Bay of Plenty rugby pros in Brazil helping to grow the sport

The Brazil women's national sevens team, the Yaras, coached by Bay of Plenty local Crystal Kaua (far left, back row).

Bay of Plenty rugby professionals working to grow the sport in Brazil say it is accelerating, and there are great opportunities for young Kiwi players.

Ben Donald, husband and wife Crystal and Brent Kaua, and Aoturoa Seeling have worked to showcase Brazil as a destination for rugby players and coaches.

Donald is a commercial analyst for the Brazilian Rugby Confederation and a player for the Cobras Brasil XV.

He grew up in Brazil before moving to Tauranga for 12 years, where he played rugby for the Mount Maunganui Sports Club.

Donald said the professionalisation of rugby in Brazil was still “very new”.

Generally, rugby was not played in public schools, and schools did not have access to fields – instead having a court for indoor football, handball, volleyball, and basketball.

The South American country has one professional men’s team, Cobras Brasil XV, which competes in the Super Rugby Americas competition, similar to Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand. The men’s national team – nicknamed the Tupis – competes internationally in XVs and sevens, as does the women’s national team, the Yaras.

“It’s accelerating each and every year, which is awesome to see, but [generally speaking] everything is amateur in the country,” Donald said.

Ben Donald plays for the Cobras Brasil XV rugby team and also works as a commercial analyst for the Brazilian Rugby Confederation.

“Brazil is a very large region so it’s difficult to bring everyone together. The clubs are spread out around Sao Paulo and the country as well.”

Donald told the Bay of Plenty Times when it came to developing rugby in Brazil, one of his jobs was to form relationships with other high-performance player development programmes globally, which included talks with the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union.

He said this was significant because younger players in the Bay or provincial unions could “sometimes get lost once they get past the Under-20 age group”.

Donald said coming over to play in Brazil, to a competition such as Super Rugby Americas, was a good bridge between club and NPC rugby.

“It’s a great development opportunity, not just for rugby purposes, but for life purposes as well.”

Aoturoa Seeling was the first Bay player Donald recruited and is now playing for the Cobras.

Seeling previously played club rugby for Judea, was a Bay of Plenty Toa (U20s) player and was involved in the Steamers’ highly successful programme last year.

Seeling said there was a lot of potential to grow rugby in Brazil.

Aoturoa Seeling plays for the Cobras Brasil XV in the Super Rugby Americas competition but was a Bay of Plenty Toa (U20s) player involved in the Steamers last year.

“Everyone is passionate about rugby here, and it is an unreal experience to see a different style of footy.

“I’ve always had a dream to travel the world and play rugby, so that was, obviously, a big driver for me, and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity.”

He said if other rugby players in New Zealand got the same offer, they should “absolutely do it”.

“People are lovely here, they’re really helpful, really comforting and have helped me fit in.”

Crystal Kaua, former head coach of the Chiefs Manawa in Super Rugby Aupiki, is now head sevens coach of the Yaras.

She said Brazil Rugby could not do what they do without the attitude and mindset of the player base.

“We don’t have a lot, and I think one of the biggest things I’ve been impressed with is the player base and mindset, the attitude – like these are the happiest, most grateful, humble, players that I’ve probably ever worked with, and I’ve been working in rugby for a long time.”

Crystal Kaua, former head coach of the Chiefs Manawa in Super Rugby Aupiki, is now head coach of the Brazil Women’s Sevens team the Yaras.

Brazil is a tier three rugby nation, meaning it is an affiliate member of the International Rugby League (IRL).

Kaua said this meant the competition base was smaller, with fewer players, resources and finances.

“The players have every reason to moan and complain, but they don’t, they turn up every day with a smile on their face and wanting to be the best they can be.

“I think the Bay of Plenty mindset suits the Brazilian way because we can deal with challenges and adversity, and the backgrounds of players we’re dealing with here, we deal with similar adversities in New Zealand with our player bases there.

“We’re trying to find a unique Brazilian style that is about who they are as people and how they’re being brought up, that will be how we get the most out of rugby.”

Her husband, Brent Kaua, also worked with Brazilian national teams and was a former Bay of Plenty Rugby Union coach.

He loved the potential of rugby in Brazil, and even though they don’t play as much rugby as Kiwis do. The “hunger to learn” is greater because they were not brought up on the sport.

“It’s a really exciting space to be in and I think if there wasn’t that sort of excitement factor, we wouldn’t be here.

“The potential and the hunger is where the game can go in Brazil.”

Kaitlyn Morrell is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.