Persistence pays off for Mayes

‘‘I’m only 22, I didn’t know it would happen. I had a fair idea [it could happen again] and I had to keep working.’’ Crystal Mayes

Three and a half years in the international wilderness didn’t make Crystal Mayes think her time in the black jersey was up.

The Manawatu woman was last week named in the New Zealand sevens for the year on a training contract and it is her first time back in the team since she debuted for New Zealand at the Oceania championships in Noosa in 2013.

‘‘It’s been a long time, about four years,’’ she said.

She didn’t give up on playing for New Zealand though.

‘‘I’m only 22, I didn’t know it would happen.

‘‘I had a fair idea [it could happen again] and I had to keep working.’’

Back then she was in the backs, but Mayes has since shifted into the forwards, which she said was more hard work, but she had been enjoying it and playing well.

She was a key player for Manawatu at the national championships in Rotorua earlier this month

Mayes was excited about getting the call up, but wasn’t sure how being on a training contract worked and said she would figure it out at the New Zealand training camp this week.

Even though she is only on training contract, she is likely to get a chance to play in the World Series at some point this year.

She will be out with injury for a while though, having torn a ligament in her ankle during the national final against Counties Manukau.

She wasn’t sure how long she would be on the sideline, but said it could be four to six weeks.

It is bad timing for the injury, considering Mayes has only recently come back from knee surgery. She played the first couple of games for the Manawatu Cyclones in the Farah Palmer Cup, before having an operation in September to tidy up her knee, which included getting rid of a floating piece of bone.

Captain Sarah Goss and Rebekah Tufuga are other Manawatu players in the New Zealand squad and Mayes knows Tufuga well.

Tufuga and Mayes played together when they were at Freyberg High School and at Kia Toa.

Mayes went to Freyberg, then went to Feilding High School for her final year.