Kaipara College Girls Rugby 7’s team 6^th at Condor Sevens 

After winning the North Harbour Open Girls Sevens Rugby Title in October, Kaipara College was invited to represent Harbour at the 28^th BNZ Condor 7s event held 28-30 November at Kelston Boys High School in West Auckland. Kaipara College joined the 15 other provincial qualifiers from all over New Zealand. The tournament also featured a number of invited U15 sides for the first time, along with the 24 best Open Boys teams who had qualified by winning their respective provincial tournaments.

Kaipara’s extremely young team were nervous but excited to attend the prestigious national tournament for the first time, especially as they had been drawn in the same pool as the reigning National Champions Sevens team and current NZ 15-a-side Champions Hamilton Girls High School.

The Kaipara Girls, coached by long time servant of Kaipara College Innes Kerr-Taylor, quickly settled into their work defeating the Barbarians team 48-5 in their first match, and South Otago High School 29-12 in the second. These two wins qualified the team for the Top 8 division on day two. In the final pool game against Hamilton Girls, a side containing eight Year 13 students, Kaipara, playing without their inspirational captain Tara Mansell-Sawyers, lost the contest at the breakdown collision area, and Hamilton’s superior fitness and speed took them to a 7-49 victory.

Day two started with a Cup Quarter Final match against Southland Girls, and once again the key difference was the experience and tenacity of the Southland team at the tackle area, where Georgia Mason, later to be named Girls MVP, was devastating. Kaipara eventually lost 7-31, with Rina Paraone and Tara Mansell being particularly competitive and aggressive, and young Y9 speed merchant Geogia Logan scoring a brilliant runaway try to put us on the board.

This loss sent Kaipara into the Plate semi-finals where they faced Lincoln High School from Canterbury. In what was Kaipara’s best performance of the tournament, sweeper Sativa Tarau-Peehikuru scored twice and the diminutive Madi Wells once to score an impressive 19-0 victory, to send Kaipara into the Plate final.

The Plate final, against the Wellington Champions Wellington East Girls’ College, was screened live on the SKY Rugby Channel. At the end of a long tournament Kaipara lacked the punch required to crack the determined Wellington defensive pattern and Kaipara lost the match 5-7 with Sativa’s try outwide not being converted. This result placed Kaipara 6^th in NZ and with only two of the squad above Year 11, and many just beginning their rugby careers, the Girls are certainly looking forward to a return to the event next year.

Tara Mansell-Sawyers was voted Kaipara’s MVP while Rina Paraone was certainly Kaipara’s Player of the Tournament, making the most impact both on attack and defence.

In the Cup Final featuring by far the two most talented teams, Hamilton Girls scored a last minute try against Southland Girls to retain their National title 14-12.

Kaipara Girls Sevens team:

Back row L>R  Innes Kerr-Taylor (Coach & Manager), Jazelle Hemehema (Y9), Aleiscia Phillips (Y9), Tara Mansell-Sawyers (Capt Y12), Rina Paraone (Y11), Madi Wells (Y10), Phil Cox (Asst Coach)

Kneeling L>R   Monique Phillips-Ryder (Y12), Sophie Fisher (Y11), Caitlyn Cox (Y11), Georgia Logan (Y9), Malia Hemehema (Y10), Carissa Mansell-Sawyers (Y11) and Jarel Hemehema (Hydration Specialist)

Lying front – Sativa Tarau-Pee