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2010 NPWL Golden Boot

Tegg's Boots Were Made For Scoring

by Jeremy Ruane

There aren't many strikers around who can lay claim to having won two Golden Boot competitions in a calendar year, but Auckland women's striker Rebecca Tegg currently has the pleasure of a matching pair to admire on her mantelpiece following her goalscoring achievements in 2005.

The master markswoman in the just-completed Lion Foundation National Women's League competition, "Teggy" was a member of the New Zealand Universities squad which competed at the World University Games in August, from where she returned with an additional piece of luggage!

"It was a huge surprise to win the Golden Boot. I scored a hat-trick in our last game against the Czech Republic, which we won on penalties to clinch ninth place in the twelve-team competition.

"Our prime objective when we went to Turkey was to give people back home reason to feel proud of our achievements - the previous time New Zealand participated saw the team finish last.

"So we were in the stand watching the final with five minutes to go when our coach, Macky Singh, came up to me and said, 'You might need to hang around'. I had no idea I was even in contention!"

But Rebecca, who graduates with a Bachelor of Sport and Recreation degree in March, and will move onto post-graduate study for a Masters degree in Health Science - Sport and Exercise, was very much in contention.

She completed the tournament with six goals, the same tally as was recorded by South Africa's Sanah Mollo and Gabriela Demoner, whose goals helped Brazil win the competition. "Teggy" won on a countback - she was the only one of the trio to score a hat-trick.

"They had the presentation ceremonies after the final, and I was quite unprepared - I was wearing jandals!! Our captain, Rebecca O'Neill, was with me, as New Zealand had won the Fair Play award, which she was accepting on the team's behalf.

"There were loads of cameramen around taking photos, and when I was announced as the Golden Boot winner, it was an awfully long walk from where we were to receive the trophy. But it was a very proud moment for me, that's for sure.

"I scored some of the most memorable goals of my career to date in Turkey. They were mostly one-on-ones, but it was the importance of the occasion, and wearing the silver fern - that felt pretty good! - which meant that actually scoring … an awesome feeling".

The fan of CSI returned home from Turkey rejuvenated from the experience. "I'm far more motivated. Playing alongside the likes of Rebecca O'Neill and Patrice Bourke, and learning from them has given me a different perspective, and a fresh initiative - soccer to me is no longer the grind of training and playing it once was".

It shows. Tegg has returned from Turkey a mentally stronger player, and she has been a regular member of the "A Team"'s starting line-up in National Women's League action this season.

"Playing for Auckland has been one of the highlights of my career, particularly this year, with getting to start on a more frequent basis. With regards the Golden Boot situation, I certainly don't want to take any of the glory from the girls. I like to think I'm the last link in the chain", she says, a reflection of the "A Team"'s esprit de corps.

"Making the final last year was special", she continued, speaking after the "A Team"'s semi-final triumph over Central Soccer, "but the result is something we're keen to rectify this time round!"

Goalscoring Record

By now, readers will be aware of the outcome at Newtown Park on November 27, but regardless of the outcome, it won't alter the fact that 2005 has been Rebecca Tegg's best yet in football.

Helping Eastern Suburbs make the Uncle Toby's Women's Knockout Cup Final was "awesome", and her feats in Turkey and in scoring her fiftieth Northern Premier Women's League goal for Suburbs were recognised by her winning the NPWL Excellence Award.

It's a far cry from those long ago days fifteen years ago when the soon-to-be twenty-year-old was playing in the midgets at Beachlands-Maraetai. "My dad, Chris, coached me when I was young, and got me involved in the game. I was playing in boys teams till about five years ago, and was playing for Papakura in the Under-18 competition in 2000.

"The following year, I started playing for Papakura's women's team, and transferred to Suburbs halfway through the season. I've been there ever since, but I can assure you that scoring those goals hasn't come easily!

Tegg, who has both an older and younger brother and sister, as well as a twin sister, is greatly indebted to her mother, Christine. "She used to drive me to training all over town. I've always lived in the East Auckland area, so everywhere is west from here!!" she laughs.

"Mum's definitely been a big influence on my career, as were my first New Zealand age-group coaches at Under-16 level, Sandy Davie and Steve Wood. That was my first contact with serious level women's football, and to say it came as a bit of a shock is an understatement! There was a lot more pressure to perform than what I'd been used to, but I liked it.

"There are a couple of players who've been big influences on me, too", says the fan of Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry. "My coach with Suburbs and Auckland, Sue Taylor, was a good player in her prime, while I have a lot of respect for Auckland's captain, Terry McCahill.

"I'd heard a lot about her prior to coming up against her in a match, and when I did … I discovered that she was everything I'd been told and then some. The first game I came up against her, when Suburbs lost 2-1 at home to Lynn-Avon in June 2002, is one of the highlights of my career".

There are a couple of others for this chicken-loving goalscorer, specifically Counties-Manukau age-grade victories over Auckland in Nelson and Whangamata, and a drawn final against Canterbury at the former venue, in the days when associations were the way of footballing life in this country.

Talking of countries … "I've only visited two. I went with Papakura to a girls tournament in Vanuatu, and, of course, Turkey, which has made a big impression on me. The country and the people are so different compared to New Zealand. The environment is more professional, and you receive a greater degree of respect as well.

"I wouldn't mind travelling and playing overseas, to be honest, on a semi-professional basis. And like any young female footballer, I'd love to play for New Zealand".

Given her goalscoring prowess, and the fact the national women's team hasn't scored a goal since the 2003 Oceania Women's World Cup qualifying tournament in Canberra, don't be at all surprised to find Rebecca Tegg emerging as a strong contender for our quest to qualify for both China '07 and '08 in the months to come.

NB Rebecca was named the 2005 National Women's League Player of the Year on the eve of the Grand Final, which saw Auckland down Capital Soccer 4-2.

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