Next Ferns combined selections announced
- Dave Worsley
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Twenty-two talented athletes, including sprinters, kickboxers, and rowers have been selected to attend the Next Ferns national combined event.
They'll then be assessed by Black Ferns Director of Rugby Alan Bunting and Black Ferns Sevens coach Corey Sweeney.
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The inaugural Next Ferns programme was designed to unearth new-to-rugby talent ahead of the 2029 Rugby World Cup and 2032 Olympics, with the final event taking place over two days at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) in Wellington on 22 June.
More than 200 female athletes aged 16-25 registered for the Next Ferns events with 87 being tested for speed, agility, fitness, athletic ability and basic rugby skills at four regional events held in Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Auckland.
New Zealand Rugby’s Women's High Performance Pathways Manager Kendra Cocksedge said the regional combines run by Australian-based company Rookie Me had unearthed some outstanding individual talent.
“Rookie Me have benchmarked thousands of athletes across multiple sports and a number of these young women were ranked in the top tier for their gender and age. It will be exciting to see if they can transfer that raw athletic talent into the rugby environment.”
Among the final group are two daughters of former Black Ferns, Amber Mahoney and Kavanah Lene.
Mahoney’s mother Rebecca played 19 Tests as a first five from 2004-2011 before becoming an international rugby referee, while Lene’s mother Stacey, a fullback, was capped seven times from 2003-2005. Neither Amber or Kavanah followed in their mother’s sprig marks, playing football and basketball respectively until now.
Similarly, Jasmine Davis has excelled at netball and athletics but is now stepping into a sport her father Chresten excelled in as a lock who played two matches for the All Blacks in the 1990s.
“While there are a few who are playing their first year of serious rugby this year, this is largely a group who have excelled and focused on other sports. We set out to find new to rugby athletes we know many of our best professional players have come from similarly diverse sporting backgrounds,” said Cocksedge.
The national combine would see the athletes experience more rigorous testing of their physical strength and power, as well as their coachability.
“From here it’s about building a physical and psychological profile, working out which positions they could target in rugby, and at the same time whether they have the drive to take the next step and enter one of our high performance programmes.”
Rookie Me CEO Adham Dimachki was thrilled with the turnout.
“Our organisation is a strong example of how data-driven talent identification insights and technology, reveals quality talent, complementing the Next Ferns talent ID campaign. It’s great to see New Zealand Rugby investing in a scalable and reliable model, which not only discovers untapped athletic potential, but also strengthens the long-term depth of its national squads.”
The 22 athletes selected from the four regional events who will attend the Next Ferns national combine are:
Auckland
Laura Lee Walker, Jordyn Kennedy, Morticia Levi, Kiana Pohe, Gabby Murare, Ngaawaimarino Simpkins, Paris Robertson, Charlotte Goldsmith, Taya Lewis
Hamilton
Te Pumanawa o toku ate Rogers, Grace Ngataua, Te Paea Puha, Jasmine Davis, Sarah-Kate Nicholas, Anna Knight.
Christchurch
Grace Kuil, Emily Barr, Ruby Giera, Kavanah Lene, Abby Kneebone
Wellington
Amber Mahoney, Olivia Robson
