Dreams do come true – just ask new Black Ferns Sevens squad member Te Pumanawa o Toku Ate Rogers from Rotorua.
The 19-year-old achieved her childhood dream of playing sevens for New Zealand after being brought into the squad this week for a pre-season tour of Australia.
When the youngster was 10, she stood on a stage and wowed a crowd singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra. After the applause, the show’s MC asked her what she wanted to do when she was older. Her reply? “Play rugby at the Olympics [for the Black Ferns Sevens].”
It wasn’t a response the crowd was expecting after the little soprano delivered a showstopping performance. But fast-forward nine years and, like the song’s lyrics, Rogers’ dreams are a step closer.
Black Ferns Sevens head coach Cory Sweeney has named a 13-strong squad that left this week for Sydney, where they will play three matches against Australia.
Two games are at the Kick On Sevens tournament today and the third at Accor Stadium ahead of the All Blacks’ test match against the Wallabies tomorrow.
The daughter of Wayne and Yvonne Rogers could have chosen a career path in either sports or performing arts, but she joked that wearing that black jersey had been a dream “since I ran out of the womb”.
Rogers said her selection still felt “surreal”.
“This opportunity has proved that everything I’ve poured into this dream is worth it. Through doubts and non-selection, it can be hard to train to your fullest potential.”
She has spent the last two seasons based in Tauranga and is a teacher aide at Golden Sands Primary while working towards her degree in sport and human performance.
She was in the Bay of Plenty Volcanix for the past two years off the back of impressive seasons in centre and wing positions for her Ngongotahā women’s side.
She trains five times a week with the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union’s Adult Development Programme, including academy gym training and conditioning and skills sessions.
While the Sydney tour was a “one-off” at the moment for injury cover, she said she hoped to secure a long-term sevens contract.
“The opportunities to express your talent are endless in sevens.”
She said she had a difficult choice because she was asked to join the Black Ferns Sevens camp last week, turning down a selection for the Warriors U19 league team at the same time. At that point, she didn’t know she would be asked to go to Sydney.
“It was a very hard decision but turns out it was the right one.”
While she wasn’t ruling out a career in league at some stage, for now Rogers was lapping up the Black Ferns Sevens team atmosphere.
“They are my idols, but at the end of the day they are also normal human beings. They love a laugh, love being fully themselves, which makes it so much easier to immerse yourself in the experience.”
Rogers went to school at Te Kura o Te Koutu before spending her teenage years boarding at Saint Kentigern College in Auckland.
She played rugby, touch, league and basketball at representative level – often captaining her sides – and did athletics in her younger years.
Rogers is also a trained opera singer and a member of Rotorua-based contemporary theatre group Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa, which recently performed a sold-out show called Tērā te Auahi – a production that retold the story of the Mt Tarawera eruption.
She is currently working with the production team, rehearsing from 9am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Rogers said she had always seen her singing as a hobby.
“It’s not necessarily something I would pursue, however, I have loved the production space with Te Whare Tapere o Te Arawa.”
She had some advice for any young athlete who wanted to make a career in sport.
“Be the difference that you don’t see. I’ve realised that in order to stand out, you have to be willing to create a mindset that keeps you in the game. Good habits matter, but balance is key. Something I’ve been writing in my journal for a year now is ‘You are worthy of all the opportunities coming your way’.”
Calm under chaos
Rogers’ former Counties Manukau touch coach and Pakūranga league coach, Dave Rewi, described Rogers as an exceptional athlete with an attitude to match.
“I’ve been coaching for over 20 years mainly in the teenage girl space and I’ve never seen anyone as fit as her ... She was the first person I knew to do a bronco [fitness test) in under five minutes.”
He said she had natural sporting abilities but her attitude and respect for teammates stood out.
She would lead by example and encourage others and always made new players feel welcome, he said.
“She is very humble and respectful and has old-fashioned qualities that come from the way she was brought up.”
As a player, he described her as fast but clever.
“I have seen her in different pressure situations and she’s always calm under chaos.”
He said she could be counted on to make a tackle, get a break or turn the ball over just at the right time.
“Seeing her make the Black Ferns Sevens is so awesome.”
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