Bay rugby players among history-making Hurricanes
Young female Hurricanes region rugby players made history last week, by attending the 2020 New Zealand Barbarians Hurricanes Age Grade camp, which in previous years has been a male only opportunity.
The camp was held at Napier Boys’ High School and ran for four days from Monday to Thursday.
The players absorbed technical and tactical knowledge from the Hurricanes coaching team and Black Ferns assistant coach Wesley Clarke who also facilitated sessions around the male and female pathways and Black Ferns culture. Other key components presented at the camp were skills assessments, nutrition education, mental skills, physical conditioning demands and fitness testing.
“From female rugby perspective the camp aimed to educate the players both on and off the field to help prepare them for a future in rugby. The coaching received from the Hurricanes coaches was excellent while the presentations about good off-field behaviors including nutrition, mental skills and conditioning will be invaluable going forward," Clarke said.
Hawke's Bay Rugby Union's women's high-performance manager Mary Jane Durkin said: “It was inspiring for the players to have Wes with them for the duration of the camp. His rapport and the vast knowledge he along with the other coaches Jason Holland, Chris Gibbes, Dan Cron, Cory Jane and Darren Larsen imparted to the young players was fantastic. It was also positive to see the attention being given to develop the female game in this age group and it was great to see the players relish this opportunity”.
The eight female Hurricane region players who were selected for the camp were: Cortez Te Pou and Amelia Pasikala from Hawke’s Bay, Kaipo Olsen-Baker, Rangimarie Sturmey and Ngano Tavake from Manawatu, Valini Malia Kalemeli Vaka and Marianive Leota from Wellington and Riana Tamati from Whanganui.
Eight other invitees attended Wednesday’s technical and tactical field sessions. They were Moomooga (Ashley) Palu, Iukika Faavae, Harmony Kautai, Shaniqua Casey, Kaia-Hayes Walker, Jashana Tetue-Teuawiri, Leiana Marshall-Barton and Plum King
