Australia team announcement (v CAN) media conference: head coach Yapp, captain Palu, Talakai and Friedrichs

Head coach Jo Yapp, captain Siokapesi Palu, Adiana Talakai and Georgina Friedrichs (pictures) speak after Australia announced their matchday 23 to face Canada in the quarter-finals at Ashton Gate Stadium on Sunday.

Jo Yapp, head coach

On some of the 10 changes made to the squad:
"Having Trilleen Pomare and her leadership skills come on [from the bench] is obviously a positive thing. In the case of Emily Chancellor, the line speed and leadership she brings means we’ve chosen to start with her, but there’ll be an impact with Ashley [Masters] coming off the bench and the physicality she brings.

On playing the No.2 team in the world after playing the No.1:
"There’s a lot of confidence we can take from the England game, but there were also some key areas we were looking to focus on this week."

On the change in psychology during the knockout stages:
"We’re excited. The game drivers are aware of the differences in decision-making, and that is different ]than the pools] because of those key moments, so that’s something we’ve been working with them on."

On advice to young women who want to get into coaching:
"Be authentic and yourself. It’s easy to try to be something that you think a coach should be."

Siokapesi Palu, captain 

On the confidence in the group:"
There has been a huge boost in confidence among the group. You can see that week in week out, we continue to get better. Being able to put a performance like that against a top-quality side [England] for the first 30 minutes surprised us. It’s good because it instils a bit of belief."

On if she’s received any messages of support from her students (at Erindale College in Canberra):
"Yes, they sent me a video of my girls’ footy class wishing me good luck, which I’m yet to show the rest of the Walleroos! There’s been so much support on their socials, and they’ve been really positive."

Adiana Talakai

On her tea-cup gesture she performed after scoring against England:
"I’m not too sure if I got any push-back from it, I try not to read the comments because I know it’ll be the negative ones that stick. I got told by the team I needed the saucer. So intent there, but execution needs working on. I’ll just stick to the wave to the camera."

On her her family’s interactions with Rugby:
"I mainly talk to my brothers about the footy side. It’s a big rugby family and we try to keep the group chat as non-rugby. Rugby is 95% of our lives so 5% isn’t rugby and is just for family."

On ‘post-tournament blues’ after tournaments:
"It’s hard to spend so much time with each other and then you don’t see each other for like one day and you’re like ‘what’s going on?’ So then you plan things, we go to the beach or we go get coffee."

On staying in Brighton:
"Last week we were in Uckfield in south Sussex. We were in the middle of nowhere and it was just really nice; all I could hear was the golf putts being made out of the back. It was silent, away from the bustle of the city."

Georgina Friedrichs

On homesickness:
"Being in such a big squad, there’s so many different people that you can go and hang out with. If you get sick of one person, there’s always another 30. We’ve been fortunate enough to have families come over, so being able to spend time with them after the game - even if they’re not your family but your close teammates' family - is always good."

On her favourite tournament city so far:
"I really liked St Nick’s market in Bristol, that was cool. I really liked Manchester, I don’t know if it was because of the weather but yeah, I really liked it."