As she progressed through the ranks, Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick has never lacked for family sporting advice. While for most New Zealanders Tana Umaga is a revered rugby legend, for the new Silver Fern he is simply 'Uncle Tana'. Tone-Fitzpatrick is also a niece of another former All Black, prop Olo Brown.
Netball: Uncles on hand if Fern needs tips
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Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick. Photo / Christine Cornege
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They seems little chance of that happening to the second- year law student, who found the Ferns camp last week a "bit of a whirlwind".
"Me and Kayla [Cullen] have got a bit lost sometimes," laughs Tone-Fitzpatrick. "There is a lot to process with all the moves and drills. It has been a whole level up in intensity and expectations but you adapt."
Tone-Fitzpatrick's star has risen fast. A former national secondary school representative and current captain of the New Zealand under-21 squad, she had her first involvement in the transtasman competition last year, turning out for the Mystics while still at school.
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She had a storming ANZ Championship in her first season with the Magic, making rapid progress on the back of quality court time to leave no doubts about her potential.
Mobile and particularly strong in the air, Tone-Fitzpatrick celebrated a fine season by being among the finalists for the league's best young player award.
She was seventh in the league for intercepts and a tidy defender, conceding only around 10 penalties a game (Firebirds' Laura Geitz averaged almost 20; Anna Scarlett 17).
"Things got really serious for me this year," admits Tone-Fitzpatrick. "When you train with Laura Langman and Casey Williams, you learn a lot about commitment and standards."
She needs discipline off the court, and shrugs off talk of impending fame on campus - "I am only known for being the tallest in the class" - but admits classmates have been asking her to procure the signatures of Maria Tutaia and Irene van Dyk.
She was always attracted to law, joking that she has a "knack for arguing".
She has been popular this week, with some of her new team-mates seeking advice on impending property deals. Her nickname among friends is 'BFG' - as in Roald Dahl's Big Friendly Giant - while Langman and her Magic team-mates call her 'Angus' in an attempt to bring out more anger in the laid back 21-year-old.
"She seems pretty shy and says sorry a lot," says Ferns team-mate Joline Henry, "but she is holding her own and has come on in leaps and bounds. I know she is studying for an exam so tends to run for her books at any time she gets."
In the off-season, Tone-Fitzpatrick seriously contemplated switching to the Mystics - mainly to lessen the travel commitments between her Auckland campus and Magic training. In the end, she decided her heart was with the Magic and loves the "family environment" there; only time will tell if that was a wise decision, as she will be duelling with Casey Williams and Leana de Bruin for a spot in the defensive circle.
Meanwhile, the Ferns have defensive challenges heading into this series, with the absence of frontline defenders Williams and Katrina Grant, as well as defensive coach Wai Taumaunu. De Bruin, Anna Scarlett and Henry are expected to start as the defensive trio, but Cullen and Tone-Fitzpatrick are almost certain to see court time over the next week.
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The English side also have a youthful look about them, with stars like Karen Atkinson (retired), Sonia Mkoloma and Geva Mentor not making the trip to New Zealand but Henry dismisses any notion that they will be lightweights.
"Some of those players were missing in the January series [in England] and they pushed us hard," says Henry. "They won't be undercooked or inexperienced. Having said that, we won't be happy unless we win and win well."
The first test is at Trusts Stadium in Waitakere tomorrow night while the second and final test, which will be Ruth Aitken's final bow on New Zealand soil, is in Invercargill on Thursday.
