The Rātana women's team made their debut in the 2024 season.
The Rātana women’s rugby sevens team is planning a trip to Japan and time is ticking to raise funds.
Manager Lee Arna Nepia said a squad of 20 would travel to the Nanairo Cup tournament in Kitakyushu in March.
“We’ll be up against Japanese teams mostly, plus one from Singapore, one from Australia and maybe one from England.
“It’s all about exposing Japanese women to quality rugby.
“They are amazing – fit, fast and do the basics really well. We probably aren’t quite as fit, but we’ve got a bit of flair and we’ve been playing for a long time.”
In 2023, Nepia spent three months in Japan on a Prime Minister’s Scholarship, completing an internship with non-profit organisation You Me We in Tokyo.
“I have a good friend in Japan who works for a rugby agency and looks after contracts for a lot of the ex-All Blacks playing over there,” she said.
“She knew the person running the sevens tournament and we got a good foot in the door.
“They accepted our expression of interest. I got a notification in December.”
The team were thrilled with the news but it did not leave much time for fundraising.
Rather than postponing a year, the team were determined to make the trip in 2025, Nepia said.
“I just said ‘I’ll do everything I can to help’.
“It’s not cheap going over there, especially at that time.”
She said some in the squad had never left the country or been on an aeroplane.
“This is such a cool opportunity and I’m so excited for them.
“It’s bigger than just rugby, too.
“Rātana has a significant relationship with Japan that dates back 102 years, with the world tour our leader went on.”
In 1924, Tahupotiki Wiremu Rātana and 38 followers travelled to Britain, the United States, Canada and Asia to present Māori grievances over the Treaty of Waitangi.
The Rātana women’s 15s team played their first season in 2024.
“Before that, we had a few girls playing for other clubs, so a few of us put our heads together and said, ‘Right, let’s do it’,” Nepia said.
“We’ve made the semi-finals [2024 and 2025] and we’re hopeful to go one better this year.
“The club is really lucky to have Leon Mason coaching us. He gives back to our community in a really big way.”
Mason earned 64 caps for Whanganui and two for the NZ Heartland team and, at 47 years old, lined up in Rātana’s premier men’s team last year, before injury ended his season.
Nepia said Rātana hosted a sevens tournament at the end of 2024, run by Fullsend.
“We played and got smashed but at the same event in 2025, we made the final.”
The Japan tournament also featured a girls’ competition, she said.
“I’m going to have a look and suss it out to see if there’s an opportunity for some of our younger girls to go over and play next time.
“The talent we have coming through, they are far better than we were at that age.
“It’s primary and intermediate kids who know the basics really well – catch, pass and tackling.”
Nepia said it was important young players had the chance to keep playing and improving.
“Although we’re small, our community is huge, and there is life beyond the junction [Ratana Rd/State Highway 3].”
Anyone interested in contributing to fundraising for the trip can email ratanasportsclub@gmail.com.
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.