Knewstubb named player of tournament
Andrew Knewstubb barely got a wink of sleep on Sunday night.
Not surprisingly, the 21-yearold Tasman sevens player’s head was still spinning after being named men’s player of the national sevens tournament in Rotorua.
And the drama didn’t end there after Knewstubb and fellow Tasman team-mates Trael Joass and Tone Ng Shiu were also selected in a national training squad to prepare for the next leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Wellington on January 28-29.
Tasman women’s team manager Andrew Goodman informed him of his award.
‘‘I didn’t know what to think, I was just blank, my whole body went numb and I couldn’t believe it eh? I thought they were taking the mickey out of me,’’ said a stunned Knewstubb, originally from Paraparaumu.
And his own self-assessment of his weekend’s form?
‘‘I definitely didn’t think it was player of the tournament material, there were definitely a lot of mistakes I could have fixed, but yeah, I was just so surprised,’’
Making the national training squad, from which the final team for the Wellington Sevens will be selected, was the icing on the cake for a gob-smacked Knewstubb.
And while Gordon Tietjens has now handed over the national coaching reins to Scotsman Clark Laidlaw, Knewstubb expected little respite in terms of what he anticipates will be a physically demanding four-day camp this week in Rotorua.
‘‘I never thought I’d be in this position, that’s for sure, so it’s awesome.
‘‘I can imagine it’s still going to be fairly hard...and I think the nerves will start building once we get there.‘‘
Knewstubb was delighted with Tasman’s efforts at the nationals after they finished top of their pool to qualify for the main Cup event. They ended the tournament in sixth place.
A Paraparaumu College First XV product, Knewstubb headed south to the Kahurangi club in 2014 and has represented Nelson Bays in 15-a-side at fullback and No 10.
‘‘I’ve played probably most of my rugby at fullback, but they’re trying to push me through to 10 now so I’m [learning] that position.’’
The next few days will determine what course his career takes over the coming months.