Apprentice flat out sweeping up squad skills and knowledge
27th August 2009 03:27PM
By EVAN PEGDEN - Waikato Times
The weather is better at home in Darwin, but Australian-born teenage halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow is happy pursuing a professional rugby career in Waikato, learning from the best.
Kerr-Barlow, who turned 19 less than two weeks ago, made his Waikato Air New Zealand Cup debut as a replacement against Bay of Plenty at Mt Maunganui last Saturday.
And though he knows he will be sidelined for the next couple of weeks because Brendon Leonard is back from the All Blacks, he is happy just to soak up all the knowledge he can.
Signed by Waikato Rugby Union last year while 17 and still attending Hamilton Boys' High School as a standout player in the New Zealand Secondary Schools side, Kerr-Barlow did not make the initial Waikato cup squad, instead being named as one of several young "apprentices" who train with that squad.
His age meant he had heavy restrictions placed by New Zealand Rugby Union on his playing minutes at provincial level, just as happened to midfield back Jackson Willison two years ago.
"Because of my age and just coming out of school rugby I'm trying to get bigger and faster and stronger to be able to handle playing with the larger boys out there," Kerr-Barlow said.
"I think I'm allowed to play three games but I don't know whether they're half games or quarter games. I just take it as it comes, and hopefully I'll get some more chances."
He has a review coming up next week with NZRU high-performance manager Tony Philp to discuss whether he has met various targets both inside and outside rugby but he admits it was a thrill to make his debut, even if it was as part of a losing effort against Bay of Plenty.
"My aunties came for that and my parents were calling from overseas (his mother lives in Darwin and his father in Canberra).
"They were happy for me," said Kerr-Barlow, who came to Hamilton BHS as a boarder in his third form year and has been here ever since.
"It was exciting to finally get on the field and feel what it's like to play at a higher level," Kerr-Barlow said.
"I thought the physicality was quite similar to club level but everything was just quicker and you didn't have much time to do things.
"You've got to think a lot quicker."
He hoped with experience would come an adjustment to that faster-paced game.
Meanwhile, he just wants to finish a nutrition paper portion of his Wintec sport and recreation studies as part of his off-field targets.
