Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Rugby star seeks place on Hawke's Bay union board

By Doug Laing
Hawkes Bay Today·
26 Feb, 2021 03:35 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Once she was kicking conversions - now she could become one, from player to board member. Photo / File

Once she was kicking conversions - now she could become one, from player to board member. Photo / File

Former veteran Black Ferns New Zealand women's rugby star Emma Jensen is making a bid for an administrative career in the game by seeking election to the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union board.

She is one of three candidates up for the vote on Wednesday, with incumbent and former Napier Tech chairman Mark Hamilton retiring by rotation and seeks re-election and the field being completed by Havelock North club president Conrad Waitoa.

Now 43, Jensen grew up in Central Hawke's Bay but played most of her football while living in Auckland, in a career that amassed 43 matches for New Zealand from 2005-2015, including three World Cup tournaments, and more than 70 matches for Auckland and Hawke's Bay during 18 seasons of Farah Palmer Cup national women's championship rugby.

Last year, as a 42-year-old mother and a schoolteacher, she was still playing for the Hawke's Bay Tui championships side last year, but vows not to pull the boots back on this year, especially if elected to the Board.

Emma Jensen, the former Black Ferns, Auckland Storm and Hawke's Bay Tui rugby star now seeking a place on the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union board. Photo / File
Emma Jensen, the former Black Ferns, Auckland Storm and Hawke's Bay Tui rugby star now seeking a place on the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union board. Photo / File
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She said that when she returned to Hawke's Bay about three years ago she wanted to at some stage put something back into the game which had given her so much over the years.

"But I didn't think it would be this soon," said Jensen who was nominated by her club, Hastings Rugby and Sports.

She said she's passionate about "the grassroots – where it all started for me", and if elected she wants to be able to help grow the numbers in the women's and age groups areas of the sport.

"It's all about the pathways," she said, adding the game in Hawke's Bay needs to have more players coming through, to overcome such issues as player loss as teenagers become young adults and leave the area in pursuit of university study and other careers.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She is currently a teacher at Hastings Girls' High School, and has been a staff representative on its Board of Trustees.

If successful she will become the first female elected to the board or former administration the Management Committee in the 137 years of the union. Current member Mavis Mullins was appointed as an independent director after being beaten narrowly by Hamilton in a vote for an elected position.

Hamilton is also a former Napier City councillor and heads Napier business Alexander Construction.

Third candidate Waitoa is well-known in rugby circles, from player to club and Hawke's Bay teams team management to life membership of his club and to being made a Ngati Kahungunu Sports Awards Administrator of the Year.

But he is also widely known in business and other community leadership roles, including having been chair of the Havelock Intermediate School Board and a member of the Board of Cranford Hospice.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

'I will never forgive you': Young mum's words to brother-in-law who abused her for years

12 Jun 07:39 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

Smoke or fog? Former chairman fumes at council's pollution doubt

12 Jun 04:42 AM
Hawkes Bay Today

'You are on notice': Council pulls Māori ward videos after Hobson's Pledge legal letter

12 Jun 04:08 AM

It was just a stopover – 18 months later, they call it home

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

'I will never forgive you': Young mum's words to brother-in-law who abused her for years

'I will never forgive you': Young mum's words to brother-in-law who abused her for years

12 Jun 07:39 AM

The man has now been jailed and will be deported upon his release.

Smoke or fog? Former chairman fumes at council's pollution doubt

Smoke or fog? Former chairman fumes at council's pollution doubt

12 Jun 04:42 AM
'You are on notice': Council pulls Māori ward videos after Hobson's Pledge legal letter

'You are on notice': Council pulls Māori ward videos after Hobson's Pledge legal letter

12 Jun 04:08 AM
Premium
Power bill increase in Tairāwhiti, but better infrastructure promised

Power bill increase in Tairāwhiti, but better infrastructure promised

12 Jun 04:00 AM
The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE
sponsored

The woman behind NZ’s first PAK’nSAVE

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP