It's not often you get a 16-year-old girl saying she wants to be a mongrel, but that's the case with John Paul College's Lily Florence.

The year-12 student is an open-flanker for Bay of Plenty Secondary School Girls' Rugby Team, and while she's only been playing the sport for two years, she's impressed with her move from hooker to the loose forward position this season.

John Paul College student Lily Florence. Photo: Greg Taipari.

A Reporoa local? Yes, you heard it right. Another talented open-side flanker in the Sam Cane mould, from the small settlement just south of Rotorua.

Asked if there is something in the water, Lily says: 'It could be, or maybe it's just the coaches. In Rotorua we have a running coach and he's pretty big on fitness and getting around the paddock quick.”

She says her coaches have been instrumental throughout her meteoric rise in rugby.

'Firstly Mr [Tim] Hounsell, who started me in rugby at JPC, is why I really got into it,” she says. 'Then there's Fred Cox and Jimi McLean (Bay of Plenty coaches) – they've been influential in my development.

'They've taught me a lot of what I know and they've been pretty crucial.”

Lily says it's been Fred who has worked on her skills, while Jimi has worked on her aggression and being more of a 'mongrel” – a skill she says is vital in her role as a loose forward.

'I try hard to be a mongrel all the time on the field,” she admits.

She says she models her game off her two favourite All Blacks, Richie McCaw and, of course, Sam Cane.

'They're great thinkers on the field and really aggressive at the tackle. That's how I want to be.”

Her no-nonsense approach is also apparent to her first rugby coach Tim.

'I've got her a few times to jump in to the boys training and a few of the boys are quite scared of her,” says Tim. 'She doesn't hold back and she has gained their respect.”

Lily was a standout in her team's recent 96-0 annihilation of Thames Valley. The Bay side piled on an impressive 18 tries with the loose forward scoring one of them. She even drew extra praise from her coach Jimi at the time.

'Lily Florence is one of our loose forwards and she's always busy,” says Jimi. 'Even defensively, the rare times Thames Valley did get the ball she was the first one up there and knocking them over.”

While she may be a demon on the field, off it she is a devoted Christian and says it's an important part of her life.

Lily says she's too busy to do girlie things like shopping and hanging at the mall.

'If I'm not training, I'm studying for school,” she says.

Training and school has also meant she hasn't watched too much of the Rugby World Cup so far, but she is confident the All Blacks will be triumphant when the final comes around.