The Black Ferns squad is set to be named in the coming week, and one name Super Rugby fans will be eager to see is that of Braxton Sorensen-McGee.
The 18-year-old has enjoyed a truly remarkable rookie season with the Blues, culminating in not one, but two game-breaking performances in both the Aupiki final and the Champions Final.
Despite her youth, the teenage sensation is already two years removed from a Rookie of the Year campaign with Auckland in the Farah Palmer Cup, and has decided to turn down an NRLW contract to pursue a Rugby World Cup berth with the Black Ferns.
“Braxton is crazy. She’s amazing, she’s such a talent. She’s added so much to our team this season,” Blues captain Maia Roos told reporters after Sorensen-McGee’s two-try effort in the Champions Final.
“You can see how hard she works on the field because she puts that in during her week. I have no words for Braxton, she’s just amazing.”
The fullback’s Champions Final performance backed up her game-winning effort against Matatu just five days earlier.
On the biggest stage of her young career, Sorensen-McGee was active on both sides of the ball, claiming a 69th-minute intercept and running 75 metres in what would be the final strike of the game.
Also a powerful force in both finals was fellow 18-year-old Taufa Bason. The openside flanker was dominant on both sides of the ball to further her case for national selection.
“They just have so much more to give, and that’s the scary part,” Roos said of the star teenagers. “They are so new to these high-performance environments, and we’re so grateful to have them in our team. We hope they stay!
“They are amazing talents and we just want them to flourish and enjoy rugby as much as they can because they’re so young.”
For Sorensen-McGee, Roos says her slight frame is deceiving, something the Black Ferns lock has found out the hard way repeatedly at Blues training.
“She is deceptively strong! She is a little body, but when we do one-on-one tackles, she gets me every time. No words for Brax.”
The 2021 Rugby World Cup winner says she “would not be surprised at all” to see her star fullback named in the Black Ferns’ upcoming Pacific Four Series squad.
The tournament kicks off next weekend in Kansas City, Missouri, but the Kiwis and Aussies have another week before their opening game against each other in Newcastle.
Selection for the squad is extra difficult this year, with a handful of Black Ferns Sevens stars making the switch to vie for World Cup selection.
Luckily for the Blues young guns, they have had the mentorship of an all-time great. Carlos Spencer is the team’s backs coach and has been empowering the players to play with absolute freedom.
“Carlos is so cool, he has a beautiful rugby brain, and he shares so much knowledge with us. He trusts us to make decisions, and he doesn’t care if it’s the wrong decision because if we do it 100 per cent, then we do it 100 per cent together.”
