CHANGE OF SCENE: Renee Holmes (front row, third from right) with her Hokkaido Barbarians rugby sevens teammates in Japan. Picture supplied
RUGBY SEVENS
GISBORNE-raised Renee Holmes is playing rugby sevens in Japan and having a great time pursuing her dreams in the sport.
Holmes, 19, has been in Japan since March 24 and conditions have sometimes been challenging.
“When I arrived, our field was covered in snow,” she said.
“The roads were still covered in snow — there was snow everywhere.”
Her team, the Hokkaido Barbarians, based in Sapporo, are competing in the Taiyou Seimei women’s sevens league, which consists of four tournaments around Japan.
Holmes had to put off plans to study at Waikato University but said the sacrifice had been worth it.
“It’s crazy to think where and what I am doing at this time of my life,” she said.
“Japan is something special — the culture, the language, the people, the food.
“I love it all.”
The opportunity came after she played for the Waikato-based New Zealand Harlequins club on a tour to Hokkaido in April last year.
“It was an opportunity I simply could not say no to.”
Her team is semi-professional, with six players from overseas on paid contracts and 12 Japanese women who work full-time.
“It has been a dream of mine since a young age to get paid while doing the thing I love most. Rugby is what I love and I am fortunate enough to be living the dream at the age of 19.”
The experience had been amazing but challenging, she said.
“The language barrier is pretty hard but for my team we are lucky enough to have a coach who speaks English and Japanese fluently.
“Most of the Japanese girls are encouraged to speak English as much as possible, too.”
Holmes is getting used to training as a professional athlete.
“I’m loving it, enjoying every second, soaking in all the new learnings and teaching my body how to handle full-time training.”
With the snow, her team had to train indoors.
They practised in a building that was 60 metres by 80m — “all dirt, no grass”.
“Our contact sessions were difficult and we began to get in the habit of playing the ball in close, not wide,” Holmes said.
“This hugely affected us in our first tournament in Akita (late last month).”
They were not used to playing on a large field but finished ninth, claiming the Challenge Cup.
“Luckily, all the snow is cleared now and we are training on our full field.”
The next leg of the series is in Tokyo.
“We are expecting extreme heat, so it will be another tough one, as it’s still quite cold here in Sapporo. But I believe in this team and enjoy every second by their side wearing the black and red jersey.”
Japanese women played with a lot of heart, she said.
“They will give you their absolute all until it breaks them, if it has to. Their love for the game makes you want to work 10 times harder, because you know they’ll do the same for you.”
Most teams in the league have everybody training full-time.
“It will take a lot to beat these teams, as we normally get only three or four sessions with our Japanese girls a week, where the other teams will be clocking in hours daily together.”
Holmes said players in her team were learning “when to have our fun and when to switch into serious mode”.
“There are two other Kiwis over here, two Aussie girls and one American and we are all around the same age, so it makes getting along, and living together, a lot easier.
“We are all learning new things together, like cooking for ourselves, managing our own bodies, washing, down time and bills.
“It’s all a big stepping stone into adulthood.”
Holmes said she loved playing sevens but she also dreams of playing in a Rugby World Cup for 15s.
“I’ll be heading back to New Zealand in July in hopes of getting a few club rugby games in for Hamilton Old Boys and hopefully work towards being a part of the Waikato women’s Farah Palmer squad for 2019.”
Holmes, a former student at Gisborne Girls’ High School, excelled at many sports while at school.
In 2015, she played for the New Zealand under-17 girls’ football side in the national women’s league.
In 2016, she was the runner-up most valuable player at the u20 ultimate (frisbee) world champs in Poland.
She has also achieved national recognition in ki o rahi and taekwondo.
“I have now put all my energy towards rugby in hopes of going far,” Holmes said.
“So I have had to sacrifice other codes along the way. But it will all be worth it in the end.”
Holmes was part of the first intake of Tania Dalton Memorial Scholarship recipients last year.
She said she had received valuable mentoring advice.
“The foundation also allowed me to be involved with a Tania Dalton Foundation holiday programme back home in Gisborne, where I got to coach 20 girls for three days and really get around them and encourage them to play sports and be active.”
She is sponsored by law firm Burton Partners in Auckland.
“They are all great people who want to help young female athletes in any way possible.”