Off to the big dance!
Canterbury will head to Waikato to play for the Farah Palmer Cup Premiership Final presented by Bunnings Warehouse this Saturday, making it their eighth consecutive final, six of which have been played at home.
With five premiership wins across the previous seven finals, only three will be trudging into familiar territory with many heading to the premiership final for the first time.
The season’s fresh blood is being well prepared, with guidance from the stalwarts standing on the field beside them; players such as captain Laura Bayfield who has made the highest number of tackles won across all provinces, nurturing debutants like Winnie Palamo who has scored the second highest number of tries as well as the most clean breaks in this FPC season.
“They have been influential in many ways” said Mona Paraki, Head Coach, “leading with actions at training but also giving guidance with what preparation should look like each week. They have been great role models to our debutants”. Exceptional support is also coming from behind the scenes of the game, “We have some real special people that support the team in the background who have been influential towards our journey to get to another final”.
Canterbury Rugby was the first union in New Zealand to invest in a full time female coach last year, proving that pathways have been evolved, not purely for players, but for those amongst the community and management as well. “Not only have we had a number of debutants take the field this year, we also have Mona in his first season as head coach and all of the assistant coaches who are in their first season as well” said Tony Smail, CRFU CEO.
Smail also spoke of the pride the Union has of our wāhine making yet another Premiership final, “We are enormously proud of our Farah Palmer Cup side. The way in which they have been playing and really finishing their games has been incredible” he said, “This shows the energy that exists within this team, their fitness and belief in themselves to bring it home”.
Former Canterbury player and Black Fern, Kendra Cocksedge who reached her 100th game wearing the red and black jersey in the 2022 FPC final win against Auckland, said “Canterbury is a great province to be part of, there is a new group of emerging players this year and they have worked hard throughout the season and now have the opportunity to play finals footy".
So, what does a Canterbury centurion and Black Fern suggest before taking on the biggest game of the season? “Finals are a different beast, the team need to be patient and win all the little moments and out work the opposition in every element of the game”.
This is certainly a game you do not want to miss.
Watch it live on Sky Sport, Saturday 5th October at 12:35pm.
words by Hannah Yates