Young Iylah Darkins among Northland girls chosen as match ball deliverers

Iylah Darkins waits for the national anthems of France and Italy to finish before delivering the ball at Northland Events Centre. Photo / Getty Images

Standing between the French and Italian teams while their national anthems were being sung may just have been the impetus for Iylah Darkins to take up rugby.

The nine-year-old Whangārei Intermediate School student was selected to deliver the match ball in the first quarter-final of the Women's Rugby World Cup at the Northland Events Centre on Saturday after winning a regional competition.

More than 40 girls registered their interest in the Northland Rugby Union competition.

Iylah spotted the competition online and decided to enter. She had to explain in writing why she wanted to be a match ball deliverer, and said she liked watching her older sister play rugby. Iylah said she also liked Rippa and touch rugby and wanted to play the sport.

The union emailed her mum to inform her that Iylah had won back in September.

A day before the quarter-final, she was called in for a practice session at the games venue.

"I felt good about winning but was nervous at the game," she said, referring to her
standing between the two teams during their national anthems.

Iylah Darkins, ball deliverer at the France v Italy match in Whangārei, pictured with dad Harry Darkins. Photo / Supplied

Harry Darkins, Iylah's dad and a teacher at her school, said it was an amazing opportunity - not just for Iylah, but other kids - to be the ball deliverer at a global sporting event hosted in their home patch.

"She was also very excited, and spoke the whole week about going out and being around the players and soaking up the atmosphere," Darkins said.

"She definitely has the heart and the desire to go far in rugby. She's happy to play rugby, and that's what any parent would want. Iylah's also a keen and a good netball player."

Darkins himself grew up around rugby, and played and coached the sport in Whangārei.

Union rugby development officer Hannah Shalders said delivering the match ball was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for school-aged girls in Northland.

They had to be between the ages of 8 and 12, while those selected to toss the coin were older than 12.

"The feedback we got from those selected [was that] the girls were buzzing. Most of the girls who entered had either played rugby or had been a part of it. In future, we are likely to get more entries, now that people have already been to the games.

"It was cool to see thousands of people at the rugby, and them helping to grow the game."

Shalders said during the Bunnings Warehouse NPC and Farah Palmer Cup competitions, the daughters of players were selected to deliver the match ball, but the union may open the selection to girls from around Northland.

The Women's Rugby World Cup matches played over three weekends in Whangārei finished with the quarter-finals on Saturday. The semi-finals and the final will be played in Auckland.