Teilah Ferguson in action for the Hurricanes Poua. Photo: Jeremy Ward
Teilah Ferguson thought she might never play rugby again, but she is back for the Hurricanes Poua and has her sights set on the Black Ferns.
After a strong 2023, things were looking good for Ferguson, but her 2024 was ruined by injury with the midfielder missing all of last Super Rugby Aupiki season with a herniated disc.
"I lost a lot of strength and feeling in my right leg. I still struggle with it today but I'm just learning how to manage it better," Ferguson said.
Touted as a potential future Black Ferns player, Ferguson said she doubted she would ever return to the rugby field.
"It was a pretty big injury and didn't think I'd go back to the rugby scene. That was the brutal reality that I was confronted with."
Auckland's Gillian Fa'aumu (L) and Hawkes Bay's Teilah Ferguson. Farah Palmer Cup. Photo: Stephen Parker / www.photosport.nz
The Hawke's Bay player realised there was light at the end of the tunnel before last year's Farah Palmer Cup (FPC) competition.
"It was probably FPC season last year because even then I didn't know if I was going to be ready for that. There were questions around surgery or not.
"I guess once I got into the groove of things with FPC, I realised I had to change my superpower. Before my superpower was speed and stuff and that's been impacted by the injury. But there's other things that I'm good at and I utilised those in FPC. So that gave me belief again and I was selected for this team (Poua) again, so must be doing something right."
With a new found sense of purpose, Ferguson is keen to take her game to the next level and earn a call up to the Black Ferns squad ahead of this year's Women's World Cup in England.
She knows her form in Super Rugby Aupiki will be crucial to her chances of making the national side, but she is embracing that pressure.
"I'm treating this as an audition for the Black Ferns," Ferguson said.
"I don't think it distracts me. If anything it empowers me to perform better. I'm just grateful to be playing and if the standout season happens that I hope to happen, I would love to be able to have the opportunity to wear that black jersey."
The Hurricanes Poua finished last in the four team Super Rugby Aupiki last year, but Ferguson is adamant those results will count for little this season. She said the Poua are bullish about their title chances.
"I'm going to go straight to the point. We are out to win this year, coach Fusi (Feaunati) has done a really great job at installing that mindset in us because in the past, we've kind of been labelled as the underdogs and almost accepted it. But this year, I can definitely say there's a shift in mindset and mentality that we want to win.
"The values that we've lived off this year are being brutal, being relentless, being open, and being connected. Sometimes we write these values down and they get forgotten about, but this year, you can feel it, and it's an everyday thing.
"Living by that has given us the belief that we can win. Absolutely."
Hawkes Bay's Teilah Ferguson is tackled. Photo: Stephen Parker / www.photosport.nz
Like South Island side Matatū, the Poua identified conditioning as a key area where they needed to improve.
"This year we definitely have a fitter team. I think anyone that us and the style of play that we usually have was go hard for the first twenty minutes, and then we'd kind of get dominated towards the end. Fusi has really lifted the fitness standards this year and you can see that amongst the team.
"I reckon that's going to be our point of difference this year."
The Hurricanes Poua open their season against the defending champion Blues women in Wellington on Saturday afternoon.
"I think the Blues are just really good skill executors and we saw that when they played the Chiefs in pre-season. It's nothing outstanding and great. It's just simple skill execution," Ferguson said.
"I think if we can bring the heat, bring the dominant defence that we want to bring, that'll give us a good chance of taking the win."
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