Selection headaches of the wanted kind ... Hawke's Bay Sevens coach Tafai Ioasa has got plenty. That's the view of Ioasa's Aerospread Hawke's Bay Sevens manager David Russell after Saturday's hit-out tournament in Dannevirke which saw two Hawke's Bay teams take on two from Manawatu and Wairarapa Bush. Hawke's BayBlack recorded one win and two losses and Hawke's Bay White a win, draw and loss.
"Tafai is going to have a tough job selecting his team of 12 for the Central Region tournament on December 12. Some young guys put their hand up and there were also players unavailable who could come into consideration but it's better for Tafai to have these sort of headaches than ones concerned with a lack of available talent," Russell said.
Hawke's Bay must finish among the top five at the Levin-hosted Central Region tournament to qualify for the January nationals in Rotorua. Ioasa is desperate to get the Bay team to Rotorua after they failed to qualify for this year's nationals with a sixth placing in last year's Central Region tournament.
Russell said Lindisfarne College student Tiaan Falcon, a New Zealand Barbarians Secondary Schools rep this year, impressed in the sweeper role for the Hawke's Bay Black team which beat Wairarapa Bush 32-0 and lost 24-11 to Manawatu Green and 27-14 to Manawatu White. Magpie Billy Ropiha led the Black team well from the hooker's berth while former Magpie and New Zealand under-20 rep Penikolo Latu was a busy winger.
Magpies Mason Emerson and Jonathan Ruru along with experienced Hastings Rugby and Sports campaigner Neria Fomai were prominent for the Hawke's Bay White team which beat Wairarapa Bush 36-5, drew 19-all with Manawatu White and lost 24-19 to Manawatu Green on the last play of the game. Hastings Boys' High School sweeper Thomas Agnew and forward Lexus Greening, who will both be in the national secondary schools tournament in Auckland on December 5, made the most of their opportunities.
Magpie Shannan Chase, Central's Tomo Fogarty and Hastings Rugby and Sports Ben Hamelink were unavailable for Saturday's event and Russell said they haven't been discounted from the Levin equation.
