RUGBYGIRL REPORTS: Women’s Sevens another step closer to Olympic dream

from RugbyGirl:

The search for New Zealand’s best women’s sevens players moves into another gear with Coach Sean Horan calling a squad into his final camp in Hamilton before he names the first team to play international tournaments this year.

Thirty-one women – both experienced rugby players and women new to the game – assemble in Hamilton for the second and final assessment camp from today. The first camp was held in Waiouru last month. Women from both camps were identified as sevens talent under the New Zealand Rugby Union’s (NZRU) Go4Gold recruitment programme.

The Go4Gold programme was designed to identify and develop a gold-medal contending sevens team for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Women who attended the Hamilton and Waiouru camps now form the initial core group for development.

“The programme has been a great success and I am very excited about the talent we have identified. With the prospect of playing international tournaments from this year, and the opportunity to be in the frame for the 2016 Olympics, we know that there are some very talented athletes, with the right attitude and discipline to help us achieve gold,” he said.

With more than 1000 women and girls registering with the Go4Gold programme, regional tournaments during August will provide more opportunities for women to showcase their talent and bid for a spot in Horan’s development core.

“I’ll be watching at regional tournaments around the country next month so there is every opportunity for women to demonstrate they’ve got what we’re looking for,” he said.

Horan will use the weekend camp to finalise selection of the team to play international tournaments this year. The New Zealand Women’s Sevens will make their international debut in the FORU (Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions) tournament in Fiji later this month. The team will be named early next week.

The squad named for the final camp in Hamilton has 12 players who weren’t part of the first camp (and excludes 11 from that camp) .

Auckland
Charlene Halapua
Charmaine McMenamin
Tyla Nathan-Wong
Kayla McAlister
Linda Itunu
Huriana Manuel
Tiana Ngawati

Canterbury
Kendra Cocksedge
Ruby Tui
Hannah Brand

Counties Manukau
Hazel Tubic
Marama Davis

Hawke’s Bay
Krysten Duffill

Manawatu
Sarah Goss
Selica Winiata
Kristina Sue
Wairakau Greig

Otago
Anika Tiplady
Victoria Nafatali

Taranaki
Lauren Burgess
Gayle Broughton

Tasman
Moana Forbes
Rebecca Kersten

Waikato
Chyna Hohepa
Jordon Webber
Teresa Te Tamaki
Crystal Kaua
Azania Watene
Victoria Grant

Wellington
Shakira Baker
Brigitte Tyler (Referee)