Girl ‘gutted’ not to be on field
AAYLA Toman stared down the opposition and performed the haka with her rugby league team-mates, but that’s as close as she got to the action.
Aayla, 13, had hoped to take the field for the Te Whanganuia-Tara U13s at the Pacific Youth Cup in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, yesterday, but was told the referee would not allow the game to start if she played.
Standing on the sideline during her team’s first match against Samoa Wellington,
Aayla said she had been overcome with emotion before the match, but doing the haka had made her feel better.
‘‘I wanted to do it because I’m still part of the team. I’m gutted I’m not on the field with the boys.’’
New Zealand Rugby League
(NZRL) rules state the maximum age for males and females to play in mixed gender full-contact rugby league is 12.
From there, girls either have to create their own girls’ team and find others to play against, or move up to the under 15 girls’ grade.
NZRL told Sunday News they had a duty of care, and rules were based on advice from the NZRL Medical Council.
Her team manager Ariana McGregor argued the current rules needed to be changed in
order to keep girls in the sport.
She could see no safety issues with Aayla playing in the tournament because the other teams were made up of boys she’d played against all season in league and union matches.
McGregor said they had held off making the decision to pull Aayla from the team until the last possible moment. Tournament organisers could not be convinced to bend the rules.
The team had been prepared to risk disqualification and forfeit their points to get her on the field.
Despite being sidelined for the tournament, Aayla said the experience had not spoiled her love for the game.
‘‘Yeah, I’ll be back next season,’’ she said.
Yeah, I’ll be back next season.’ AAYLA TOMAN