Sevens: Emerson puts hand up for national honours

STATEMENT MAKER: Mason Emerson ticked every box in his quest for national honours. PHOTO/FILE

Don't be surprised if Hawke's Bay Magpies speedster Mason Emerson is a bolter when the next All Black Sevens squad is announced.
Emerson, 20, ticked all the right boxes as the Aerospread Ltd Hawke's Bay team recorded a top eight finish when beaten 14-7 by Tasman in the plate semifinals at the Rotorua-hosted nationals which finished yesterday. His gutsy cover defensive work belied his 1.74m and 83kg frame, he scored some spectacular tries and his option taking improved considerably from last year.
"I was pretty stoked with my weekend and I would be pretty pleased if I got invited to the next national training camp. At the same time I've still got a lot to work on because I'm still learning the overall seven game . . . knowing when to attack and when to pull out is still a work on," Emerson said.
One of several newcomers at an All Black Sevens training camp in November, Emerson said the Bay team, which finished the weekend with two wins and three losses, was a bit unlucky. Hawke's Bay beat North Harbour 31-5 and Southland 24-21 before losing 28-5 to the Zac Guildford-captained Waikato in pool play on Saturday.
Yesterday Hawke's Bay lost 22-0 to Counties-Manukau in the Cup quarter-finals before taking on Tasman. Counties-Manukau pipped Waikato 14-7 in the Cup final.
"I don't think some of the Bay boys realised how close we were to making the plate final. But we still toughed it out and it was a fun tournament. We had a lot of young fellers and things are looking good for next year," Emerson added.
Hawke's Bay manager David Russell was proud of the effort from the raw Bay team which only included four of last year's squad.
"It's our best finish in three years. We weren't here in 2015, last year we were 10th and this year we had a top eight finish. While we are disappointed we didn't go deeper, we are on the climb."
"We're pretty keen to keep this squad together and we're encouraging these players to take their learnings and keep working on their sevens," Russell added.
Hawke's Bay captain Billy Ropiha, a regular member of the All Black Sevens squad for the past 12 months, former Samoa Sevens rep Neria Fomai and Matt Garland were close behind Emerson in the battle for the Hawke's Bay player of the weekend.
The Hawke's Bay women finished last with five losses from as many outings. In their pool games the Joe Heather-Daniel Nukunuku-coached team was walloped 41-0 by Wellington, 42-5 by Bay of Plenty and 43-0 by Auckland on Saturday.
Yesterday Hawke's Bay lost 15-0 to Tasman in their bowl semifinal and 29-12 to North Harbour in the playoff for 11th. Hawke's Bay lacked the necessary fitness, didn't play with enough width and their lack of time together in the buildup showed.
"We improved with each game we played and we showed we can play the game but only in spits and spats," Heather said.
"Our lack of experience also showed at times particularly when we couldn't finish off scoring situations we had constructed. Against Auckland we were hammering them and only trailed 14-0 at halftime. The experienced and elite players made the difference and they ran in a few tries in the second half."
Heather stressed better preparation will be a priority next season in the buildup to regionals and nationals.
"We needed more time together and it was hard to train with five, six or seven players at trainings. But we've got a base to work with . . . we just have to keep building our culture so more players will buy into it and commit to being part of something."
Heather praised the tireless defensive work from forward Laurae Blake, the manner in which Trisha Hina, a loan player from Poverty Bay, marshalled the midfield and the leadership of pivot Shaylee Tipiwai. He added both 17-year-olds Teilah Ferguson and Niamh Jefferson proved they have promising futures in the game.
Counties-Manukau beat Manawatu 24-17 in the women's final. The Manawatu team included Hawke's Bay players Krysten Duffill and Rhiarna Ferris.