KEY POINTS:
It's the tea bags that give it away. After a hard day on court, the Flames netball team will sometimes head to a local Christchurch pub to slake their thirst. While the players head for the bar, their captain orders a cup of tea.
"I'm not going to
bend to peer pressure," insists Julie Seymour.
When the others throw a water bottle and a pair of shoes into their gear bag, Seymour is cutting little sandwiches for Harrison, 6, and Hannah, nearly 4, to eat on the sideline while she trains.
It's a different world for Seymour - now 36 and a mother of three. She is most probably the oldest Silver Fern on record, and yet she's never played better netball.
She's rightfully grabbed her place back in the Ferns, in a year when the defending world champions need every skerrick of experience and fortitude they can find. Seymour has it in spades.
"You would want to go to war with her," says Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken.
The funny thing is, what keeps Seymour in the game is her kids.
"If I hadn't had three children, I wouldn't still be playing," she says.
There's an element of a stay-at-home mum wanting a little "me time", but she also has a revived passion for the game.
She has a better understanding of her body, with everything it's been through, and she has a wiser head on top of it.
"It's amazing that I'm getting my best fitness test results ever," she says.
"My body may not bounce back as quickly, but I train differently, I've learned not to over-train. Since I had Josie [now two], I'm doing a lot more gym work.
"Maybe if I knew way back then what I know now, I could have been a better player."
Seymour was first chosen for New Zealand in 1994 and has 76 caps to her name. She was called back into the Silver Ferns as a replacement late last year, but made it into the 12-strong team to tour England next month of her own accord.
"I wasn't sure if I was in the picture or not," she says of her selection on Monday. "They give you feedback on your game, but never quite tell you if you're there or not.
"This tour is really important because I haven't really played international netball since the Commonwealth Games final in 2002 other than the two minutes against Australia last year. I'm going to have to get out there and perform to another level. But I've never felt so fresh."
Aitken has no concerns about Seymour making the grade.
"Julie is inspirational. She's the best team member you'll see," she says.
"An amazing thing about her is that she's still working on her game and style; still improving.
"She brings a real wise head - she's very netball-smart. You can see it in her last couple of games, the way she looks after her shooters so well as a feeder. She's relentless on defence and her work ethic is huge. She leaves the court with nothing left."
Of course Seymour is dying to play at the world championships in November - she still carries the hurt of the 1995 and 1999 world championship failures.
"She's been on the edge, she's seen disappointment, but it's never tainted her love for the game," says Aitken.
Seymour insists she's no Supermum; she's only able to keep playing world-class netball with the help of her family, friends and the Flames team management.
Harrison and Hannah are happy to go with Mum to Flames training sessions where kids are welcome and entertain themselves on the court next door.
"It means they feel part of it - it's not always Mummy walking out the door," she says.
Seymour has always had the support of her mother as a babysitter, but her mother has been ill, so she has turned to friends to help out.
Her husband, former New Zealand sevens star Dallas Seymour, has put on hold his rugby coaching dreams so his wife can keep pursuing hers.
"Dallas is really supportive and he says that opportunities like this don't come around often. We know I don't have too much playing time left, but my deadline keeps extending, year after year."
She's enjoying captaining the Flames, unbeaten after two rounds of the National Bank Cup. This weekend, they meet the other team at the top of the table, defending champions the Magic, in Rotorua.
"Marg Foster is a really innovative and supportive coach, and we've got a great diverse group of people. They're the reason I want to play," she says.
So do the Flames players look to her as their inspiration? Seymour thinks about it. "I think they look at me and say, 'When is she ever going to finish?"'
Round three
* Tonight: Diamonds v Rebels, Dunedin, 7.30pm, delayed TVOne tomorrow midday.
* Tomorrow: Sting v Shakers, Invercargill, 7.30; Magic v Flames, Rotorua, 7.30pm, live TVOne
* Sunday: Force v Flyers, North Shore Events Centre, 1pm.
