Coast’s Matewehe King makes a strong carry during the KCRU 10-aside women’s tournament held in Taumarunui last Friday. Photo: Helen Wensor
King Country Rugby Union is hoping a new women’s 10-aside initiative will bear fruit.
Teams from Coast RFC, Taumarunui and Taupō will play at Rugby Park in Te Kūiti tomorrow night in the second edition of the two-week tournament aimed at growing women’s rugby in King Country.
The opening night was in Taumarunui last Friday and more than 60 players participated, including former Black Ferns captain Les Elder from Taumarunui.
The initiative has been introduced by KCRU general manager David Fox, who used the format to grow women’s rugby in Waikato and Thames Valley when working in those unions in recent years.
Fox hopes the 10-side competition will not only provide women who are keen to give rugby a go a place to play, but also establish a local King Country competition.
“We’re just coming up with creative ways to get the young ladies playing rugby union down in the King Country. It’s all about igniting the satellite towns, to go to Taumarunui, Taupō and out on the coast to help grow the women’s game,” Fox said.
“We have the motivation and long-term term goal to turn this competition into a 15-aside competition, but we don’t know what that could look like at the moment – a pre-season comp or our own local comp – who knows?”
The union moved to explore ways to grow participation after one of its two existing clubs, Tongariro United, pulled out of the Bay of Plenty club rugby season early.
That left Waitete RFC as the only women’s club team in King Country.
The 10-saide tournament is seen as a way to grow the game, and identify potential players for the King Country Trailblazers representative team.
The Trailblazers played their first game in King Country union’s centenary year in 2022 against Poverty Bay in Te Kūiti, and went on to win the inaugural women’s North Island Heartland Championship the following year.
The North Island Heartland competition ended last year, prompting King Country to move to the Northern Region women’s development competition this season, where they will face Taranaki, Ngāti Porou East Coast and Thames Valley through the August-September representative window.
Coast’s Matewehe King makes a strong carry during the KCRU 10-aside women’s tournament held in Taumarunui last Friday. Photo: Helen Wensor
