She was about to leave her family home on 4000ha sheep and beef property Waterloo Station near Mossburn to crutch sheep in Australia when her phone rang.
She had just finished a lambing beat near Five Rivers and was travelling to a sheep dog training session.
On the other end of the phone was Super Rugby Aupiki team Matatū head coach Whitney Hansen.
"I was immediately a wee bit flustered."
The call was an invitation to the New Zealand U20s Women’s training camp in Wellington for three days from Friday last week.
"I was not expecting it — I was so, so surprised and taken aback by all of it."
As soon as she got off the phone, she called her father Brendon to tell him the news.
At first he did not believe her.
A couple of days later, Ms Hansen called again to invite her to a Matatū U20s training camp in Lincoln before the national training camp.
"I called Dad again straight away and he didn’t believe me again."
She returned home to Waterloo Station from Matatū headquarters in Lincoln last week.
The first camp included gym and recovery sessions, identifying values and learning skills specific to being a loosehead prop.
"Which I absolutely love."
After taking the first call from Ms Hansen — the daughter of former All Black head coach Steve Hansen — she had told her boss across the Ditch she would not be coming over.
"There was no way I was missing out on these opportunities to go on these camps."
At the start of this year, the 19-year-old was planning to leave Waterloo Station to begin her second year of studying towards a science degree at the University of Otago.
The change last year from living on a remote station in the country to a packed hall of residence in a city had been a daunting experience, she said.
She loved playing rugby and joined a club in Dunedin, but her game suffered from the move to the city.
As the start of university loomed this year, she delayed packing her bags to return to study.
The day she was meant to leave the country for the city came and went and she kept on working on farms around Northern Southland.
She broke the news she was ditching study to her father, who manages Waterloo Station and mother Nick, a nurse in Lumsden.
"They were expecting it and were good about it."
Mr Duthie said he supported his daughter’s decision.
"You’ve got to do what makes you happy and Grace isn’t a city-slicker so there’s no point going back," Mr Duthie said.
Miss Duthie said returning to Southland and doing 12 hour days of hard, physical farm work had been good for her fitness and reignited her enjoyment of rugby.
"The difference between my playing and how I got around the field this year compared to last year, I’m quite proud of it."
She enjoyed the camaraderie and team culture when playing rugby in Southland.
"They are good country chicks, hard-working and more my people — I absolutely love playing with the girls down here."
She started playing rugby in Mossburn age 4, and played with the boys in mixed-grades until age 14.
While studying at Northern Southland College, she was the only girl playing rugby, so joined a Central Southland College girls teams including its First XV.
Her parents spent a lot of time transporting her to training and games across the district.
She thanked her parents for their unwavering support.
When Midlands Rugby Club women’s rugby team in Winton was established she joined to play its inaugural season in 2022.
"It was awesome to be part of such an awesome club and great group of girls right from the get go."
After returning home, she rejoined the club, which amalgamated with Marist Rugby Club in Invercargill this season.
The combined team was now called Tū Kotahi Wahine, and the side’s inaugural season was "amazing", placing third in the competition.
"It was pretty special. I felt like I really needed that after falling out of love with rugby in Dunedin."
She was 16 when she was selected for the Southland Hinds and was recently named player of the year.
"That was amazing. I’m so stoked because I remember as a 16-year-old, playing with the older girls and idolising them and their names were on the trophy and now mine is."
Traditionally, her position since she was a young girl was loosehead prop, but in her final year playing Southland U18 girls’ rugby, her father, who was the team’s coach, asked her to play hooker and tighthead prop when required.
Tū Kotahi Wahine had no hookers this season, so she took on the position.
"It has been an amazing change and I’ve learned so much."
She had been asked to play loosehead prop for the Matatū and New Zealand U20s training camps.
Loosehead prop was a position she loved playing the most, but her versatility to play anywhere in the front row helped her get selected for the camps.
Other southerners to make the New Zealand U20s women’s training camp are Pip Eason, Sarah Jones, Hannah Lithgow, Abigail Paton, Naomi Sopoaga, Charlotte Va’afusuaga, all of Otago.
Now Miss Duthie had finished the camps, she wanted to keep up the momentum in her rugby career.
"These camps have lit a wee bit of a fire."
