The Seafarers rugby sevens team has been going from strength to strength, building up a strong core of players.
The team was founded by Jekope Maiono in 2006 and since 2013 it has been affiliated to the Otago University Rugby Football Club.
This year, strong attendance enabled the creation of two men’s teams for the first time, while the women’s team has had improved results.
‘‘I think the last two years we have seen a significant growth.
‘‘We are able to fill almost two teams every tournament,’’ Dr Maiono said.
This year, the club also hosted its inaugural under-15 sevens competition.
A season highlight was travelling to Sigatoka, Fiji, in November for the Fijian Cup Championships 7s Tournament, where they attended with one men’s and one women’s team.
‘‘That is the first time we have travelled overseas.
‘‘It has always been a dream of ours when we started the club, was to visit Fiji, and so we did that this year.’’
Dr Maiono said the end-of-season tour to Fiji was particularly successful as the women’s team reached the semifinals and the men’s team reached the quarterfinals.
As well as taking part in the tournament, the team took the opportunity to spend time with the local community.
‘‘We went to the Sigatoka Sand Dunes, one of the famous sites in Fiji.
‘‘We also went to Narewa Village. We stayed there for a whole day and a whole night, just meeting up with the locals and interacting with them.’’
The trip to the village was a highlight for the team, as some team members had connections to local residents.
‘‘That was also highlighted by our women’s captain, Dallas McKnight.
‘‘That was the thing that she really liked about our recent trip to Fiji.’’
The trip reflected a focus for the team on more than simply playing rugby.
‘‘I think our team values [are] what brings these players to our environment.
‘‘We obviously don’t just go play rugby and have a good time. We have other things that we think of, people, unfortunate people in the world, things such as promoting social causes, like family violence or climate change.’’
Being able to take the players to see the wider world helped them understand and appreciate different life experiences, he said.
‘‘So you see it is much more than simply being a team that comes together to play.’’
A key focus this year was on players’ mental health.
Dr Maiono said for him, rugby was a vehicle to produce good men and women in society.
Rugby had been painted as a rugged sport where people had a good time and drank a lot of alcohol.
‘‘So we want to change that and represent good and different types of rugby players that we have in our team.
‘‘We talk about team value, we talk about inclusiveness, acceptance of different ways of doing things.
‘‘Those are the things that underpin what we do in our team.’’
