The unbeaten Whakarewarewa women's rugby team will be without star player Jordyn Tihore for this weekend's final.
The unbeaten Whakarewarewa women's rugby team will be without star player Jordyn Tihore for this weekend's final.
There aren’t too many excuses that would fly if you’re going to miss your team’s big rugby final. But getting the call-up to play for the Black Ferns XV is a pretty good one.
For Jordyn Tihore from Rotorua, it’s exciting and gutting at the same time.
Whakarewarewa hooker Jordyn Tihore.
While it’s herdream to make it as a professional rugby player, come Sunday, when sitting on a plane bound for South Africa with her Black Ferns XV teammates, her heart will be firmly with the Whakarewarewa women’s team.
The “red and blacks” are facing off in the finals of the Baywide Championship Women’s competition against Te Puna at Whakarewarewa’s home ground, Puarenga Park.
Whakarewarewa have dominated the competition, posting some big scores and flying through to the finals unbeaten.
Tihore in action for Whakarewarewa.
The only team to slightly ruffle their feathers by scoring twice against them have been Te Puna, with their last game being a 27-12 win.
Tihore told the Rotorua Daily Post this week that she had complete faith in her teammates to get the win, especially since they’ve done it before without her.
She was absent when they played Te Puna last time because it clashed with her playing for the Black Ferns XV (the development team) in Whangārei in a trial match against the Black Ferns.
Tihore has been catching the eye of the national selectors since her performance at hooker for the Bay of Plenty Volcanix last year, and the 20-year-old always knew there was a chance she’d get the call-up for the development squad to head to South Africa this weekend.
Jordyn Tihore has been called up play in the Black Ferns XV.
But that didn’t stop her from sending a sneaky text message to the team’s manager after getting the news, asking what the chances would be of catching a later flight so she could make her finals match.
But, as suspected, she was told the risk of injury was too great, and sacrifices had to be made when playing at a higher level.
Tihore is from the East Coast and started her rugby career with the Matakaoa JAB teams. She then went on to play for the Tokararangi women’s team.
Tihore started her rugby career on the East Coast.
But her dream of making it in rugby saw her switch teams to a Whakatāne side, Poroporo, last year in the hope of becoming noticed by the Volcanix selectors.
It worked, but this year she needed to move it up a notch, so she moved to Rotorua for the opportunity to play for Whakarewarewa.
She’s working for the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union as a “rugby activist”, going into schools and coaching children, and hopes to get a Super Rugby contract next season.
Whakarewarewa assistant coach Toots Corbett said Tihore would be a big loss on Sunday.
The Whakarewarewa women's team are unbeaten heading into Sunday's final.
“My biggest disappointment is I wanted everyone to see out the season together as a team. She brings so much energy and presence and is such a positive person.”
But Corbett, who coaches alongside head coach Pauli Asaeli, said she had a strong belief in the team and there was a lot of talent across the field.
“If anything, we are more proud of her, and we want her to go and live her dream and rip it up over in South Africa.”
Looking ahead to Sunday, Corbett said the team were feeling excited and “ready to get it done”.
But they weren’t taking Te Puna lightly.
“We have watched them progress throughout the season. They are one of the more physical sides, and they will look to go wide.”
The home crowd would make a difference, but Corbett said it was still “anyone’s game”.
“Finals is different. I have played in underdog teams before, and it comes down to the team that wants it more. The team that takes it would have deserved it on the day.”
The final kicks off on Sunday at 1pm at Rotorua’s Puarenga Park. The Black Ferns XV’s two games against South Africa will be televised on Sky Sport on July 26 and August 2 at 3am (NZT).
The Whakarewarewa men’s team is playing against Tauranga Sports in the Baywide Premier finals on Saturday at 2.45pm at Puarenga Park.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
