Georgia Mason was named the Black Ferns player of the tournament at the South Island secondary schoolgirls competition in Sheffield last weekend.
The 14-year-old plays in the loose forwards, but had previously played lock after first picking up the sport aged just 5.
This year, Georgia headed south to Invercargill to board at Southland Girls' High School to keep playing rugby.
With her family living in the Chaslands, about 41km southwest of Owaka, Georgia attended The Catlins Area School until the end of last year and played for Otago.
There, she was the only girl in a rugby tournament which had more than 400 players, and left her mark on the field - winning the "man" of the match award in one game, and then being picked for the tournament team.
This year, the Southland team assembled under the watchful eye of coach Mal Dermody.
Dermody said the competition went "very well" for the 22-girl squad.
"I'm proud of the whole team. Three games in three days takes a lot of effort and Southland hadn't won a game at the tournament in about three or four years."
The team beat Otago, drew with Hannan Shields districts, and lost to Canterbury.
For Georgia, the player of the tournament award was secondary - all she wants to do is play rugby.
Father Lionel Mason said although Georgia played other sports, rugby was clearly her favourite.
"We let her do her own thing. We just cart her around, really. She's got a big gap between where she is now and the next level of rugby. She's just happy playing it."
And is professional rugby on the cards?
"If the opportunity comes up, sure," said Georgia.
