Page 4 - Oles Elder News Today

Opinion - Finally, we had a weekend of three Super Rugby games in New Zealand - its just a pity that the most meaningful one was a one off. The Hurricanes and Highlanders ended their Aotearoa campaigns in an entertaining game on Friday, then the Blues had to withstand a valiant effort from a Chiefs selection that would have looked right at home in the NPC. The Chiefs were on their way to Christchurch regardless, so resting their top players didnt matter. Or did it? Thats going to be something C...

Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images Blues women’s captain Eloise Blackwell said it was awesome to see some of her teenage team-mates scoring tries. “The first 20 was a bit of a bit of a whitewash in terms of what I can remember. It was just so fast and trying to transition this big rig around the field – that was quite difficult. “Little Patricia went over for our first try, followed by Sylvia, so two of our teenage girls, and it’s awesome for them. “They are teenagers competing agains...

That intensity led to more than a few infringements, and it was Hazel Tubic that scored the first points, putting the Chiefs ahead 3-0 with a penalty from 30m out after seven minutes, when Blues prop Aleisha-Pearl Nelson failed to roll away after a tackle – the first of 14 she would muster in total thanks to some fine kicking. Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images Patricia Maliepo scores the opening try for the Blues women against the Chiefs. But at the ensuing kickoff, Tubic stepped into touch whi...

Womens Super Rugby: Chiefs upstage Blues in historic clash 1 May, 2021 06:30 AM 5 minutes to read The Chiefs celebrate victory over the Blues. Photo / Photosport Chiefs 39 Blues 12 Blues captain Eloise Blackwell says her sides defeat to the Chiefs in the maiden New Zealand womens Super Rugby match at Eden Park proves the female game deserves proper investment. The Chiefs comfortably upstaged the Blues, putting away their neighbours 39-12, but in many ways the result was secondary to giving wome...

Chiefs prop Tanya Kalounivale on the charge Photo: Photosport After trailing by just six at half-time, the Blues couldnt score in the second spell, conceding too many turnovers and hamstrung by an inability to build pressure. Theyd made a strong start, and two first-half tries helped them keep pace with the Chiefs. Experienced Black Ferns playmaker Hazel Tubic opened the scoring for the visitors with an early penalty, but the Blues didnt take long to hit back. First-five Patricia Maliepo pounc...

Born in 2004, Brunt – a prefect at Mount Albert Grammar School – is the youngest of the lot, having just turned 17. That means she wasn’t yet alive the last time the Blues men won Super Rugby – or Super 12, as it was known back then – in May 2003. But if that makes you feel old, don’t worry, because assistant coach Anna Richards is in the same boat. “They love telling me that they werent born when I last played, so Im not too happy about that,” she joked on Thursday, when as...

Joseph Pearson12:10, Apr 30 2021 CHIEFS Chiefs womens coach Chad Shepherd says their players can be pioneers for the game. La Toya Mason played 70 tests for England, three Rugby World Cup finals, winning the 2014 decider, but reckons she never reached her full potential as a player. Now back home, as Taranaki Rugby’s head of women’s rugby and with the first Chiefs women’s team as an assistant coach, the former halfback, who was born in Auckland, says she is watching the women’s game gr...

Joseph Pearson15:33, Apr 29 2021 Michael Bradley/Getty Images The Chiefs women gathered for their last training session at Hautapu Rugby Club on Wednesday night. Chiefs players and coaches driving up to seven hours on a return trip for one training session demonstrates how committed they are for Super Rugby’s first women’s match. Taranaki-based Iritana Hohaia, who was named on the bench on Thursday, and Chiefs assistant coach La Toya Mason, a former England halfback of 70 tests, have been ...

Shepherd, who has worked with the Counties Manukau Heat in the Farah Palmer Cup, said the players will not be paid for their involvement in the fixture because it’s classified as an exhibition match, but he hopes that can change if a Super Rugby competition gets going in 2022. “It’s natural progression for the women to shift into Super Rugby after years of Farah Palmer Cup and there’s a real appetite from the players for it to happen next year,” Shepherd said. The Auckland clash co...

Press Release – FOMA AUCKLAND, Friday 9th April 2021: Mori women business leaders and decision makers from throughout Aotearoa will be gathering this month for the annual FOMA Huihuinga Whine Mori Leadership Summit. Convened annually by FOMA (the Federation of Mori … AUCKLAND, Friday 9th April 2021: Māori women business leaders and decision makers from throughout Aotearoa will be gathering this month for the annual FOMA Huihuinga Wāhine Māori Leadership Summit. Convened annually by FOMA...