Hawke's Bay Tui's rugby halfback Gemma Woods dedicated her two-try display on Saturday to her former Napier Ross Shield teammate Leslie Laing who died last week.
"I wanted to get to Les' funeral this morning but because of our early kickoff I couldn't. So I decided to wear a black arm band in his memory and dedicate the game to Les," Woods said after the Tuis' 39-17 third round Farah Palmer Cup Championship loss to the Otago Spirit at Park Island.
Laing, who died after a work accident in Auckland last week, and Woods were teammates in the 2001 Napier Ross Shield team and they were also former ISO Ltd workmates at the Napier Port. While rapt with her two tries, Woods, 29, who first played for the Tuis in 2007, was disappointed to be sin binned for a high tackle in the 23rd minute.
"I probably could have pulled out of it," she admitted.
Woods agreed the youthful Tuis displayed plenty of promising patches but were guilty of poor discipline and conceding soft turnovers. Talented substitute loosie Laurae Blake also had a stint in the sin bin after earlier conceding a penalty try.