Couple a mini sevens team
Bruce Pulman Park, Takanini, Saturday, 5.30pm
Shiray Tane doesn’t have to look far for advice as she puts in the yards on the training field in the hope of a place in the New Zealand sevens team at the Olympics.
Her partner, Gillies Kaka, is a strong contender for the men’s team at Rio.
Kaka, 26, and Tane, 21, are New Zealand’s first couple of sevens rugby. But the Olympic squads haven’t been picked yet so both are under pressure to perform.
The build-up to the trials for Rio has been tough, Tane says. They both train up to three times a day, six days a week.
She didn’t play in the latest World Series tournament, in Clermont, France, where the women’s team lost in the semifinals, so she will have to compete in a full trial for a spot at the Games.
‘‘Everyone who is available to trial will be trialling, we’ve never had the whole squad in before, so it’s pretty nerve-racking,’’ she says.
Meanwhile, Kaka is already in the men’s final squad of 16.
All the hard work takes place in the build-up to the Olympics, he says, ‘‘and then, once we get to Rio, it’ll be that big stage and time to shine’’.
‘‘The Olympics is the biggest stage in the world and to play sevens and to have your family’s name on your back is pretty humbling.’’
Kaka is originally from Hawke’s Bay and Tane is from Hamilton but they live in Mt Maunganui.
She met Kaka two years ago when he started liking her pictures on Instagram – although details are a little bit fuzzy.
‘‘That’s pretty much exactly what Shiray said but in reverse, she just saw me playing and one thing led to another, she liked a few of my photos, commented on a few. . . ’’
Being in a relationship and having the same job means they can swap skills tips, but they both have gruelling schedules.
In their spare time they like to look after their dogs, Champ and Spot, and ride their motorbikes, Tane says.
She’s studying towards a Bachelor of Education through Massey University distance learning, and eventually hopes to travel overseas with Kaka, playing rugby and teaching.
The long-term dream is for a ‘‘nice house in the middle of nowhere’’, with plenty of dogs and horses in residence.