Discover Your Strength & Join Our Women’s Rugby Team!

Are you ready to challenge yourself, build new friendships, and be part of an empowering community? Our Women’s Rugby team is on the lookout for new players. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or completely new to the sport, we want YOU!

Why Choose Green Island to play Rugby?

Boost Your Fitness: Rugby is a dynamic sport that will help you improve your strength, speed, and overall fitness. It’s a fun way to stay active and healthy.

Team Spirit: Experience the thrill of teamwork and camaraderie. Rugby is more than just a game; it’s about building strong bonds and supporting each other on and off the field.

Competitive Edge: Play in exciting matches and experience the joy of competition. Rugby offers opportunities for personal growth and athletic development.

Empowerment: Embrace the empowerment that comes from pushing your limits and achieving goals. Rugby fosters confidence and resilience in a supportive environment.

No Experience? No Problem!

We welcome players of all skill levels, from beginners to experienced athletes. Our dedicated coaching staff will provide all the training and support you need to succeed.

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Coaching:

It is with great pleasure that we can announce that we have appointed

Margaret McKenzie as our Women’s team head coach for the 2025 season!

If you know a thing or two about women’s rugby in Otago, you will know who Margaret (a.k.a Bro) is.

Margaret (Black Ferns # 97) played over 200 games for the Pirates women’s side. Starting in 1990 and playing for the club through to 2015. She was a part of the Otago women’s side for 24 of those 25 years of rugby playing a huge 86 games. She played in the Black Ferns in years 2000 and 2005 gaining 5 caps in the black jersey.

She has since coached with Pirates and Otago Secondary Schools

If you are interested in playing for our GI Women's side, please contact:

Women’s Team Head Coach Margaret McKenzie – 021 556 150

Women’s Team Managers -

Heather Barton – 027 289 2726

Kim Grant – 021 111 0819

• Download our Women's Brochure at the bottom of page for more information

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Why the Green Island Rugby Club is wanting to be the leader in supporting women’s rugby in all facets of the game on and off the field.

Over the last 7 seasons at the Green Island Rugby Club, we have had a women's team in the Dunedin Metropolitan Senior Women's grade for 5 years and in the Women’s Metropolitan Premier Development grade for 2 years.

Green Island Rugby Club has taken the view of bringing a flow of quality young players to the club to help build a team for the future. Next season we'll play in the Women’s Premier Development Grade again with the aim of taking this team into the Premier grade the following season.

The Green Island club itself has had a large, successful junior girls’ program within our club. Fielding players and teams in the Dunedin Sunday Girls Only rugby competition covering the Under 13, Under 10 and Under 8 grades plus entering teams in the girl’s grade of the annual Taieri 7's tournament. This has now set the club up with a great group of young female players now becoming old enough to return to the club which will be the foundation for many successful years ahead.

We have seen some very exciting players in the last 6 years come through the junior club and we're excited that we will develop these players into talented representative players of the future.

We've done the hard work to get the club established with a strong support network for female rugby players in our local area and with keen coaches committing to this team for the season ahead we only  see good things ahead for the women's team at the Green Island Rugby Club.

The game we love and promote, saying it is for all and with no bias, can sometimes feel and look unequal. Our coaches have coached both male and female teams and can honestly say that no less an effort nor commitment is given in either gender. Sometimes the limits we set are the limits we know and if we can all be brave enough and believe there are no limits then we will be heading in the right direction.

GIRFC has shown its commitment with building a changing room solely for our women’s team with showers included. The next step is one for our opposition, so they also feel comfortable and safe within our environment.

We want to invest in a future for our women that want to play for their families with pride and passion. The girls to strive to represent our community and if given the chance our country,  knowing where it all started for them.

The dream for many a young boy was to be an All Black and now it’s time to awaken that dream for our girls to become a Black Fern or a Sevens sister.

Our fairytale we hope is proudly announcing the next Black fern has come from our club within our province.

FAMILY, PRIDE, DISCIPLINE, INTEGRITY & INCLUSIVITY