The West Auckland Senior Touch Module has reached week 3 and both our Senior Premier Girls and Boys Touch teams are tracking well.

The girls, expertly led by Mollie Tagaloa, is unbeaten after five games. They have impressed thus far with their structure and ability to learn on the fly. With 4 weeks of competition left they must continue to develop and strive to be better each game. If they do that they will be in serious contention to take out the competition.

Like the girls, the boys are unbeaten after 5 games. What has impressed me about this group of lads is their awesome attitude towards learning. I have had to fast track their development and team systems and thus far they have soaked up the information, applied it and made some great progress. Even more impressive is that if a mistake has been made the individual has sought to learn from it while being positively supported by the rest of the team. This is the blueprint for achieving to the team’s maximum and should remain the approach. If they keep their feet on the ground and keep developing and also expect the opposition to improve they are a strong chance to be top of the pile at the end of the competition.

I would like to say a special thanks to the following people:

Melissa Tagaloa who as an ex student is giving back by donating her time to the sometimes thankless job of refereeing.

Miss Lehndorf who is managing the girls and boys teams and whose tireless energy and support is second to none.

Gill Bloxham and Jill Edgar for the organisation of the Touch Module. It is special hosting the module at Rutherford College as it allows maximum participation. Your mahi is greatly appreciated.

Finally, a big thank you to our grounds-man Paul for the setting up and maintenance of great fields – best secondary school competition fields I’ve seen.

Carl Gibbons