Rugby: First steps to Olympic glory

For so long known as a man's domain, rugby could soon be seen as a way for women to grab Olympic glory.

Whakarewarewa coach Kevin Lee is a man on a mission to help find that talent within the Bay of Plenty.

Lee has been re-appointed the women's sevens coach for Bay of Plenty, a task he says is an exciting prospect.

"There are big things happening in women's rugby. I am particularly excited about the direction of women's rugby with the introduction of the sevens games as an Olympic sport [in Rio] for both men and women."

A former Waikite player, Lee brings extensive knowledge of the sevens game to the role. As well as taking the Whaka premier side to the finals last year, he has coached his club's sevens side and been the assistant coach for the Bay of Plenty men's sevens side.

"I have a real enthusiasm for my coaching responsibilities with the Bay women's sevens team and have a wish to make the Bay team a genuine national title contender."

Lee said the union had been working hard to identify young talent from around the region with women interested in trialling for the team being invited to training camps earlier this year.

During June, two secondary schoolgirls sevens tournaments, along with senior women's games were held at the Paengaroa Domain.

The women's sevens development programme will continue again this month with two more skills camps. A further step will be the establishment of a women's sevens academy, which will include strength and condition support, training camps and individual training programmes.

"Rio [Olympic Games 2016] is the first Games where sevens will be played but there are other Olympic Games after that which we have to look ahead to. It's important to get youngsters at 11, 12 and 13 to start taking an interest in the sport if we want to be successful in the future."

The coach is looking at putting a squad together for the Go4Gold Regional Women's tournament in Auckland on August 19. The tournament will include Bay of Plenty, Auckland, North Harbour and Waikato but Lee is confident other regions such as Counties/Manukau will also have a team in the tournament.

The Bay are holding a trial in Paengaroa on July 22 to select a squad of 25, which will be narrowed down to 12 before the tournament. "Those that make the 25 will be asked to keep training just in case of injury but also for other future tournaments," he said.

With the inclusion of an IRB women's sevens world circuit and the 2016 Olympics, Lee said there were plenty of opportunities for players, coaches and referees in the Bay to progress in the sport.