Grant focusses on seeking NZ sevens selection for Rio
Having missed a contact with the Mainland Tactix for 2016, Keshia Grant has turned her attention to back to rugby, in what she knows is an uphill battle to qualify for the sevens squad for the Rio Olympic Games.
Grant, who previously balanced a netball career in the Trans Tasman League with her other sporting ambitions, currently plays in the Canterbury Women’s NPC rugby team and has loved getting back on the field, scoring a try in their latest match against Hawkes Bay won 58-5.
‘‘I’m still learning my way round the field again, trying to remember what it’s like to have contact and play on a rugby field,’’ said Grant.
‘‘It hasn’t come back to me 100 percent, so I’ve still got a lot of things to work on.’’
It’s a nice lead in to the sevens season, where Grant feels she’s better suited. Playing XVs allows her to practice the skills she needs when the sevens season begins.
This is the beginning of a packed few months for the 28-yearold as she tries for selection in the New Zealand sevens team that will go to the IRB series and then the Olympic Games.
‘‘I think it’ll be tough because [NZ coach] Sean Horan has been working with the same group of people for this whole year, and the majority of them for the last two, three years.
‘‘So I can’t see many coaches who would drop them for a newbie, but it happened with the Silver Ferns before the World Cup, although I wouldn’t say the chances are that high.’’
She said players who were on the periphery of the contracted NZRU Sevens set up now had someone in place to help guide them, which had been immensely beneficial as she continued working towards selection.
It would have been a tough decision for Grant if a situation has arisen where she’d had to choose between a Tactix contract or a rugby contract. Although she’s disappointed to have not made Sue Hawkins’ 2016 Tactix squad, it has allowed her to pursue her Olympic ambitions.
‘‘It’s kind of a bit of a relief, and a little bit of disappointment and a little bit of, well it enables me to set a plan and focus on one thing.
‘‘In a way it’s a good thing, in a way it’s a bit of a change because I’ve been doing it for about seven years now.
‘‘But I’m happy to continue down this rugby path and see where it leads.’’
Meanwhile Canterbury faces Wellington this weekend in the capital in a make-of-break for their top four chances.