Sevens side off to Oceania champs

Rarotonga based women’s rugby sevens players and management are on their way to New Zealand to meet with the rest of the squad ahead of the Oceania Women’s Championships in Fiji on August 3 and 4.

The local team assembles at the Manukau Rovers Rugby Club in New Zealand this morning and will join the New Zealand and Australia based players to have their first run before departing for Fiji in the afternoon.

The team then has one full day in Fiji before the tournament starts on Friday.

The national women’s squad includes – Moana Adams (NZ), Ingrid Aretupe (Aus), Marissa Iroa (CI), Amina Koiatu (Aus), Samantha Lockington (CI), Te Maari MacGregor (NZ), Denise McGrath (Aus), Margaret Nena (NZ), Apii Nicholls (NZ), Kalia Baker-Underhill (Aus), Taromi Urirau (CI), Julieanne Westrupp (CI).

Coach Vaivase Samania is unable to travel with the team and has been replaced by Walter Tangata.

Team manager Lara Sadaraka and physio Justin Mills are also part of the team.

The Cook Islands meets Fiji, New Zealand and Tonga in pool play on day one of the Oceania Qualifier in Lautoka.

”We would like to express our gratitude to CIRU for this wonderful opportunity and enabling us to participate at this regional tournament, Vase Samania for his time as coach and the family and friends of those who have been selected for their support,“ says Sadaraka.

”We would also like to thank our merchandise sponsor Turtles who have outfitted the team with the most stylish and eye-catching uniforms.“

Australia and New Zealand have automatically qualified for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 on account of their performance in 2009.

The top team from the other seven competing nations at the Oceania Sevens will qualify for the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) Regional Qualifier in Pune, India in October.

The top three placed teams at this tournament will qualify directly for RWC Sevens 2013.

As well as being the regional qualifier for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013, the Oceania Women’s Sevens Championship in Fiji will also be the regional qualifier for the Asia-Pacific Women’s Sevens Championship to be held in Borneo in August – the same event the Cook Islands made history by sending their first ever national women team who returned home with the plate.

The top three teams will join defending champions Papua New Guinea in Borneo.

The Cook Islands women’s rugby association and players would like to thank all their supporters and the community at large for continued support in this campaign to raise the profile of women’s rugby in the Cook Islands and across the globe.