Future Black Ferns?

A determined Gabby Wainohu of Lytton High School, above, proves a handful for Ngati Porou East Coast player Raiha Luke. Pictures by Paul Rickard

It's been the opening week of the Ngati Porou Secondary School Under-18 12-a-side Girls’ Rugby Competition. Lytton won 92-5, and Gisborne Girls’ High also hit the ground running with an 85-10 win against Tolaga Bay Area School. The Lytton High-based competition runs for five weeks, culminating in finals on September 13.

Teams comprise six forwards and six backs, and rules include uncontested scrums. Ngati Porou East Coast women’s rugby development officer and former Black Ferns international Trish Hina said the aim of the competition was to continue growing girls’ rugby in the region. There was plenty of untapped potential and rising talent as Gisborne Girls’ High had shown in recently winning the Hawke’s Bay secondary schoolgirls competition.