The world of rugby league has seen a significant growth and recognition for female athletes, highlighting their skill, determination and passion for the game.

As clubs on Rarotonga continue to nurture and develop local talent, a new elite team is developing, showcasing the top female league players from around the island which aims to elevate the profile of women’s rugby league.

The Vaine Toa League 9s team features top female players from each club on the island. The team will be participating in the upcoming Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA) International League 9s Tournament from January 9-11, 2025.

Vaine Toa captain Patricia “Patty” Taea said so far, all the clubs on the island would be participating in the January tournament, along with a few teams from New Zealand.

“One of the reasons for establishing this team to compete is to have a high calibre tournament and showcase levels of skill for our players on the island. Since we started the 13s competition some four years ago, we are still relatively new, especially for women’s rugby league – we’re still growing,” Taea said.

“This tournament will help us see where we are and develop our level of skills and hopefully inspire more women to join the sport.”

Taea is a former Cook Islands international sprinter who loves sport. She won gold medal in the 200 metres sprint at the 2017 Pacific Mini Games in Vanuatu.

“I’ve always loved competition, and training has always been tough. It doesn’t matter what you do, training has always been hard. Competition is always the easy part, that’s where the joy comes from, the joy you get from competing. Even though the score may not be in your favour or be on your side there’s always the little wins in the game that feels good, there’s always positives in the game and that’s what I enjoy the most,” she said.

Coach Edwin Teraitua said that the girls have been doing a lot of conditioning work for the past five weeks.

Teraitua said the goal was to form an elite side to take on the overseas teams coming over, especially the defending champions. Individually as a club, it would be more difficult, he added.

“If Vaine Toa succeeds, this will have a good influence on our local residents to being selected for the national team, giving our girls more of an opportunity,” Teraitua said.

The co-founders of Vaine Toa league are Patty Teaea, Kiana Sword-Tua, Stephanie Nooroa, and Rima Browne. The senior leadership team are manager - Henry Herman, assistant manager - Jamie Gotty, coach - Edwin Exham Teraitua, assistant coach - Kevin Iro, captain - Patty Taea and vice-captain Rima Browne.

Vaine Toa League embraces the value of spirituality, wellbeing, respect, excellence, inclusivity and unity. Spirituality – A Christian community built on love, compassion, gratitude, wisdom and truth; Wellness – practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to achieve improved, spiritual physical and mental outcomes, to shift from surviving to thriving; Respect – a deep awareness and admiration for self and others and what we and they stand for; Excellence – an environment of strong work ethic, commitment and dedication on training and competition; Inclusivity – a safe place where everyone feels valued and that recognises that everyone has something valuable to contribute in order to access opportunities and resources to succeed; Unity– our collective efforts for a common goal will be prioritised over that of the individual.

Their vision is based on a strong spiritual foundation.

“We aim to develop a Cook Islands female rugby league team of locally developed athletes that role models a supportive environment of wellness, respect and excellence and with a strong focus on inclusivity and unity,” said manager Henry Herman.

Herman said the team’s priorities for the next two months are:

• to gather a group of passionate, aspirational and locally developed female rugby league players,
• to build a management and coaching team passionate about supporting the players achieve success,
• to formulate a plan to register, raise funds, participate and succeed in the CIRLA 9s International League Tournament from 9-11 January 2025,
• to acknowledge and celebrate our collective efforts and successes, and
• to review and assess what next steps/chapter could look like.

Herman is grateful to Bank of the Cook Islands for their cash sponsorship of $1000 and in-kind sponsorship to promote Vaine Toa fundraisers.

Vaine Toa League would like to acknowledge their generous sponsors - Aroa Vege Land, CIGT (Cook Islands General Transport), BCI (Bank of the Cook Islands), Pacific Resort, Pitt Media, Transam Ltd, and Vaima Ltd.