Lose Fainga’anuku had decided to take a bit of a break from netball this year, but that never quite worked out for her. Instead she suited up for the Tongan Tala at the Netball World Cup in South Africa.
It was a surreal opportunity for the defender, who was approached to play internationally last year, playing alongside former Silver Fern Cathrine Tuivaiti and Australian Diamond Mo’onia Gerrard.
"It was just crazy being around all these netballers who you watched on TV when you were younger and they’re still in the game," Fainga’anuku said.
"It was kind of just like a whole learning experience.
"It was just good to be exposed at that level of netball ... just getting a wee taste of it and it was a bloody amazing experience — I would go back and do it all over again."
Playing alongside Gerrard and Tuivaiti was amazing, as both players helped shape her game and grow on and off the court.
"It was great getting both experiences. It was just the old style of netball mixed with a bit of how we play now which was awesome."
Tonga headed into their first World Cup appearance ranked seventh in the world, and were drawn in a pool alongside Australia, Fiji and Zimbabwe.
They beat Fiji and Zimbabwe to finish second in their pool. They lost to England in a crossover game, beat Scotland and had a close loss to Malawi and then lost to South Africa.
They lost 64-54 to Malawi to finish eighth, a meritorious finish against some seasoned campaigners.
"We had nothing to lose, but we went in with the mindset we’re just going to give it our all.
"These teams are the best in the world.
"We beat the teams we expected to beat and then finishing eighth at the first World Cup we’ve ever been to was pretty good."
Fainga’anuku, whose older brother, Tima, plays rugby for Moana Pasifika and Tonga, said it was was an honour to represent her family.
"I always just give it back to my parents because they’ve always wanted me to play for Tonga.
"It was just cool doing it for your family, and then my grandparents are back in Tonga and all my little cousins in the village, so it was just really meaningful."
The 20-year-old grew up in Christchurch, previously playing for Netball Mainland in the national netball league.
But when Southern Blast coach Jo Morrison heard Fainga’anuku was thinking about taking a break from netball, she convinced her change her environment and move to Dunedin.
She played for Blast this season and loved adjusting to the different style of netball in Dunedin.
That added to her game — as had the obvious experience of a World Cup — and she returned home last month to help University Albion win the Dunedin club competition.
She will draw on all that experience this week when she plays for Dunedin in the national netball championships starting at the Edgar Centre today.
"The girls are really just excited to get out there, because we know in some other teams they’ve got big names ... and we’re just kind of the underdogs.
"We all are just fizzing to get out there and play against these experienced people that we’ve heard of and I think the girls ... just can’t wait to get on court with everyone."
