Women’s club rugby hopes lie with Wairau Wāhine

Peter Jones

The Wairau Wāhine will fly Marlborough’s flag during this season’s women’s Tasman Trophy competition.

An amalgamation of players and administrators from the Moutere, Renwick and Central clubs, the Wairau side will join Kahurangi, Waimea Old Boys and Marist in the top of the south league, which begins on April 15.

After initial efforts by all the clubs involved to come up with more than one team from this side of the hill were hampered by low player numbers, some senior players got together and decided to form a new side.

They reasoned that running a large squad, with good numbers, would provide a better experience for those involved, rather than trying to scrape together three sides each week, good enough to tackle some classy opposition.

Niska Scott, a former Tasman rep and long-time Moutere stalwart, says around 30 players have expressed an interest in joining the Wāhine and she expects they will eventually run a squad of around 25 players.

Along with Niska, such experienced operators as Hannah Gillespie, Courtney Finau, Tallulah Tuffery, Di Huntley, Kelly Collins and Pippa Andrews will line up alongside such rising talents as Fiaali’i Solomona, Rebecca Fa’apopo and Raumati Rogers, providing a solid core.