Taieri teenagers Abbey Johnston and Celine Timoko (both 16) have been part of the Otago touch representative scene for years and have both finally made their way to the top of the age-grade ladder.
The U17 team will travel to Australia in September to compete against the Australian School teams in a busy schedule of nine games in three days.
Both girls have been part of the U17 Otago women's team, which finished fourth last year in the national tournament and has won the South Island tournament for the last three years.
Abbey, who goes to St Hilda's Collegiate, said it was a ''real surprise'' to get the call-up.
However, she now ''can't wait'' for the tournament.
She does not come from a touch-playing family and the call-up from selectors was not expected.
She puts her success down to ''having fun and working hard''.
Celine Timoko, a pupil at Taieri College, first burst into the Otago representative scene as an U11 mixed grade player and is now playing for both the U17 and U21 Otago women's teams.
Her mother, Caroline Timoko, who has been selected as manager for the New Zealand U15 women's team, said it had always been her daughter's dream to play for New Zealand and the pair were ''very excited'' to head to Australia together.
Mrs Timoko has been heavily involved in her daughter's touch rugby development juggling her work at Outram School and helping with training and games which can take up six evenings a week at some times in the year.
''It can be a busy life,'' she said.
The trip will cost about $3500 and the girls will start fundraising efforts soon.
- Elliot Parker
