Wallaroos Star Honors Military Family in Anzac Day Test

When Piper Duck steps onto the field Saturday night, she'll be playing for more than just a win against New Zealand.

The 25-year-old Wallaroos player carries the legacy of three generations of military service. Her grandfather Keith served as a leading aircraftman with the RAAF during World War II, while her great-grandfather Ernest also fought in the same war.

Her uncle Glenn deployed to East Timor as part of Australia's peacekeeping efforts with the Royal Australian Regiment. Though Keith passed away in 2013, his sacrifice remains close to Duck's heart.

"I don't think we can ever repay the service they gave to this country," Duck said. "To represent them in any way is really important to me and I want to do them proud."

This weekend's match marks the first time the Wallaroos and Black Ferns will face each other on Anzac Day, despite competing since 1994. The Test at Sunshine Coast Stadium in Kawana Waters could fill a gap that rugby has never quite managed: a marquee Anzac Day fixture to rival the AFL and NRL traditions.

Duck sees powerful connections between the values her family's military service embodied and the bonds she shares with her teammates. "I love the camaraderie, the mateship, the genuine love we have for each other and the culture we build in rugby," she said.

Why This Inspires

Duck's own journey to rugby shows how visibility changes everything. Growing up in the rural Riverina town of Tumut, she didn't even know women could play rugby until she watched Australia's sevens team win gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

"I thought women weren't allowed to play," Duck recalled. "I had never even seen rugby union before and here it is, this game, and I'm like, 'Oh my God, since when was this a possibility?'"

That moment transformed her life. She went from refereeing rugby league at 13 because no women's teams existed, to helping start a girls rugby program at Sydney's Barker College.

Now playing her 26th Test, Duck hopes this Anzac Day match will spark the same awakening in young girls across Australia and New Zealand. "We often say, 'You can't be what you can't see', and that was the moment for me," she said.

Duck believes the match could become a spectacular annual tradition that elevates women's rugby while honoring the shared military history of both nations.