Tussle for shot at national bibs

Napier Girls' High School netballers Jaydi Chaffey-Taylor (left) and Briana Stephenson will play against each other for their respective national teams at an international tournament in Auckland next month. Photo / Warren Buckland

Multi-talented Hawke's Bay athlete Briana Stephenson knows the day will come when she has to choose between athletics and netball.

"They are starting to overlap. I'll probably have to make that decision at the end of next year but at the moment I'm enjoying doing both. I can't imagine doing one ... it would be boring."

The 16-year-old Napier Girls High School student hasn't had time to be bored in recent weeks. Before Stephenson travelled to Tahiti with a New Zealand Youth athletics team earlier this month she was selected in the New Zealand Secondary Schools netball team to play in an eight-team Auckland-hosted international tournament from May 2-6.

Her NGHS teammate, defender Jaydi Chaffey-Taylor, will play for the New Zealand Maori Secondary Schools team at the same event which will also involve the Australian Secondary Schools, the Australian Indigenous Secondary Schools, Australian under-19s, South Africa Secondary Schools, Malaysian Secondary Schools and a Pacific Rim Secondary Schools team. This is the second year NGHS has had a player in each of the teams (last year Kimiora Poi played for the NZSS and Kelsey McPhee for the NZMSS) and the fact Stephenson and Taylor are both Year 12 students makes their selections more significant.

"I want to play well enough to retain my spot for next year ... I don't want to be dropped," midcourter Stephenson said.

"My goal is to play well for the Maori team so I enhance my chances of selection for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team next year. There is also a chance I will play in the midcourt for the Maori team so Briana and I could end up marking one another and while we know how each other plays the manner in which each of us combines with our new teammates will determine who gets the edge," Chaffey-Taylor said.

Stephenson was selected in the New Zealand team for the July 19-24 world under-20 track and field championships. She was named in the 4 x 100m relay team alongside Hawke's Bay's Georgia Hulls who will also start in the 100 and 200m sprints.

"I won't be going. I was hoping to qualify in the long jump but when I missed out I decided it wasn't worth going just to contest the relay and I will get another crack at that level in the future," she said.

In Tahiti, Stephenson won four individual gold medals in the 100m, long jump with a 5.84m leap, high jump and 200m and another when she powered down the home straight to help her Kiwi 4 x 100m relay team capture gold. She was regularly surrounded by Tahitian children wanting photos and autographs.

The French Polynesian adults in their best broken English called her "Briana, d Chumpeon".

"Considering it was the end of the season, it was really hot and there wasn't a lot of competition I was happy with how I went," Stephenson said.

Chaffey-Taylor, 17, and Stephenson played Year 7 and 8 rep netball respectively for Napier and Central Hawke's Bay before playing together for the Hawke's Bay under-15 and under-17 teams.

"I started off as a goal attack when I was young and then switched to a defence role in Year 8. Everyone said it was because I wanted to be like mum," Chaffey said referring to her mother Becs Taylor who was a multiple Hawke's Bay premier club championship title winner with Otane Force in her playing days.

A daughter of former Central Vikings and Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby hooker Mike Chaffey, Chaffey-Taylor, hopes next month's tournament will be another step towards her long-term goal of playing in the ANZ Championship. She hopes to study sports psychology in Auckland or Wellington when she leaves school.

Stephenson is hoping to score an athletics scholarship in the United States but if this doesn't eventuate she will follow a similar career path to Chaffey-Taylor. When the Auckland tournament finishes their attention will turn to school and club netball commitments. Chaffey-Taylor will play for Otane Force and Stephenson for All In.

"Last year our school team qualified for the Top Six club league. But this year we're missing five of last year's squad so it might be a bit tough ... if our school team doesn't make it hopefully our club teams will," Chaffey-Taylor added.