Rugby: Garden of Eden next stop for Chanel

Chanel Huddleston will be the only Hawke's Bay player in action during the Auckland Nines this weekend. Photo / Paul Taylor

It was 2001 and a youngster by the name of Chanel Huddleston was being congratulated after a classy debut at the then Waipawa-hosted Hawke's Bay Sevens.

Despite being a couple of months out of William Colenso College, Huddleston, displayed maturity beyond her years as she helped Clive take out the women's division of the event. I was among the first to congratulate Huddleston and told her she will go places.

"I remember it well. Back then I never dreamed I would play at Twickenham as well as three Hong Kong Sevens tournaments," Huddleston said recalling her days in the Aotearoa Maori Sevens team which ended in 2010.

"In a couple of days I'm going to be playing at the Auckland Nines in front of 50,000 fans each day ... it's going to be up there with my career highlights and a pretty special occasion."

Huddleston, 31, will be the sole Hawke's Bay player, male or female, in action at the Nines. The most capped Hawke's Bay Tuis women's rugby player and last year's Tuis player-coach will have a substitute middle player role for the Kiwi Ferns, who will play three matches against the Australia Jillaroos - one at 4pm Saturday, the second at 4.35pm on Sunday and the third at 6.40pm before the men's final.

"It's going to be cool to be part of the whole occasion and because we just have the three matches we will be able to soak up a lot of the atmosphere," Huddleston said before travelling to Auckland today.

The Henry Hill School new entrants teacher is expecting the games to be as close as the Kiwi Ferns 79th minute 12-8 win against the Jillaroos across the Tasman in November.

She was also used as a substitute in that match.

"The Auckland-based girls are the foundation of the starting nine. I won't find out until each game what minutes I will get.

"Rusty [Matua, the Kiwi Ferns coach] keeps us on our toes. I just have to be ready for when I get the signal ... I want to make the most of what time I get so Rusty has an excuse to give me more game time in the next match," Huddleston said.

"There are 16 of us so its important we put our hands up when given the opportunity. I don't want to be a one-off Nines player and I know if I can play well and help the Kiwi Ferns win this series I've got a good chance of being considered again next year."

The second oldest in the Kiwi Ferns by three years, Huddleston, said the Kiwi Ferns training sessions, which began on December 13, have been gruelling in the countdown to the Nines.

"I've been travelling up to Auckland every weekend.

"Because I stopped playing on the national scene for a bit I had to pick things up fitness wise when I first made the Kiwi Ferns last year.

"There should be more Kiwi Ferns reps from the Bay in the future ... and there will be," she added.