Future stars of the women's game, from left, Patricia Vaka, Manaia Webb, Tyler Nankivell and Leilani Erwin. Photo / Supplied
Future stars of the women's game, from left, Patricia Vaka, Manaia Webb, Tyler Nankivell and Leilani Erwin. Photo / Supplied
There's nothing more satisfying as a sports fan than knowing you were there from the start.
Being able to proclaim to the bandwagoners and hangers-on that you were a supporter of a team, club or nation before their reign of supremacy in their chosen code, back in the days oftoil and heartbreak.
As a long-time Tottenham Hotspur football fan, many years of being told of the team's "small club mentality" was almost paid of by a Champions League final appearance this year. While Spurs still search for that elusive big time trophy, it's nice to know the years of "sixth or worse" seem to be behind us.
Northland rugby fans have that very same opportunity to claim an almost divine level of insight as Northland's women's rugby team, the Northland Kauri, take to the field for their first Farah Palmer Cup (FPC) home game at Trigg Sports Arena against the Otago Spirit at 2pm today.
Northland's under-18 women's rugby team will be the future of the Northland Kauri teams to come. Photo / Supplied
It's a historic day for women's rugby in general as the Northland under-18 women's rugby team will also play as curtain-raiser to the main event, taking on Auckland East at 12pm at Trigg Sports Arena.
Mark my words, today's games are just the beginning of a very long and successful stay for Northland in New Zealand's top domestic women's rugby competition.
While Northland succumbed in their first ever outing in the competition against a tough Hawke's Bay pack last weekend, the ladies in blue scored over 30 points, including five tries, which was a great indication of the potential this team has.
The big issue for Northland sport as a whole is young talent being snatched up by schools in the main centres (Auckland, Hamilton etc) and those players who drift away due to a lack of resources and funding in the north.
However, the Northland Kauri unit has basically been through that process in reverse as a number of players, who had already secured consistent berths in other FPC teams, have returned to Northland to play for their home region.
A lot of it comes down to pride and you can tell this group of players has an enormous amount of pride and passion for Te Tai Tokerau. Not to take away from the obvious pride other regional teams have, but these women yearn to play for the Cambridge Blue and it will be all to easy to see out on the park today.
Perhaps as the money increases and the player pool grows to a point where Northland Rugby can not manage it, we may see players leave for the bigger franchises in the hope of further development and national selection.
The under-18 will line up against a tough Auckland East side at Trigg Sports Arena today at 12pm. Photo / Supplied
But the culture being fostered within the Northland Kauri set up is one, I believe, players will not want to leave and will have others wanting to join.
The team is coached by two experienced ex-Black Ferns in Cheryl Smith and Susan Dawson and captained by current Black Fern Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, which would be one of the most formidable leadership groups in the FPC.
Furthermore, the team is littered with past and present international experience as well as a handful of young talent who have already made their mark on the national age-group and look primed to take over from the team's older heads in the future.
While it's hard to temper expectations with such a tantalising prospect on offer, it is still their first year in the competition and with that comes all sorts of unforeseen hiccups.
But I don't have to be a betting man to say Northland's current crop of female rugby players are certainly going to have a huge impact on the game at a regional and national level in the years to come.
