Kaikorai Valley College pupil Jayde Peat has never let his
severe haemophilia stop him playing sport. Photo by Craig
Baxter.
Kaikorai Valley College pupil Jayde Peat has never let
his severe haemophilia get the best of him and later this year
he will again defy his disorder by representing New Zealand in
Sydney as part of the national under-15 mixed touch team.
The 15-year-old's father, Steven Peat, said Jayde had
"rebelled" against his disorder, which affects the body's
ability to control blood clotting, since an early age and had
never let it stop him from living a normal life.
Making it into the New Zealand under-15 mixed touch team was
just another example of this. Until two years ago, he also
played rugby as well.
"When he was young, we were told he would never play any form
of athletic sport," Mr Peat said.
The family had since been told by the Haemophilia Foundation
of New Zealand that Jayde was the first person with the
disorder to represent New Zealand in any form of rugby.
Jayde said his disorder did not affect the way he played, but
did sometimes cause him pain, especially with muscular
bleeding in his legs.
On game days, he took his daily injection twice instead of
the usual once, to help him recover.
Jayde also played basketball and, if he had his way, he would
have played rugby league this year as well - following in the
footsteps of his hero, Shaun Johnson, who played touch before
becoming a league star.
One of the things he liked best about touch was the "pace" at
which it was played.
The person he wanted to thank most for making it in to the
team was Damian Burdon, the coach of his Kaikorai Valley
College team and the New Zealand team.
His next goal was to make the age-group New Zealand boys'
team, which was "the next level up" from the mixed team.
Mr Peat said Jayde and the under-15 team would head to Sydney
in October for a developmental tour and tournament.
To fundraise for the trip, an auction was held at Concord
Inn.
A range of Otago rugby sports memorabilia went under the
hammer, including a rugby ball signed by the mid-1990s Otago
rugby team and its coach, the late Gordon Hunter, a jersey
signed by Highlander and All Black Ben Smith and a ball
signed by former Otago, Highlanders and All Blacks captain
Taine Randell.
One in 10,000 people suffer from haemophilia, with one third
of those classified as severe.
Having the disorder means everyday activities - let alone
strenuous ones such as playing sports - can cause internal
bleeding, leading to joint damage.
vaughan.elder@odt.co.nz
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