From Howick College’s head girl to Hokkaido

By BEN PLUMMER

Former head girl of Howick College in 2020, Dajian Brown, has secured a contract to play semi-professional rugby in Japan at the completion of the Super Rugby Aupiki season.

The 20-year-old says the prospect of playing rugby in a different country is a surreal feeling.

“Nothing beats playing on home soil, but with the Super Rugby Aupiki season being so short, having opportunities to play overseas is such a blessing, especially being a female athlete,” Brown says.

She says she is most looking forward to the culture of Japan.

“Being in a country that’s first language isn’t English is definitely going to be a challenge, but I’m looking forward to the culture shift in all honesty,” she says.

Brown has racked up quite the impressive rugby CV since completing Howick College in 2020, being selected for the Moana Pasifika women’s sevens and Nib Blues sides to name a couple.

She also featured in the newlyestablished Premier Rugby Sevens competition in the United States where she played for the Headliners.

“To be doing what I love while being able to travel and experience life outside of New Zealand at such a young age has been unreal. I am so grateful that rugby has provided these opportunities for me,” says Brown.

She had originally planned on being in Japan in February but was offered a contract with the NIB Blues in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition.

“The Hokkaido Barbarians understood that this was also another great opportunity for myself that I could not turn down and had agreed for me to join them after the completion of the Aupiki season,” says Brown.

She will spend the next four months with the Hokkaido Barbarians, competing in the Taiyo Seimei Women’s series.

Howick College director of sport, Adelita Sotutu, says Dajian always represented her school with pride.

“From the beginning, she fully immersed herself in school life,