Sevens teams to regionals,Men and women vying for slot at national finals

CAPTAINS ON THE CHARGE: Poverty Bay men’s sevens skipper Siosiua Moala, and Bay women’s captain Renee Holmes, (next picture), will be key players in tomorrow’s Central Region championships in Levin as both teams try to qualify for the National champs in January. Picture by Paul Rickard

POVERTY Bay men’s sevens coach Dwayne Russell says his team and the Bay women’s sevens side are looking forward to the Central Region championships in Levin tomorrow . . . but are “under no illusions of how tough it is going to be”.

“We’re excited and can’t wait to showcase our region. Both teams are aiming to qualify for the nationals in January in Rotorua.

“We have a lot of youthful enthusiasm across the men and women and also some experience.

“We want to play a similar style to each other, which suits our skill and fitness levels.”

Russell has added two loan players to his 13-man squad, Keegan Lewis from Waikato who played Heartland for Thames Valley and speedster Waisea Yabakivou from Wellington.

“We have Quade Tapsell, Austin Brown and Moses Christie on standby as our young players who can handle playing at this level.

“It’s great to also have experience in Siosiua Moala, James Grogan, Viliami Kavai, Andrew Tauatevalu, Korey Love, Fawn White and Deni Caucau.”

Moala was voted Poverty Bay Heartland player of the year for the second year in succession and with Heartland skipper Grogan off to Taranaki next year, Moala will lead the Bay in Levin.

Women’s coach Henry Lamont’s squad will be captained by Gisborne Girls’ High School student Renee Holmes (who played for Hawke’s Bay in this season’s Farrah Palmer cup).

Holmes is joined by school teammates, Te Maiora Olsen-Baker, Azalleyah Maaka (selected for the NZ u17 7s team), and Maddison Reid, who have returned from the national Condor tournament where they won the bowl final.

“That experience will be good for them,” said Lamont.

“Lytton High school players, Honey Mokomoko, Maia Rickard and Sulieti Halafihi are multi-talented young sportswomen.

Lamont has also included loan players Elizabeth Goulden and Jessica Pease, who both played for Manawatu in the national women’s rugby competition this year.

“We’ve also got Pauline Samuels who played last year for GGHS and Poverty Bay.

“Te Uarangi Olsen-Baker, the older sister of Te Maiora, is a talented all-rounder at netball, touch and basketball.

POVERTY BAY MEN: Quade Tapsell, Austin Brown, Deni Caucau, Fawn White, James Grogan, Viliami Kavai, Moses Christie, Andrew Tauatevalu, Korey Love, Waisea Yobakivou, Siosiua Moala (captain), Keegan Lewis.

POVERTY BAY WOMEN: Sulieti Halafihi, Elizabeth Goulden, Renee Holmes, Maia Rickard, Te Maiora Olsen-Baker, Azalleyah Maaka, Jessica Pease, Shay Waikawa, Honey Mokomoko, Pauline Samuel, Maddison Reid, Te Uarangi Olsen-Baker.