Elinor-Plum King is a young rugby player making the right moves and attracting increasing attention.
On June 13, before a record crowd of 11,793 at Te Kaha/One NZ Stadium in Christchurch, the loose forward scored three tries for Matatū in their 52-26 crushing of Chiefs Manawa. It was Matatū’s record victory in the fixture and the Chiefs’ biggest defeat.
The following Sunday, King was industrious in atrocious Upper Hutt weather as Matatū outlasted her former club, the Hurricanes Poua, 18-15.
King played 12 games for the Poua and had only one victory in yellow and black. With a new team and sharper focus, she knows where she wants to be.
“It’s definitely my goal to become a Black Fern. What do I offer that’s unique? That’s a good question. I think I have a different profile from the other flankers. I can play all three positions, tackle, carry, and have a strong work rate,” King said.
“Christchurch was the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of. It was awesome. We had a great prep week and expressed ourselves.
”Was I nervous? No, just excited. I think the nerves and the shot at history made it more exciting.
“My favourite try was the third. It came after many phases and expansive play. The other two were just through the forwards.”
King joined Black Fern Chey Robins-Reti as the only other Matatū player to score a hat-trick with her 21st, 70th, and 73rd-minute tries. She also ranked in the top ten for carries (9), defenders beaten (6), metres gained (42), and tackles (16).
Ongaonga, also spelt Onga Onga, is a town in Central Hawkes Bay District. It is 20 kilometres west of Waipawa and about the same distance from Waipukurau. Or, as a local like King would say, “30 minutes towards the Ruanines from Waipuk.”
According to the 2023 New Zealand Census, Onga Onga’s population was 153. King’s family accounts for 5.88 per cent of that, with Mum Kel supporting eight siblings on a lifestyle block.
“I can name them all,” King laughed.
“We’re stocked, we have a whole Sevens team.”
“I’m right in the middle, never bored, always enough for a game.”
“I bet ya it was mayhem for my Mum. There was definitely a lot of fighting.”
“I was a good fighter. I had to be, to hold my own.”
“My three older siblings, two brothers and one sister, all played rugby. I was the most serious.”
King started Rippa Rugby at four and was later selected for Central Hawke’s Bay in the prestigious Ross Shield primary school/intermediate rugby tournament dating back to 1902.
The official tournament weigh-in caps players at 56kg, or 58kg for nominated exemptions.
“It was pretty good. I won an award – can’t remember the name. That was when I decided to go to Manukura.”
While rugby was the main purpose, earning a place in the elite Māori school took more than sport to win over the Manukura authorities. Mum Mel King is an outstanding Kiwi.
In 2017, she founded The Food Basket CHB. It collects leftover groceries from supermarkets to feed the community and stops tonnes of food from going into landfill.
The operation now has 40 volunteers, and has grown to include cooking classes, gardening and frozen meals for the elderly and ill. Between 2023 and 2024, the group rescued 230,000kg of food from landfill and turned it into over 1.3 million free meals.
“It was pretty cool growing up and seeing that,” King said.
“Manukura. The whole kaupapa of that place is awesome. I learned so much I would have missed out on otherwise.
“One of the cool things about it was that I got to live with a host family. Have you heard of Jayda Maniapoto? She played for Manawatū. I lived with her family. They’re awesome.
“The rugby at Manukura was just starting out. I was on their first team to go to the National Top Four in 2018 and win a National Sevens Under-15 Sevens title in 2019. I captained the First XV in 2021. I’m not surprised to see how they’ve gone since.”
Manukura have three of the last four National Condor Sevens titles and four consecutive Hine Pounamu fifteen-aside trophies. Former Black Ferns Kristina Sue and Rhiarna Ferris coach the program, and Sue recalled.
“Smart, tough, talented and quirky, Plum was a big part of the growth of our program with the standards she set around training and leadership.”
“I remember a big game at the Condor Sevens one year when she essentially baited Jorja Miller at Christchurch Girls’ into a yellow card by holding up a scrum in a crafty, legal way and annoying Miller, who overreacted. That’s Plum. She’s a very clever footballer.
“Another time, she made our principal, Nathan Durie, cry when she delivered an entire speech as captain in Te Reo Māori. It’s always expected that our leader’s first word is in Te Reo, but Plum busted out a whole speech in Māori, which was very powerful.”
King was selected for the Manawatū Cyclones in her last year at school in 2021. She has been one of the most consistent performers in the Farah Palmer Cup for five years, winning 22 of her 32 matches, including championship titles in 2021 and 2024. In 2024, she was nominated for the New Zealand Age-Grade Player of the Year award.
King’s two years at the Poua coincided with her completing a Bachelor of Science in psychology at Massey University. Her rugby was good enough to earn her a Black Ferns XV trip to South Africa for two matches in July and August 2025.
However, there was only one win with the Poua. On March 9, 2024, Matatū was mastered 36-29, a week after the Poua made national headlines, including rebukes from New Zealand First leader Winston Peters and Act leader David Seymour, for a controversial haka in their match the weekend before against Chiefs Manawa. Rightly or wrongly, it was easily the most attention Super Rugby Aupiki has ever attracted.
“We believed it was appropriate what we did. There was a lot of miscommunication and disagreement that came out of it, but it was a special win after all the flak,” King said.
From a family of nine, King is not the type to avoid making some noise for attention.
- The ‘All In’ round kicks off at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe at 5:05 pm with the battle between winless Chiefs Manawa and Hurricanes Poua. Manawa have won all seven matches between the clubs. Then, the blockbuster between the Blues and Matatū headlines the action at 7:05 pm. The Blues lead the head-to-head count 5-3. Both matches are live on Sky Sport.
