HOPPING TO IMPRESS
Turbos flanker looks for national recognition
Standing out among the wave of talent at the latest New Zealand under-20 trial is no easy feat.
But Manawatu¯ flanker Matene Ruawai is hoping he managed just that after being included in the 46 players invited to the Sport and Rugby Institute to train under the likes of All Blacks scrum guru Mike Cron and the under-20 coaching staff.
Ruawai was one of four Manawatu¯ players trialling for the team, along with prop Sione Asi, midfielder Ueta Tufuga and fellow loose forward Brayden Iose, who missed part of the camp through Hurricanes commitments.
Coach Craig Philpott said he was excited by the talented group that assembled.
They went through a series of technical sessions and fitness testing, before playing a trial game on Saturday.
Philpott now has to narrow his squad to about 32 for the Oceania under-20 tournament in May, before picking a side to defend their Junior World Championship title in France in June.
But he added that they were not approaching it as a title defence.
‘‘We have really avoided that word and we have certainly avoided using defence and defending. This is a brand new team. There is potentially, at the most, three guys who might reappear, but basically it is a new team.
‘‘We have to earn the right to be called champions. We are defending nothing, because this is a new team.’’
Ruawai said his best chance to make the side came at blindside flanker, the same position the former Palmerston North Boys’ High School standout played at school.
His best mate Iose has already stamped his mark on the representative scene, making his debut for the Turbos.
The duo have pushed each other along throughout their young careers, especially in training.
Ruawai impressed in his first season of club rugby with Old Boys-marist, handling the leap from schools rugby to senior rugby better than most.
‘‘I was injured at the start [of last season], so I got to watch for the first couple of weeks to see how the physicality was,’’ he said. ‘‘When I got back into it, it was not as physical as I expected. I think I overestimated it.’’
He is part of the Manawatu¯ academy, where they are hoping to transform him into a top-level openside flanker.
He also gets ‘‘too much’’ advice from father and former Horowhenua-ka¯piti representative Hamish Ruawai.
Ruawai likes to look to other sports to find things he can add to his game.
‘‘I am a big fan of American football, so I like to look at some of the things that they are doing and try and implement them in games from an outside-the-box perspective.’’