Elder to show ‘softer side’ as Chiefs captain
Thanks to becoming a mum, former Black Ferns captain Les Elder believes her Chiefs team-mates will see a ‘‘softer side’’ of her this week in their preparation for their historic fixture against the Blues.
The two franchises will go head to head in the first-ever women’s Super Rugby game when they square off at Eden Park on Saturday evening – an occasion which comes just in time for Elder, 34, to experience, before a likely retirement after next year’s postponed World Cup.
Having been named captain of the national side in May 2019, Elder then had a break from the sport, with the arrival of daughter Mihiterena in May 2020, and now, on the first day of May 2021, comes another landmark with this unique fixture, which yesterday she was named as skipper of the Chiefs for.
While Elder described it as ‘‘a huge honour’’, she was quick to note captaincy was ‘‘an action, not a title’’.
‘‘I think I’m really lucky that I’ve got a group of leaders – Chelsea Alley from Waikato and Arihiana [Marino-tauhinu] from Counties, so I’ll lean on those girls,’’ she said.
‘‘We’ve got a number of Black Ferns in this team as well, so the expectation will be for them to lead. I’m definitely not doing it alone, I’ve got some great support around me, so I think the team’s in good hands.’’
Having captained Bay of Plenty in last year’s Farah Palmer Cup not long after giving birth, this is also a next step on a postbaby rugby journey which the loose forward originally didn’t envision going quite so long, only for the World Cup delay to change her plans and keep her hanging in a bit longer.
‘‘It’s definitely changed things from a physical perspective, like operating on little sleep and still being a high performance athlete is pretty tough, probably the toughest thing I’ve done,’’ said Elder of how motherhood had altered her footy, with her now also coming straight off the field at fulltime to breastfeed her daughter.
‘‘But I think, too, becoming a mum, it almost brings out a softer side of you, and I think that that’s helped me a little bit, just that understanding, and more empathetic and things like that.
‘‘Not on the rugby field, that’s still the same, but I guess just how you’re dealing with players and things, just understanding bigger pictures.’’
It’s those sort of qualities which made Elder’s appointment as skipper one of coach Chad Shepherd’s simplest tasks for this historic occasion.
‘‘Les is your ultimate professional,’’ he said. ‘‘It was, without disrespecting any other player in the team, quite an easy decision. She just goes about her business, she encapsulates what Chiefs mana is about.
‘‘She’s great for the team, she’s a really calm, influential voice, and just the way she approaches the game is highly professional, so she’s a really good fit, we’re really excited to have her as captain.’’
The Chiefs held a fourth training session yesterday, but it was their last before the match, with the rest of the week to be carried out online.
‘‘It always has its problems bringing four provinces together from such a wide geographical area,’’ Shepherd said. ‘‘But the girls have been amazing, they’ve really bought into the whole concept.’’