Over a healthy meal of McDonalds, a few friends pondered the idea of putting together a women’s rugby sevens team to take over to Raro.

“Let’s give it a crack up,” commented captain, Guiliana a.k.a I speak no Americano.

So the friends created a list of potential players.

The list was made up of Waitakere chess, tiddly winks and golf players not to mention a near Guinness Book of Record champion, for not being able to blink.

When the Nesians began training some months ago coach Bevan a.k.a Snowman began the session with an inspirational talk.

“For sevens you girls have to be fit and you’re not.”

It got even better with running the shuttles, climbing the stairs and 100m sprints.

“Even I was puffing,” commented manager Jodie, who was only taking the photos of the team.

If that wasn’t a challenge, the Nesians had another and that was learning how to play the game of sevens.

They have only just realised that the game does not involve a soccer ball.

More importantly, their idea has now turned into reality.

Further comments from some of the team when asked what they were hoping to get out of it were – My strategies that I use in chess may help checkmate my opponent in rugby, playing this game will make me hungrier – for food that is and I wish coach will tell me what he’s doing before we do it at training.

The recent weeks have been gruelling and treacherous but fitness has improved.

Captain Guiliana says, “The team’s getting fitter because the girls are not as fat.”

Coach Bevan adds, “Yes, it’s nice to see that the girls can finally run the whole field without making classic excuses like Waitakere bowls champ, Adelle, saying, ‘Sorry, Bevan, I pulled a muscle in my little finger but should be right for Raro!”

The Nesians have overcome a number of challenges in the preparations including learning that they had to run and catch at the same time, time management with the clash of evening trainings and dinner and valuable lessons like eating before training is not a good thing and that eating during training is even worse.

Say the Nesians

So we are all packed and ready to venture to the tropics with our supporters including a former alcoholic who wishes to remain anonymous so we’ll call her Edith Smith.

We have a former Sure Slim advocate, Sen, who quit after she found out she could only have McDonalds once a week and not three times a day.

We have former Miss Otara, 1992, Jamie, who wants the best for her team and world peace.

Finally we have Bejeweled champion and Facebook addict, Saini, asking, “Do they have internet over there?”

On a serious note, the Waitakere Nesian team would like to thank Autex, Waitakere City Council and the Hokianga pub for sponsoring us as well as the catering crew from Rarotonga – you make things possible and in the words of Michael Jackson, ‘heal the world, make it a better place.’