unexpected from the free-flowing side.
“They’re predictably unpredictable, aren’t they? Fiji is Fiji, played a little differently against Japan but we’re in a situation where we’re hungry to beat them because all the girls got beat by them this year (in Super W),” he believes.
“That’s definitely a driving factor as well so we’ve identified a few areas where we can use our strengths best and capitalise on some of their weakness but there’s not many in that squad.
“They are going to be a really tough test for us.”
The two-Test series against Fijiana and Japan commences a stacked calendar for the program, slated to play seven Test matches before they open the World Cup against the Black Ferns on October 8.
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As Tregonning prepares for his first test in charge since taking over from Dwayne Nestor, he was looking for his side to show some resilience and fight to shut down the lethal Fijiana offence.
“We’ve got a bit of a plan about where we want to be at the World Cup and part of that is not giving the players in the Wallaroos too much to digest,” he added.
“We’ve got some things we want to implement in place throughout the year. We’ve had a look at what will make us successful in these two games and that’s what we have introduced.
“We’ll go into the game with confidence but they will be two difficult Test matches that’s for sure.
“Success to me is winning but there’s a lot that goes into that. If we get a victory on the field Friday, it’s not because we were better tactically either. It’s about building and coming together as a team and part of that is showing that resilience in tough times.”
