RUGBY: Bay players pack NZ squad

SHANE HURNDELL
Hawke's Bay under-16 rugby coach Jeff Franklin was "blown away" this morning.
Franklin was told 10 members of his side which won last month's Hurricanes tournament in Napier had been selected in a 45-strong New Zealand under-17 training squad. And another has been placed on standby for the week-long training camp to be held at Palmerston North's Institute of Rugby in April.
"I'm thrilled for the Bay boys and their families. It's through their hard work and great determination that they've got there," said Franklin.
"You've got to remember Hawke's Bay has three per cent of the country's population and we've got 20 per cent of this squad ... it's our biggest-ever representation. I mean, Auckland only had five players selected," said the Napier Boys' High School teacher, who thrives on statistics.
Franklin pointed out that during the last two years Hawke's Bay has had two players selected in the squad.
"This is a great foundation for Magpies premier division NPC teams for the future. I have no doubt these Bay boys will continue to keep stepping up," added Franklin, no stranger to coaching national title-winning teams.
Just as delighted was Hawke's Bay Rugby Football Union's rugby manager Dave Stevenson.
"When the national selectors were here in Napier at the tournament they said the Hawke's Bay team was the best they had seen in the country at that stage and that was reflected in their selections," Stevenson said.
Hastings Boys' High School's 15-year-old fullback Star Timu is expected to be the youngest at the camp. Hawke's Bay captain and hooker Shae Tamati, who played in three consecutive national under-15 rugby tournament title-winning teams with Napier Boys' High School, is also among the 10.
Other Bay players selected are midfielders Zac Guildford and Eirene Apineru, first five-eighth Frae Wilson, halfback Isaac Paewai, No 8 Eddie Tauranga, lock Trent Boswell-Wakefield and props Robert Rewi and Joseph Jensen. Winger Penuel Samuelu is on standby.