Strong, independent and successful: Pacific women in sport

By the time they ran onto the field for their inaugural match in the Super Rugby Women's pre-season competition against 2023 finalists the Queensland Reds, the women of the Penina Pasifika rugby team had been training as a team for just two  weeks. Among the 32-strong squad were young women from Samoa and Tonga, recognised as being among the most talented up and coming players in the Pacific . The team, backed by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports, is creating opportunities for the young stars to train at an elite level and compete against some of the best in the world.

In training sessions, the team was all grit, toughness and determination, but as names were called out at the jersey presentation days before the first match, player after player was overcome with emotion.

“It’s been a long time coming,” explained Penina Pasifika half-fly and proud Tongan woman, Shonté To’a. “There’s been people behind the scenes that have been fighting the good fight just for us to be able to put this jersey on so, when I get out there, I’m going to feel the strength of everyone that has worked for us. It’s going to be an emotional time but I’m going to take that on my shoulders and wear it with pride.”

On social media, responses to the team’s video post made clear just how significant the moment was, not just to the players, but to communities across the Pacific.

“My 5 year old daughter just cried and said wants to play for @peninapasifikarugby when she’s bigger. Thank you ladies for inspiring our girls,” reads one fan’s comment.

Penina Pasifika: a game-changer for gender roles

Penina Pasifika is an initiative of the PacificAus Sports-funded Australia-Pacific Rugby Union Partnership (APRUP). Speaking at the APRUP launch, Tonga Rugby Union CEO Aisea Aholelei spoke about the traditional beliefs, still held by many in his country, that have for years held women and girls back from taking part in sport.

“Since the PacificAus Sports program has been established, young girls in Tonga have realised they can represent their country, they can make a career of playing rugby, but most importantly, they can pick up a ball and just go and play rugby,” he said. “Just recently, girls weren't allowed to play rugby, because wearing shorts was too revealing, and that went against cultural values. That's what PacificAus Sports has done: it's broken down archaic mindsets and barriers, and is empowering our girls to know that God has blessed them with a sporting talent, and they should use that talent, to help the country, their family, but above all, to help themselves.”

Penina Pasifika is turning dreams into reality, according to Aisea, not just for players, but for the women and girls they inspire. In communities where progress on gender equality has been slow, the Penina Pasifika players are proving that women can indeed be strong, fit, independent and successful.

At half-time in that first match against the formidable Queensland Reds, the Penina Pasifika newcomers were ahead 7–5. Ultimately, the team lost the match, but there was no denying the spirit of the players or the success of the team.

“Our Pasifika women are a force to be reckoned with in the rugby world,” said Samoa’s Nina Foaese. “Playing for Penina Pasifika will give us an opportunity to grow as players and allow our women to express themselves on the field.”

Investing in women’s rugby across the region

The Penina Pasifika initiative builds on the surge of energy created by the introduction of the Fijiana Drua to the Super W Championship in 2022, supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports. The team’s entry to the competition was unmissable, with the Fijiana Drua taking out the Super Rugby Women’s title in their first year, and doubling down on their success with a second title in the 2023 season.

Adding to the momentum is the recent announcement of scholarships for six Pacific players to join Australian Super Rugby Women’s clubs for the 2024 season, funded by PacificAus Sports in partnership with Rugby Australia and Oceania Rugby. The group includes three Samoan women and three women from Tonga, including Suititi Ma'ake.

“I will do my ultimate best to make everyone proud, to pave the way with the hope to inspire the next generation of girls in my beautiful country,” said Suititi, who has joined the Perth-based Western Force.

The rise and rise of women’s sport in the Pacific

Investments in women’s elite-level sports by PacificAus Sports in partnership with regional sporting bodies are undoubtedly driving increased participation by women and girls.

The Fijiana 7s, Fiji’s national women’s Rugby 7s team, were pioneers of the phenomenon. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, they won the hearts of the nation, earning an heroic eighth place in the competition, and quickly boosting the ranks of registered women players from 200 to well over 1,000. PacificAus Sports provided the team with access to equipment and opportunities to compete in elite competitions as part of their preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics where they successfully beat Rio-medallists Australia and Canada, and ultimately defeated Great Britain to claim the bronze.

Women’s rugby in Tonga is also surging, with the number of women’s rugby clubs in the country recently leapfrogging from eight to 20, and dozens of talented Tongan women selected to play at the highest level for teams in Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Speaking from Tonga ahead of the 2023 Oceanic Women’s Sevens Championship, Koli Sewabu, head of International Partnerships at Oceania Rugby, remarked on the burgeoning pride felt by Tongans towards their women players.

“It’s great to be here in Tonga to experience the growth and to see the parents and guardians and the community as a whole supporting women and girls on their journey to pursue rugby as a career,” he said.

Long-term investment in the development of school and community-based women’s rugby in Samoa is also seeing dividends, with the announcement in early 2024 that the Samoan Women’s Rugby Union had been re-established.

The rapid rise in Pacific women’s sport is not limited to rugby. There is also growth in games not commonly played in the region, including cricket, with PacificAus Sports support for women’s squads in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu; AFL, with young players from PNG, Tonga, Fiji, and Nauru competing in events hosted in Australia and around the region; and tennis, with PacificAus Sports-funded development camps and coach mentoring programs.

Rugby League is also in the spotlight with outstanding performances by national women’s teams at the 2023 Pacific Games in Samoa. Kimberly Nikua was a member of the Tongan team who finished the Games with an unexpected silver-medal win.

"If you turn back five, six years ago, there was outrage across Tonga when rugby [league] was introduced to females,” said Kimberley after the win. “When I was growing up, I only had one Tongan Pacifika role model, and that was [Tongan-Australian netballer] Mo'onia Gerrard. So now, it's so exciting that girls will soon have their own, Tongan role models, and they're going to be females, and are going to be strong, brave women. So, yes, exciting times ahead!"
 

“Our Pasifika women are a force to be reckoned with in the rugby world.” 

Samoa’s Nina Foaese.

“I will do my ultimate best to make everyone proud, to pave the way with the hope to inspire the next generation of girls in my beautiful country.” 

Tonga's Suititi Ma'ake.

“There’s been people behind the scenes that have been fighting the good fight just for us to be able to put this jersey on so, when I get out there, I’m going to feel the strength of everyone that has worked for us."

Tonga's Shonté To’a