Role-model players no strangers to hard work

IN GISBORNE TO PASS ON KNOWLEDGE: Krysten Cottrell, above left, at a quick-rip rugby tournament at Barry Park in March. Picture by Paul Rickard

RUGBY

YOUNG female rugby players will get free tuition in Gisborne from two players who know what it’s like to work hard.

Krysten Cottrell was once a baker whose punishing routine involved starting work in Napier at 1am, clocking up about eight and a half hours there, getting in a nap and then driving for about two hours to rugby practice in Palmerston North and home again.

She pulled on the Black Ferns jersey for the first time last year, made several appearances off the substitutes’ bench for New Zealand and started at No.10 against France in November.

Felicity Powdrell, from Wairoa, had to balance studies last year with playing rugby sevens for Oklahoma University and playing and training with the American Rugby Pro Training Centre in Little Rock, Arkansas.

She kept up with lectures at the same time as training in a full-time rugby environment.

The pair will put Gisborne youngsters through their paces and lead fun and games at Barry Park on Sunday, running a morning session for players aged seven to 13 and an afternoon session for those aged 14 to 18.

LRB Sports, which specialises in rugby player management and camps in New Zealand and Japan, is putting on the clinic.

LRB recently ran a camp for young men in Gisborne, with former New Zealand sevens and Super Rugby player Roy Kinikinilau.

Business founder Luke Bradley said engaging young women in sport was the goal of this weekend’s event.

He said Cottrell, now a rugby development officer in Hawke’s Bay, came from humble beginnings and worked extremely hard on her game.

“She will be relatable to the girls here.”

Powdrell, a pacy wing for the Hawke’s Bay Tuis, was home-schooled at Ruakituri and didn’t start playing rugby until she was a Year 13 student at Wairoa College.

She is studying sport and recreation at EIT.

Bradley said the clinic would cover footwork, tackling, kicking, teamwork, defence, catching, passing and dealing with high kicks.

His advice to younger players is to work mainly on the fundamentals.

“Repetition is the secret of knowledge.”