Te Awamutu Sports' latest Waikato representative Taha Kemara, 19, has had a full-on year after being named Sports' premier co-captain, playing for Chiefs Under 20 and making his Mooloos debut.
This comes off an impressive 2021 where the first five-eighth helped the Hamilton Boys' High School 1st XV to their 14th Super 8 title since 2006.
Waikato No 1239 Kemara, made his debut in the 2022 Bunnings Warehouse NPC round three match against the Counties Manukau Steelers and has since clocked up 33 points, including three tries, in five games.
"Obviously getting my debut for Waikato was special, I was pretty lucky at my age to get that opportunity," says Kemara.
"It came from hard work and Waikato showing a bit of faith in me.
"With Damian [McKenzie] back now and the likes of Liam Messam around, they have taught me quite a bit and just being out there on the field with them gives me so much confidence to play in the position that I am, under pressure. I can't explain how much they've helped mentally over this course of playing for Waikato."
Kemara's first start came during round six against the Southland Stags and he says that there is a definitive step up from premier club rugby to NPC.
"[It's a step up] with the speed of the game and the contact part of it. I think for me that's the sort of player I am though, I like to be under the pressure. It took me a couple of games to find my feet but when I got the opportunity to start, I was ready for it and I was lucky enough to get a fair few minutes."
Another 2022 highlight for Kemara was playing for Te Awamutu Sports because his family are from Te Awamutu.
"My old man used to coach there and he got his blazer there. To be able to be captain and have a pretty successful season, it was special to play back at home," he says.
"To make Te Awamutu proud, being from there, and being the only one from TA in the Waikato team, it's special to be able to represent them.
"They've done quite a bit for me and I'm just paying them back. It shows how much they've put into me and they can take ownership of my achievements."
"I remember following Taha playing Roller Mills Rugby for Waikato, he was actually a prop back then and did a very good job at it," says Te Awamutu Sports head coach Travis Church.
"Taha is a quality young man, a real leader. Early on we were hesitant to load him up too much with the captaincy but after one pre-season training, we knew he was our obvious choice - a real natural leader that expresses himself through his game."
Church says that he can't speak highly enough of Kemara as he has helped restore excitement in the town, community and club as well as being heavily involved in Te Awamutu Sports' early 2022 season success.
"We feel he is on the verge of Super Rugby and it's a huge positive and shows that there is a pathway to being a professional through a country club such as ours.
"Our coaching and management have loved working with him and look forward to following his journey over the coming years."
Kemara's inspiration and motivation for the game of rugby comes from remembering himself out on the footy field as a 5-year-old, playing for the "pure enjoyment of the game".
"For me, as I went up the levels it got serious in the high-performance side [of things] but I've always played for the enjoyment. When I go out there and there's a lot of pressure on me, or on the team, I always just think back to having fun.
"When I think about the best games that I've played, I've purely just gone out and had fun with my mates - to make it a job is a bonus."
Although there are still a few possible games left in the season with Waikato aiming for back-to-back titles, Kemara just wants to take each moment as it comes and soak up all the experience he can get.
For now, it's about making the red, yellow and black fans proud while learning from some of the best in the game.
"This year I'm looking to get into a Super Rugby franchise, I'm not sure what franchise that is yet," says Kemara.
"Whatever opportunity comes I will definitely take it with both hands and run with it. The goal is to eventually put that black jersey on but there are a lot of steps to get there and I'm willing to work hard to get there."
