Te Tai Tokerau touch talents are heading abroad to play for New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
Te Tai Tokerau touch talents are heading abroad to play for New Zealand. Photo / Supplied
Te Tai Tokerau's elite touch talent have earned an opportunity to showcase their skills on the international stage.
Seventeen players will travel to various tournaments with New Zealand after they impressed at the recent Touch New Zealand Junior Nationals.
Bronson Kake, Gabriel Reweti, Jade Stewart, Xavier Mexted, Savannah Bodman andDionne Niha will head to Australia as part of the Under-16 Mixed side while Tara-Leigh Turner-Beazley and Destinee Mexted will play for the Under-16 Girls.
A further five players - Johnson Petera, Tahlia Parangi, Lily Marsh, Emerina Marsh and Holly Mather - will represent New Zealand in Kuala Lumpur.
Te Kauri Parkinson, Miah King, Kyra Manahi and Paige Turner have been selected to attend a New Zealand training camp.
Te Tai Tokerau Under 16 Mixed touch player Gabriel Reweti takes the line on. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
Te Tai Tokerau Under-16 Mixed coach Steve Beazley said the selections came after some hard work from the players.
"I'm really proud of them," he said.
"They've made the province and community proud. They've worked really hard over the course of around seven to eight years and to see them progress to higher honours is quite a privilege and it shows hard work and dedication go a long way.
"I wish all of our Northland players all the best at the tournament. All the progress made on the field is player driven and what you put in is what you get out.
"Hard work beats talent any day."
The recent Touch New Zealand Junior Nationals provided an opportunity for the Northland players to showcase their abilities on a big stage and they did just that.
Te Tai Tokerau finished 11th overall at the competition as poor weather affected the proceedings but they stood out across the tournament.
Beazley said the potential national selections gave the players something to aim for.
"It gave them a taste of the big stage," he said.
"We went there with the knowledge that they could compete at that level and there was that carrot at the end of the tournament for them to aim for.
"As a coach we could only control what we could and made sure their focus was on the tournament and they did that well."
The work ethic of the young players is strong as months of training go into preparing for national tournaments.
Beazley said there's a variety of focus in their training aims.
"We focus a lot on getting the players to understand their roles on both attack and defence," he said.
"Working on their basic skills is also a big focus. They get through around 10 to 12 hours of training a week and that's over the course of about three to four months heading into tournaments.
"We put a lot of focus on the culture of the side as well."
Te Tai Tokerau touch has made big strides in the last year after having just one player make a national team in 2017.
Beazley said some off-field changes has improved Te Tai Tokerau touch significantly.
"We've got a new coaching panel and my mentor, Joe Rau, has been a great asset to Tai Tokerau touch and he's brought a lift to the community," he said.
"Also having great people on board including a strong and supportive community and committee that have gotten behind touch and making it fun has been helpful and improved our players' games."
