Across the middle weekend of the school holidays, our 1st and 2nd XV were lucky enough to travel down to Ashburton for the South Island Series Girls' Rugby Tournament. On a crisp Saturday morning, we met at school and took the bus down to Ashburton where upon arriving we set up the gazebos and got ready for the big day ahead.

The 1st XV kicked off with Aoraki in the morning where we took a comfortable win, followed by a well drilled Tasman side, then finishing off day one playing Taupo-nui-a-tia College. Day one saw 3 wins.

We headed back to our accommodation to do some recovery, shower up, and get ready for the team dinner being held at Ashburton Hotel with the other teams. We were matched up on tables randomly meaning it was an opportunity to get to know some of our opposition players. Each team presented a ‘skit’, our one being two waiata - Tutira Mai Nga Iwi and Te Aroha. They served dinner and then ended the night with a panel interview with rugby legend Kendra Cocksedge and netball player, coach and Mid-Canterbury Rugby CEO Tanya Dearns. It was a great night hearing from some amazing female athletes!

Sunday rolled around and we started the day with a battle against Christchurch Rugby Club, where we managed to come away with a win followed by a game against our 2nd XV where we enjoyed some team banter and fun. Finals kicked off at 1pm with the 1st XV playing Christchurch Rugby Club, where we came out focused and pushed our tired bodies to the limit to finish the day with a high, winning 17 - 0. After the team presentations, we hopped back on the bus with some new medals and the trophy, tired, but happy faces all around. We had just enough energy to squeeze in a team tik tok to top the weekend off.

The 2nd XV girls found the tournament was great fun and enjoyable. It was a great experience to have and being able to play a variety of teams was really exciting and challenging. The tournament really tested the team's ability, and they all came out of the tournament with a thing or two learned.

Big thanks to all our sponsors and Mid-Canterbury Rugby Union for making this tournament possible. We loved it and are so grateful for the opportunity. And of course, a big thanks to our coaching and management team who made the weekend run so smoothly and for catering to 40+ of us girls.  Thank you!

From Grace and Loren