Hotham hots up sevens field

Jazmin Hotham makes a break for Waikato.

Hamilton schoolgirl Jazmin Hotham has her sights set on the 2020 Olympics after getting the callup to the Black Ferns sevens squad.

As the youngest member in the squad, Hotham is one of 23 contracted players, which includes three uncapped players.

“If all goes to plan I’d like to see myself at the Olympics, Tokyo 2020,” she said.

Hotham was at the sevens nationals early this year and had just returned to her hotel when she got the call from the national side.

“My mind kind of just went blank when I got the phone call and they said we want to offer you a training contract, I was like yes, yes, yes, words weren’t really processing in my head. This was my dream and I’d just been offered it on a platter.”

In her final year at Hamilton Girls’ High School, Hotham admits it’s not easy training for a national team alongside completing her studies, but her school has been accommodating.

“I guess I haven’t got the balance just yet. If it’s training or study, I’ll head down the training pathway. I’ve been allowed to do four subjects so I can train during school.”

“I do tempo, sprints during my study period, go to class and then another study period when a coach will come in. After school, I either have touch or sevens training. Usually after that I’ll go to the gym.”

At 17, Hotham is often playing with and against older women, some almost twice her age.

“When you’re sitting in camps across from Portia Woodman and Niall Williams, the best players in the world and they’re so much older than you, I feel like the baby of the team, but I also feel like they’re my sisters.”

The daughter of Nigel Hotham, long-time coach of the Hamilton Boys’ High School first XV, sevens and touch teams, Jazmin seemed destined to become involved in the sport.

“My whole family has played touched from a really young age, my two older brothers played rugby and I wanted to follow their pathway.”