Hauraki wants to disappoint family with Cas Cup triumph
Castleford’s Kiwi back rower Weller Hauraki has some personal business to attend to at Saturday’s Challenge Cup final at Wembley.
The 29-year-old forward’s family are keen watchers of the Challenge Cup competition, but they support Saturday’s opponents Leeds Rhinos.
Hauraki is determined to make sure that his relations are feeling at least somewhat disappointed after the final.
“All my family watch it all the time, and they’re really looking forward to watching the games,” Hauraki explained to Love Rugby League.
“They’ve always followed Leeds, and they look forward to watching them.
“I hope to massively disappoint them! I want to win that trophy, no matter what I have to do.”
Hauraki is well aware of the hand of history being on the shoulders of the Cas players, with honours few and far between in recent decades for the club.
“We were talking to some of the legends from Cas, and they were saying that some of them played footy for 20 years, and never got the opportunity to play at Wembley,” he said.
“You think about those sort of things and just go, ‘bloody hell!’
“We’ve got to try and get into the boys that they can’t just be happy with making the final.
“They’ve got to try and get the job done and get the trophy as well. That’s what we’ve got to try and hammer into the boys.”
Hauraki played for Leeds in the 2011 final, a game the Rhinos lost to Wigan. He is hoping that his big-game experience can rub off on some of his team-mates, and keep them calm as tension builds.
“I can help to keep the boys calm and not use too much energy leading up to the game,” he said.
“You’ve just got to soak it in really. The boys are really looking forward to it, because Cas haven’t won a Grand Final or a Challenge Cup since 1986.
“So all the boys want to prove something to the legends that played in that game, and to our families.
“It just runs off the senior players really, and if they’re relaxed, all the rest will be relaxed.
“That’s all part of being a rugby league player, you know that you’re going to be pressured with those sort of things.
“You’ve just got to overcome it and handle it.”
Asa a second row who players on Castleford’s right edge, Hauraki knows that he will be directly up against some of Super League‘s top players.
That only makes him more determined to be taking home the silverware come the final whistle on Saturday.
“Leeds have got one of the best back lines in the comp at the moment, and my side will have Danny McGuire, Carl Ablett, Joel Moon and Ryan Hall,” he said.
“You’ve got to be serious about what you do, and everyone’s got to be on top of their game.
“The whole 17 has got to be contributing and concentrating on what they do.
“I want that trophy.”
