High hopes for Upper Hutt says Upper Hutt halfback Hammington

Above: chasing the title. With Wellington Lions halfback Kayne Hammington raring to go for the rest of the club year ahead of the representative season, Upper Hutt have a big chance of capturing the Hardham Cup this year

The Upper Hutt rugby club has had the services of impressive halfback Kayne Hammington since he was four years old.

Tying his first pair of boots and pulling on the maroon and gold jersey for the first time at the young age, like so many around the country, Hammington’s talent was obvious.

Unfortunately for the Upper Hutt Premiers they had a mixed Swindale Shield campaign but finished strongly with impressive wins over the likes of Hutt Old Boys Marist and Poneke.

These strong performances in the latter stages of the Swindale Shield bode well for this talented squad heading into an exciting Hardham Cup where they have started among the favourites to take out the title.

They head into round two this Saturday against local rivals, Rimutaka, which always draws a healthy crowd. Round three produces an even more exciting clash between Upper Hutt and Norths. This fixture is sure to be a battle of the heavyweights in this division.

Hammington is optimistic and excited at the prospect of the Hardham Cup despite being disappointed not to feature in the Jubilee Cup.

“A realistic goal for us would be to take it out; I don't believe this is out of our reach. Even with our young team I think we could have benefited from playing Jubilee, but hopefully we can gain a bit of confidence in Hardham by hopefully getting a few wins.”

The youthful squad will definitely be better for the experiences so far this season and the team is likely to improve further. The handy halfback could only draw positives from some of the young talent coming through at the club.

“Liam Berry is so strong in the tackle and some of the tries he's scored, at only 18, is unreal. MurphyTaramai and Hayden Schrijvers are tackling machines also.”Hammington has been a lynchpin for the Upper Hutt Premiers for some time. His accolades are well-deserved after representing NZ at the U20 World Cup in Argentina in 2010.

His most recent higher honour came with a selection into the Wellington Lions for their 2012 season.

“Obviously it was a massive honour playing for the Lions last year, and being surrounded by such quality players every week.”

“The Junior World Cup was an amazing experience. It was like an introduction to what professional rugby might be like, and was obviously a massive honour to represent the country and smash Aussie in the final was a bonus.”

Hammington’s work ethic off the field is tremendous and his fitness and dedication to his club and personal performance can never be questioned.

“Short term I want to play for Wellington again and get the chance to prove myself there and strive higher towards a Super Rugby team. I wouldn't mind taking home a Jubilee Cup sometime in years to come, but I’ll be happy with Hardham this year” Hammington said.

The Hammington’s are a talented sporting family with his two older brothers both excelling in their respective pursuits.The oldest, Carl in bodybuilding and Todd in Karate.

“The fact they did well in sport meant there was always a bit of pressure on me to achieve success in some field. They've also helped me a lot over the more recent years.”He has very supportive family who he admittedly owes a lot too.

“My parents obviously had to sacrifice a lot with three kids growing up, and trying to support all of us. They've worked pretty hard over the years trying to give us a good upbringing and I always see them supporting me in the crowd at all my games”.

The former St Pats Silverstream halfback was pleased of his former college prevailing 25-11 over Wellington College yesterday in yesterday’s traditional also.

Despite offers from other clubs around Wellington, Hammington has always stayed loyal to his home club and owes a lot to the club who nourished his talent since the age of four.

“All of my family have played for Upper Hutt. I started there when I was four and had two older brothers playing at the same time so it's always been in the family. Not only that but I enjoy the people who play for and support Upper Hutt, they're all good sorts, so it'd be hard to leave them and let them down."

Outside of rugby Kayne also has other irons in the fire putting the finishing touches to Marketing and Commercial Law Degree at Victoria University.

Hammington and the Upper Hutt Premiers are exciting future prospects with Kayne already proven in the professional arena and he is likely to get further opportunities.

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