Eketahuna likely to have strong NPC presence

Rugby

Nine Eketahuna players are in the reckoning for places in the Manawatu squad to contest the 2013 national interprovincial women's rugby competition.

In what is a clear recognition of the positive impact the club have made at interclub level this season, backs Rebecca Mahoney, Katrina Terry, Huia Paul and Laura Gavin and forwards Hera Edwards, Raylene Reiri, Emma Aldworth, Katie Turnbull and Kelly Hunt were selected for trials held at the weekend.

A good number of them should be celebrating when the team proper are announced by the end of this week.

For Black Fern Mahoney the NPC will be the highest level of rugby she will play this season. She has told the national selectors she is not available for international rugby this winter but that does not necessarily mean she won't be on hand when the World Cup is played in France next year.

"I'd like to think I'll still be playing well enough to have a crack then but really it's a matter of wait and see.

"There are a lot of good players around and they might not want me anyway."

Mahoney has been delighted with the solid form shown by Eketahuna over the first round of the Manawatu competition.

Eketahuna are holding third place. While Mahoney concedes they are likely to struggle to measure up to top sides, Stratford, which is pretty much Taranaki's NPC side, and Feilding, whose outstanding secondary schoolgirls programme is now starring to pay dividends, she expects further improvement as the season progresses.

"We've got a couple of players from Wellington and a couple from Hawke's Bay so getting everybody to training at the one time is a bit of a problem," Mahoney said.

"It's tough on the coaches to build combinations but we are getting there, it's all starting to fall into place."

The truth of that sentiment was well illustrated in Eketahuna's most recent match when they scored a stunning 16 tries while running up 107 points against University.

"The opposition wasn't up to much but all the same the girls were awesome.

"They ran the ball from everywhere and blew them away."

Particularly pleasing for Mahoney has been the excellent form of some of Eketahuna's younger players, notably Katie Turnbull and Katrina Terry.

Turnbull is a flanker who has played for England at age group level and now attends St Matthew's Collegiate while Terry, in her first year out of Kuranui College, has the all-round skills to fill practically any position in the backline.

"They bring a lot of enthusiasm into the squad and you need that, it keep us oldies on our toes,"Mahoney said.