Birthday to Test debut

Amelia “Milly” Whitaker has received the ultimate 20th birthday present, with the UNSW student named to make her Wallaroos debut against world champions England this weekend.

Whitaker celebrates her 20th birthday today with arguably the biggest milestone of her rugby career just days away, after being named to start on the wing for Australia in the opening match of the WXV Global Series.

The UNSW/NSW Rugby Sports Scholarship holder will wear the No.14 jersey when the Wallaroos face the Red Roses at CorpAcq Stadium in Salford, marking an extraordinary rise for one of Australian rugby’s brightest young talents. Her selection caps a remarkable 2026 season in which Whitaker has gone from emerging Waratahs talent to Super Rugby Women’s champion, NSW Waratahs Women’s Player of the Year and now, Australian representative.

Whitaker will make her Test debut as part of an all-Waratahs back three, joining Desiree Miller on the opposite wing and Caitlyn Halse at fullback. Queensland Reds captain Jemma Bemrose is also in line to earn her first Wallaroos cap after being named among the reserves.

Director of Women’s High Performance Tim Walsh said the pair had earned their opportunity through their performances at domestic level.

“We have picked two debutants in Amelia Whitaker and Jemma Bemrose, who both stepped up in Super Rugby this season, consistently doing their roles and earning their Test call up,” Walsh said.

For Whitaker, the opportunity represents the culmination of an exceptional year with the NSW Waratahs. The Randwick winger enjoyed a breakout Super Rugby Women’s campaign in 2026, establishing herself as a key member of a star-studded NSW side and earning the club’s highest individual honour when she was crowned NSW Waratahs Women’s Player of the Year.

She also claimed the Women’s Best Back award before helping the Waratahs secure a record seventh Super Rugby Women’s championship. Whitaker saved one of her finest performances for the biggest occasion, crossing for two tries as the Waratahs defeated the Fijian Drua 34–17 in the Grand Final in Fiji. Those performances put her firmly in the Wallaroos frame.

Whitaker was initially selected in the Australian squad ahead of the historic 100th Wallaroos Test against New Zealand in Auckland in August. While she ultimately missed selection in the match-day 23 against the Black Ferns, she remained part of Australia's plans and was subsequently selected for the WXV Global Series.

Now, less than a month later, the opportunity to wear Wallaroos gold has arrived.

And there could hardly be a more formidable opponent for a first Test. Whitaker will make her international debut against the reigning world champion Red Roses, who enter the match as the world's No.1-ranked side and on a 38-match winning streak. England's last meeting with Australia came in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Rugby World Cup, where the Red Roses prevailed 47–7 on their way to the world title.

The venue, however, will bring back considerably happier memories for Australia. The Wallaroos played at CorpAcq Stadium during last year's World Cup, recording a 73–0 victory over Samoa – the biggest World Cup win in Australian women's rugby history. The match will remarkably be England's first at the Salford venue. For Whitaker, Sunday's debut represents the latest chapter in a journey that has already required considerable resilience.

A Randwick junior and International Grammar School graduate, Whitaker spent 14 months away from rugby following a knee reconstruction as a teenager before returning to the game and quickly re-establishing herself in the representative pathway.

Her performances in rugby sevens earned selection in the NSW Under 18s side before she represented Australia Under 18s at the 2024 Global Youth Tournament, where Australia finished runners-up and Whitaker was named in the team of the tournament. She transitioned into XVs rugby in 2025, making her Super Rugby Women’s debut against the Fijian Drua at Allianz Stadium and going on to make four appearances during her maiden campaign.

Just one season later, she was the Waratahs' Player of the Year. Now she is about to become a Wallaroo.

Her debut will also continue a proud family connection with Australian rugby. Whitaker is the niece of former Wallabies scrumhalf Chris Whitaker, who represented Australia at Test level, meaning she will now follow her uncle in wearing the green and gold. Alongside her rapid rise on the field, Whitaker has continued her studies at UNSW as the inaugural recipient of the UNSW and NSW Rugby women's rugby scholarship, designed to support talented athletes as they balance university study with the demands of elite rugby.

Her progression from the junior ranks at Randwick to the Waratahs and now the Wallaroos represents exactly the kind of pathway the partnership was established to support. It also makes the timing of her latest achievement particularly special.

Born on 11 September 2006, Whitaker turns 20 today. Just days later, she is set to run onto the field in Australian colours for the first time. And while her first assignment could scarcely be tougher, her selection against the world's best is another indication of how highly the young winger is regarded within Australian rugby.

From returning to the field after a serious knee injury, to breaking into Super Rugby Women’s, winning a championship, being crowned the Waratahs’ best player and earning national selection, Whitaker's rise has been rapid. This weekend, she takes the biggest step yet.

Amelia Whitaker and the Wallaroos take on England at CorpAcq Stadium in Salford on Sunday 13 September, with the match kicking off at 12am AEST.