The sisters in the Hawkes Bay Tui (from left) Ama, Oli and Neva Mua. Photo / Hawke's Bay Rugby
Nina Poletti for LockerRoom
Rugby runs deep in the Mua family – and now sisters and loose forwards Oli, Neva and Ama Mua are marking their mark in the Hawkes Bay Tui in the Farah Palmer Cup. Teammate Nina Poletti writes.
It’s easy to pick out a Mua on a rugby field – they’re running strong, tackling hard and will most likely come up with the ball after a turnover.
With a love for rugby flowing through all five Mua siblings – who are all, incidentally, loose forwards – it’s the three youngest sisters now leading the next generation of Hawke’s Bay stars.
Olioli (or Oli) Mua, a 22-year-old loose forward, is in her third season in the black-and-white hoops and has been joined in the Hawke’s Bay Tui by her younger siblings Neva (19) and Ama (16) Mua in this season’s Farah Palmer Cup.
The sisters always looked to their older brothers – and their NPC careers – for inspiration.
After moving from Wellington to Hawke’s Bay as a youngster, Oli Mua’s first rugby game was at primary school, before she switched to netball. The oval ball lured her back again in her first year at Hastings Girls’ High School and she’s never looked back.
Her talent has been recognised by the Hurricanes Poua – called in as an injury replacement before making her debut in 2024 against the Blues, then re-contracted for the 2025 Super Rugby Aupiki season.
“Our older brothers, A.J. and Jeriah, were playing rugby first and we just followed them into it,” Mua, who also represents the Hastings Rugby & Sports club, says. “I started as a winger and then ended up moving into the forwards.
“In my first season with the Tui, there were a lot of experienced players and I was fighting for my position. This year, a lot have retired and we’ve got more young girls coming through.”
Neva and Ama Mua are two of the 19 debutants who were named in the 2025 Tui squad and played their debut game against Canterbury in August. Like her older sister, Neva Mua hasn’t always stuck to rugby.
“I played Under-16s and 18s for Bay of Plenty and then decided to go play volleyball. But I didn’t make it very far in volleyball so came back to rugby,” Neva Mua laughs.
Straight out of school, she was nervous to make the step up to Farah Palmer Cup.
“I played in the U18s Hurricanes competition for Hawke’s Bay – and we won – but I was too scared to play for the Tui last season as I was only used to playing school and club rugby,” she says. “But seeing my sister play last year gave me the motivation.
“I wasn’t too nervous before my debut game, but just before I went on people were telling me to ‘make a big impact’. I was afraid I wasn’t going to play well enough.”
Ama Mua, starting at openside flanker, was on the field when Neva replaced Oli at No 8. “It was good to feel her presence on the field,” Neva Mua says.
At 16, Ama Mua is still playing rugby for Hastings Girls’ High School alongside her FPC commitments.
“I just followed my brothers and sisters and started playing rugby when I was 5 in primary school,” she says.
“We would go watch my brothers’ games and they taught us a lot. We are all loose forwards, although I started as a prop. Before my debut, I was mostly nervous for the haka – I thought I was going to get the actions wrong. Neva and I were practising it the night before in the living room.”
The brothers have always led the way for their younger sisters.
A.J. and Jeriah Mua represented the Bay of Plenty Steamers, which prompted the family to move to Tauranga in 2018 while the girls were still at high school. Oli Mua returned to Hawke’s Bay in 2021 and the younger sisters in 2023. Jeriah Mua is currently contracted with the Hawke’s Bay Magpies.
“One year I made a sevens camp and they tried to teach me how to do a goosey [goose step],” Oli Mua says. “I still can’t do one to this day, but we have learnt a lot from watching them play.
“We’re a family of loosies who started as backs and props – and we all have different ways of playing the same position.”
On the sideline, the sisters are supported by their dad, Lautasi Mua, mum Taute Mua and Oli’s 5-year-old daughter, Isla.
Samoan-born Lautasi Mua arrived in New Zealand from Siumu, and Taute Mua from Vailele, in the late 1990s. “Dad played a bit of rugby back in the islands and Mum likes to think she’s our coach,” Oli Mua says.
She was 18 when she had Isla, just before the country went into Covid lockdown in 2020.
“It was a lot being a first-time mum, so I didn’t mind having to stay at home,” she says. “I enjoyed hibernating and focusing on my daughter.
“It was hard coming back to rugby after giving birth. I had itchy feet when I was pregnant and was longing for rugby, and although I had seen a lot of other ladies coming back [after having a baby], I didn’t think I could do it.
“When I moved back to Hawke’s Bay, I knew I had more to give to the game – and I still do. Without the support from my partner, Victor, my mum and my mother-in-law, I wouldn’t have been able to get back and continue to train. I have a good village who help me with the baby and they’re the reason I can do what I do.”
With aunties, uncles and cousins all based in Hawke’s Bay, it’s a full family affair for home games – especially against Canterbury, when the Mua sisters lined up against their cousin, Mo’omooga Ashley Palu. Also known as Ona, the front-rower was a staple in the Tui forward pack before she moved to Christchurch to play Super Rugby Aupiki for Matatū in 2022. A strong ball carrier, Palu stormed off the bench to help Canterbury win the match 72-0.
“Playing through club together was cool, but not many siblings get to play the next level together. The loss was bittersweet, but it was a special moment for myself and my family,” Oli Mua says.
While very proud of their daughters, Lautasi and Taute Mua had a few words of encouragement in preparation for the game. “Mum told me not to get tired and said if she sees me with my hands on my hips, I’m in trouble,” Neva Mua laughs.
“Dad always tells us to play ‘eyes-up’ rugby – ta’alo va’ai. They also say ‘Ai malosi, kolegi malosi, ta’alo malosi’ – eat hard, train hard, play hard.”
The Muas are popping back to Samoa for a family trip before diving into the rest of the rugby season. With incredible support all around them and external inspiration driving their success, it will be a special season for the three sisters.
For Oli Mua, it’s the current assistant coach of the Tui, Emma Jensen, who keeps her on track.
“It takes just one person to give you the belief you can achieve your goals and for me, that is E.J. She’s always been one of my biggest supporters and pushes me to keep going,” Mua says.
A legend of the game, Jensen played 184 first-class rugby games for the Tui and the Auckland Storm and 49 test matches for the Black Ferns, before joining Sione Cherrington-Kite and Namatahi Waa in 2024 to coach the Tui. Jensen is also an assistant coach for the Hurricanes Poua.
With aspirations for the police force and as a budding referee, Ama Mua draws inspiration from Selicia Winiata – a Black Fern, a Manawatū Cyclone, a referee and a police constable.
As for Neva Mua, her inspiration lies a little closer to home.
“I’m inspired by Ama – if she plays better than me then I look bad, so I have to keep playing better because I’m the older one,” she says.
When it comes to words of wisdom for younger players, Neva Mua has that covered too. “Just keep pushing and if not, go play volleyball. And if you suck at volleyball, come back to rugby,” she laughs.
With one of many eye rolls and giggles that have dotted this interview, Oli Mua corrects her younger sister.
“Never take any opportunity for granted,” she says. “You never know where you’re going to end up – you might become a Hurricane next year.”
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.