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TRIDENT High School student Chevonne Rapana leaves Whakatane for Colorado today to further her rugby career. Yesterday, the 17-year-old said she felt fearful and excited in equal portions as she prepared for her biggest life-changing event so far.
She will join the Glendale Raptors, a team attempting to become the top women’s club side in the United States. Two weeks after her arrival she flies with the Raptors to Philadelphia, a fortnight later to Austin, Texas, and another two weeks later to Portland, Oregon. Chevonne has filled the first-five role for her Trident team but yearns to play centre.
Teacher Chris Burn said the opportunity for her to play in the United States arose through the school’s relationship with former American teacher Mark Bullock, who staff met in 1989 on the first of four Trident international rugby tours.
Over the years, through the relationship, three boys – Daniel Taotofi, Hayden Mexted and Tom Grant – had travelled to the United States to play in situations arranged by Bullock.
Mexted had gone on to play for the Sea Eagles, the United States national rugby team.
Mr Burn said he spoke to Bullock, now director of rugby for the City of Glendale, by phone two weeks ago.
“He asked if we had any girls interested in coming over. I said we had one and she was a pretty formidable rugby player. Chevonne has scored 17 tries in her last three games and she wants to go.”
But for a shy Whakatane player with limited financial resources, making it to the United States was a massive hurdle. The community responded and a fundraising flurry raised $8000.
Mr Burn said a Whakatane church and Murupara’s Masonic Lodge made significant donations.
Chevonne was able to contribute through a job picking up bobby calves on Wednesday and Sunday mornings for the past two months.
Many others, including Trident staff, helped in different ways to make sure she could seize her opportunity.
The Bullock family will host Chevonne until she establishes herself in Colorado.
She will have an excellent facility on which to train. Glendale has spent $40 million building Infinity Park, a 5000-seat purpose-built rugby facility, opened in 2007.
The city was worried about a lack of amateur sporting opportunity for its young people and Bullock, along with others, persuaded its leaders that rugby was the answer.
The facility has become one of the main rugby venues in the United States and regularly hosts national championship matches. It has also hosted, in 2009 and 2010, the Churchill Cup, the premier North American international rugby tournament.
Glendale is the first United States City to adopt rugby as its sole official sport.
In Colorado, much of which is above 1600 metres, rugby is played during spring and autumn. There is too much snow to contend with during winter. A forestry student for the past three and a half years, Chevonne has achieved level 2 NCEA and is skilled with a chainsaw.
Her job, when she is not playing rugby, will be to coach Glendale children to play the game. In return, the city will pay her internal air fares.“It’s semi-professional rugby; they will look after her,” Mr Burn said.
Teacher Katie Elliott will accompany Chevonne for a week and help her settle in to her new surroundings.
This weekend the Raptors take on Denver rivals Black Ice. |