Butterflies train, develop stock

Normal, Sports
Source:

The National,Thursday March 31st, 2016

 THE Butterflies women’s rugby league team are training to develop their new stock for the Port Moresby Rugby League competition which starts at the end of next month.

The club’s management, headed by president Simon Sii, has appointed talented and self-taught rugby league coach Jabee Kaupa to be in charge of the women’s team.

Kaupa told The National that the majority of the players were first-timers in the contact sport and were keen to take up the challenge.

She said several key players had switched codes to rugby union, prompting them to embark on a recruitment drive which has netted 16 new faces from the National Capital District.

“I found it difficult in the early stages of training as most of the girls were new to the physical aspects of the sport, as well as the skills, but we’ve kept it simple and stuck to the basics.”

Kaupa said after three weeks of training, the new players were picking up the skills and getting used to the contact. 

“The first time we trained, they didn’t know how to pass the ball,” Kaupa said.

“Now, it has become something they can do with relative ease but we still have a lot of work to.”

“We are building up their fitness and strength levels with improvised sessions.

“This is so that they develop the capacity for extra energy and power in their bodies to cope with the tackling and contact situations.

“Most may not have played a game of rugby but they are excited about getting on the field this season.”