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Senior Harbour Hibiscus (black and white strip) beat Northland in the final. Silverdale’s U15 Rippa team (green and red strip) play Mahurangi College U15. Senior Harbour Hibiscus, winners of the women’s tournament. Black Fern Pia Tapsell.
A women’s rugby tournament, thought to be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, kicked-off on Saturday August 24 at the Silverdale Rugby Club, with 86 teams, from under-nine Rippa players to adults, taking part.
The NZ Rugby Women’s Invitational Tournament was organised in association with North Harbour Rugby and around 1100 players from as far as Taranaki took part – double the number who competed last year.
“Having more players has created such a hyped-up atmosphere, it’s a great feeling,” North Harbour Rugby’s women and new groups manager, Sarah McIlroy, says.
The excitement was amplified by having Farrah Palmer Cup teams – the female equivalent to the Mitre 10 Cup – play in the competitive senior division.
One of these teams is North Harbour Rugby’s Senior Harbour Hibiscus, who were tournament champions, beating Northland in the final 15-7.
Four Black Ferns were there to watch the competition, including NZ Rugby’s Player of the Year Kendra Cocksedge and North Harbour Rugby’s Pia Tapsell, who made her Black Ferns debut six games ago against Canada.
The Black Ferns’ Women’s Rugby World Cup and the Women’s World Cup Sevens trophies were also on display.
“That’s why this tournament is so important, so the younger girls can see there is a pathway for them in rugby,” Sarah says. “The tournament’s biggest goal is to create an environment that makes girls want to keep playing. “That’s why we put on extra activities like the Jump Jam and bouncy castle – to create an inviting culture that’s about more than just the footy.”
Black Fern’s take on Silverdale tournament
There are no photos of women players lining the walls of Silverdale Rugby’s clubrooms, but North Harbour Rugby’s Black Fern Pia Tapsell says times are changing.
Pia attended the Women’s Invitational Tournament to show players the career potential in women’s rugby and to support North Harbour union.
“I hate being on the sideline, but I get to watch my Farrah Palmer Cup team as well as lots of girls from Rippa, who I coach,” she says.
The 21-year-old loose forward says the tournament shows how times have changed for girls in rugby, even in the five years she has been playing.
“None of these opportunities were here when I was younger – I had to play with the boys,” Pia says. “They didn’t know how to play with a girl. I remember them asking their dads if they were allowed to tackle me.”
She believes that growing media coverage of women’s rugby has helped increase its popularity. “Media attention shows girls that rugby is a viable option for them not just to play, but to do so full time. As a result, the unions have invested more into girls’ rugby.”
Pia is playing with Senior Harbour Hibiscus at the Farrah Palmer Cup, which started last week and ends in October.
According to Rugby NZ, she has scored the most tries in history for the Hibiscus team.
