Bay of Plenty women's player Rebecca Kersten in action at the Bayleys National Sevens last year. Photo / File
Bay of Plenty women's player Rebecca Kersten in action at the Bayleys National Sevens last year. Photo / File
Have no fear.
That is the key message from Bay of Plenty women's coach Victoria Grant to her players ahead of this weekend's Bayleys National Sevens tournament in Rotorua.
Grant said she wanted to see her side play with confidence and desire from the get-go because the fast-paced nature of sevens rugby left little room for error.
"Just to really put it all out on the field and put into practice what we have been training. It really only comes down to 14 minutes each game and in our pool we need to win at least two games. It's a really tough pool, Wellington and Manawatu are both potential finalists.
"I think having a tough pool is good though, because on day two you've come through that and you know the intensity levels and will be better for it," Grant said.
The Bay of Plenty side know all too well the focus required throughout the entire tournament, a lesson they learned the hard way last year.
They cruised through day one, winning three from three to finish top of their pool. However, they fell at the first hurdle in the Cup knockout stages, going down 19-0 to Waikato. They went on to win the Plate, but this ambitious group of women have set their sights higher this year.
The Bay of Plenty women won the Plate final at last year's Bayleys National Sevens at the Rotorua International Stadium. Photo / File
"Our main strength is having good decision-makers and play-makers in the middle, we've also got good speed on both sides of the field. The strength overall is they are a really hard working team, they're a fit team and they'll never give up. They'll fight to the death, tackle anyone in front of them, no matter what size they are - they've got real heart," Grant said.
At the provincial sevens tournament last weekend the Bay of Plenty women had narrow losses to strong Auckland and Wellington outfits and impressive wins over Canterbury and Waikato.
Grant said the team was looking "really good" for this weekend's tournament.
"We've got a good mixture of experience and youth - I'm looking forward to them reaching their full potential and it all coming together this weekend.
"Last weekend was more about our selection process and seeing who would put up their hands to play this weekend.
"Our objective leading up to this tournament was to have more players playing at a higher level and being involved in a programme where there's real competition for places and opportunities to learn. I think we have definitely met that objective for our campaign so far and that is really positive for the future."
Bay of Plenty are in Pool B with Manawatu, Wellington and North Harbour. Their first game is against Wellington at 11.05am tomorrow.Bayleys National Sevens women's pools:
Pool A Waikato Canterbury Otago Poverty Bay
Pool B Bay of Plenty Manawatu Wellington North Harbour
Pool C Auckland Counties Manukau Hawke's Bay Southland
Tickets from Ticketmaster Adults $15, child under-15 $5, under-5 free, family tickets $35
