Touch: Outkast open women set tongues wagging at Fiji Cup tournament

Cortez Te Pou (left), Anaru Bartlett, Jeda Bartlett and the Outkast Sports open women's touch team had plenty to celebrate after the Fiji Cup tournament. Photo / Paul Taylor

Cortez Te Pou's feats as a rugby player have been well documented since her Ross Shield days.

New Zealand Maori under-18 squad member Te Pou is the Karamu High School Year 13 student who celebrated her first class debut with four tries for the Hawke's Bay Tui in a 64-31 win against Northland in August.

She is just as classy as a touch player and won $500 as the female MVP after helping her Outkast Sports team win the open women's grade title at the Fiji Cup tournament in Fiji last weekend.

"Cortez has played for us since her days at Hastings Intermediate. She played well for a team which was the talk of the tournament," Outkast Sports Club founder Anaru Bartlett said.

"Several New Zealand coaches and selectors were at the tournament helping with the running of the event. They were asking where have these girls been. Hopefully they get noticed when playing for Hawke's Bay at national under-15 and under-18 tournaments this summer," Bartlett explained.

Along with Te Pou, Bartlett's wife Jeda Bartlett was also prominent for the side and won $1000 for the Players Choice award across all grades.

Their team was unbeaten at the tournament and on day one defeated defending champions Sharks from Auckland 6-3, New Zealand Army side Hot Mess 6-1 and Fijian side Korongotuga 6-0.

On day two they beat Fijian team Tequila West 10-1, Marlborough 5-4 and in the final Marlborough 4-1.

Both Bartletts played for the Outkast Sports masters team which lost to a Suva-based team which included several Fiji World Cup players in their final which went down to a shoot out. Despite this loss Anaru won $500 as the masters MVP.

"Basically it was a case of all of us parents playing in the masters team and our kids playing in the open men's and open women's teams," Bartlett said.

"For us four Bartlett brothers [Anaru, Nui, Evaan and Christie] it was pretty special because Nui played in his first international tournament since he got that serious neck injury in 2006 when playing for the Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby team. It has been eight years since we all played together and this time we had our sister [Lauren Marsh] playing as well as our partners," Bartlett explained.

Nui Bartlett, who along with fellow former Magpie Paratene Edwards, was a member of a New Zealand age group world title-winning team 17 years ago is still considered the best male touch player to come out of the Bay.

Outkast Sports open men's team were denied a third consecutive title when pipped 4-3 by Elements of Auckland in their final.

New Zealand open men's World Cup player Ash Robinson, a nephew of the Bartlett brothers and the bloke regarded as the Bay's best male player since the likes of Nui Bartlett and Edwards, played on day one but a lower back injury forced him out of day two.

Robinson's cousin and former Hawks basketballer Mataeus Marsh shone on day two for the side.

Anaru Bartlett pointed out the open men got free entry and $6000 in prizemoney for the past two years but unlike the open women will have to pay for their entry next year.

All three Outkast Sports teams, along with a women's development team, will play the tournament next year.

The title-winning Outkast Sports open women's team was: Jeda Bartlett, Cortez Te Pou, Reiley Bartlett, Shyan Murphy, Monique Poa, Angel Te Hiko, Kiana Jessup, Laine Robinson, Jade Hoskin, Billie Paramore, Holand Marsh, Llewelyn Combs, Naadean Wainohu, Ranche Honotapu.