All language subtitles for No.Tears.On.The.Field.2026.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.GG - YTS.BZ]

Downloaded from
YTS.BZ

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.BZ

- On the shoulders of giants
who have gone before them,

two teams of exceptional women

will experience a moment in
history decades in the making.

(BLUES ROCK MUSIC)

- I've never felt...

that power with any other sport
I've played.

(BLUES ROCK MUSIC CONTINUES)

- Pretty strong believer in
grassroots rugby in New Zealand.

It's the backbone
of New Zealand rugby.

It produces All Blacks,
produces Black Ferns.

Without it, we're stuffed.

(BLUES ROCK MUSIC CONTINUES)

- One, two, three.
- ALL: Southern!

- You've all got mouthguards?
- ALL: Yep.

- Jerseys?
- Yep.

- Shorts?
- Yep.

- Thank God.

- ♪ Still on my lonesome.

- I'm a daddy's girl.

I see the try line,
and I'm just going for gold.

It takes about seven people
to get me down.

Oh, yeah,
I'll celebrate that one.

Look at me -
big girl getting a try.

(CHEERING, WHISTLE BLOWS)

- I've been playing rugby
since I was 3, and-

- 3?
- Yes. 3 years old.

- Oh wow.

- There's definitely potential
Black Ferns in this squad.

100%.

- RIKI SWANNELL:
It's on New Zealand's side.

England couldn't control it!

And in your life,

have you ever seen
anything like it?

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

From the depths of despair

to World Cup winners once more.

- It's safety,
it's technique and it's grunt

are the three things that you
need to play a sport like rugby.

And I've got all of them.
(LAUGHS)

- You know? It's
a rough, tough game,

and if you wanna play it,

you play it without crying
on the fucking field.

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

Captions by Able.
www.able.co.nz

(BIRDS CHIRP)

(TRACTOR ENGINE RUMBLES)

(RUMBLING FADES)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(THUNDER BOOMS)

- Right, we're away. Let's go.

(GIRLS SHOUT INDISTINCTLY)

- We are at the lovely
Okaiawa Rugby Club today.

A bit of grassroots rugby
- At its finest. Yeah.

Good girl, Kaiomi!

Nice. Good girl!

Good girl, Lib!

Go, Kaya-Jo!

- These girls, they live
and breathe rugby -

all of them.
They wanna watch the Whio play,

they wanna watch
the Black Ferns play -

they just live and breathe it.

- They'll always be at our
women's game, you know?

They're always running the ball.
They're running the tee.

They'll put their hand
up to do the waters,

and they're just always
around rugby,

and it's so cool to see.

Go, Liv!

Good girl, Liv!

Grassroots rugby. Gotta love it.

Right. Hustle in, girls!

Come on, Harper!

- Today was

really wet and windy.

Disgusting. Normal
Taranaki weather.

We were down at Okaiawa,

and the girls had a game
against the under-55-kilo boys.

- Nice, Jassie!

- I back my girls.
I've told them, 'Don't pull.'

If they wanna come
and play against girls,

you show them what it's like.

- Go, Poppy!

- I want these girls
to thrash them.

(CAR HORNS HONK)
- Well done, Lily!

Let's go, girls.
Amazing. So proud.

- Well, women's rugby is going
off pretty good for Oki.

With everything that's
going on in society,

rugby has to change
and move with the times,

which is what it is - bringing
young girls into the game,

or young women.
it's just all part of what

the modern game of rugby is
gonna look like going forward.

- We won.
(BOTH CHEER)

- What was the game like?
- It was very good.

We smashed those boys.

- Well done, girls.

Proud of you.

(ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

(BIRDS CHIRP)

(MUSIC BUILDS)

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

- So, we're the first club
in New Plymouth

to create and dedicate

time, money, resource
to a women's team.

It was a huge investment,
and it was hard.

You know, starting
something from nothing

is way harder than you
think it's going to be.

- Welcome to the start of
the 2024 club season.

- How are you doing? How are
you feeling about the game?

- Good. Good. Excited.
First game ever.

- Ever?
- Yeah.

- First time you've
ever played rugby?

Is it the first time you played?
- Yeah, I trained,

I was in a team,
but I never got on the field.

And that was when I was 15.
So we're going 18 years later.

Nah. (LAUGHS)

- Getting ready for
our first game. Whoo!

- I don't know what I'm doing,
so this will be an experience.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

- This is the first time that
we've had a rugby team

in, I believe, about 30 years.

- In an exciting moment
for the Tukapa Cup,

the first time they've
introduced a women's team

for about 30 years.

And some of these players
are new to rugby

for their debut match
this afternoon,

and they're up against
Coastal at Sanders Park.

- We're not up on points,
but we're up on spirit.

- When we first started, like,
we had our trainings and stuff,

and we're thinking, like,

'None of our team have played
rugby before,' like, you know?

Like, that is what we
were thinking, like,

'OK, well, we're not in
the season to win it.'

(LAUGHTER, CHEERING)

- Go, go, go, go!

- Smile. Smile.

- Did she get it?
Cos I can't see.

- I know.
(LAUGHTER)

- Grassroots rugby is
the most important thing

that we need to be focusing,
growing and developing.

And we need to be thinking
really carefully

how we keep women
in the game

and what playing opportunities
we're providing for them.

So working out how we can
take away those barriers,

and that we may have to pivot
and do things differently.

- I had postnatal depression,
which, obviously, is rough,

especially three times.
Goodness, cut me some slack.

- Put Tina on the side, and,
Grace, come off the back.

- So, what sold me was that

they had free childcare
for our games.

So they've got, like, a little
babysitter that comes.

Being a single mother of three,
I need as much support, I guess,

as I can for the kids,
to do something for myself.

- I'm really passionate
about women in sport

and having opportunities
to play and develop

and continue to
play as life happens.

You know, we get busy.
We have kids.

Having that, you know,
ability to continue to play

and that incredible support of
the club behind you to do that.

And, you know,
for a lot of our players,

they're not used to
putting themselves first

or doing something for them.

So, you know, we turn
up, and we're, like,

'It's OK for this to
be all about you.'

- Why don't we send
a pass back, TJ?

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

- Every aspect of the
game has just helped.

Like, you've got your
social side, making friends,

obviously keeping fit,

and our team vibe

is unmatched. And it's gonna
just attract the people

that haven't played
in a few years,

and, like, the new up-and-comers
coming out of school.

Like, obviously we're at
the bottom of the table,

but our team energy -

top of the table.
We're up there.

- We'll just do a quick
cheer for Coastal

in our first game as Tukapa Toa.

Tuturu whakamaua kia tina!
- ALL: Tina!

- Haumi e, hui e...
- ALL: ...taiki e!

- Nah, that was fucking awesome!
(ALL CHEER)

(UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

- Putting that jersey on, I feel
like it's a sense of belonging.

Like you put it on and, you
know, you're Southern branded.

You go down there,
everybody knows your name.

'Hey, Kate. How are ya?'
'Hey, Kate. Good game.'

'Hopefully you have
a good game.'

'Good luck.' Like,
and all that kind of stuff.

And, yeah, you definitely
have a purpose.

(CHILL BLUES MUSIC)

There's such a rivalry
between our clubs.

We definitely have
the skill there

and the speed
to match Clifton.

We are the two top teams,
and they'd have a lot of revenge

to get back on us for
winning the final last year.

- One, two, three.
- ALL: Southern!

- Yeah, I think we have the
upper hand at the moment.

We've taken the
comp out three times,

so at this stage I'd say we have
a little bit of edge on Clifton.

But, yeah, it's a great,
great rivalry.

Some years they get up on us;
some years we get up on them.

- Don't let your bro go
out by themselves.

You gotta fuckin'
have their back. Sorry.

- And, reserve forwards,
when you go on,

I wanna see a big impact.
- Yep.

- Right?
- Yep.

- If you leave, you've got-

well, some of you
will have half,

and some of you will
have 20 minutes,

so just go out there and impact.

- And waste 'em. Yep.
- All right?

- And sink.

- Crouch. Bind.

Set.

We've been in
the final every year

since the women's started,
and we've only won once.

So that's six since 2018.

So we've only won one title.

But we've been in the final
every year. (CHUCKLES)

Yeah. The girls have got
a bit of a burning desire

to get another one this
year. So, yeah.

- We, like,
got the energy this year.

We're, like, 'This is our year.'
We lost it last year.

We gotta bring that trophy
back this year.

I live and breathe
that thought, like,

'We've gotta win this year.'

- This is the first clash
between last year's finalists.

The Southern has claimed
a win over Clifton.

There was just two points in it.

Let the rivalry begin.

- In the morning,
I woke up, and I was nervous.

But I was also hungry,
so... (LAUGHS)

Some girls can't eat
before the game.

Me? I have to eat.

- It's a repeat of
last year's final,

so we're after a bit of payback.

(ROCK MUSIC)

- It's a big game,
just cos, you know, like,

they wanna pretty much knock
us off the top of the ladder,

pretty much. And, you know,

we wanna come here
and prove, you know,

we're the champions
from last year, and, yeah,

give it to them, man.

- A little bit of pressure,
I think.

Everyone's in good spirits,
though, so it's really good.

Um...

there's been a little bit of
talk on the bus about the game.

So, main things to focus
on for right now -

Get changed, get hissing,
and just get out there.

So, yeah, we're ready. (LAUGHS)

- (BLOWS WHISTLE)

- And the match is underway here
at the Tikorangi Sports Ground

on a beautiful
afternoon for rugby.

And Southern with early
possession in the game.

Spinning the ball out wide.

It's good hands, too,
and good passing.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

And she's gonna storm
away and score the try.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE,
WHISTLE BLOWS)

Southern, now.

Oh, good little pass
out the back door.

- I love my club so much.

Southern's been there
for me right from 2018

when we first started the team,

losing 100-0 against Clifton,
may I just add there.

- Clifton now with ball in hand.

That's a good run, but a good
tackle coming across.

It needed to be made.

Still evading the defence,
though, Clifton.

They're up towards the 22.

Quick ball out there.
And the handling is good.

Clifton will slide in and score.
(WHISTLE BLOWS)

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)
- Yes, Ringa!

- Showing the girls my mongrel
that I can bring to the team...

(PLAYERS SHOUT)

...I can tell you this now -

my mongrel comes out when
I get a bit fiery and angry

when someone's
done something to me.

(INDISTINCT YELLING)

- Quick hands again in the
back line. Two on one.

In some space.
Down the touch line.

Cuts back in field.

Just tackled short.
Reaches out and scores.

- Go, Ashley.
- Off the back of the ruck.

Try time. Southern are in again.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

Down the right-hand side they
go, Clifton. Are they over?

The referee says,
yes, they are.

Clifton are over again
for another try.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

Jubilation all round.

Phoenix Fraser smashing
through people.

Elbow is out.
Ooh, that would have hurt.

Clifton are over for another.

(WHISTLING)

- Definitely good for our team.

Character-building for
our girls; you know,

we have a lot of girls here that
we sort of switched around.

Our backline
wasn't our best backline.

(BASSY GUITAR MUSIC)

- So, in 1989,

I started playing for Clifton.

Some of the men were
really anti women playing,

but they didn't understand.

I didn't wanna play
rugby with men.

I wanted to play rugby
with women, you know,

like, so everything was an
even playing field, so to speak.

And so that was,
I guess, a barrier.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- I 100% believe that
if it wasn't for Vicky,

we wouldn't have what we've got
today, because she started it.

She was the driving
force behind it all.

(INDISTINCT YELLING)

- It was the men's sevens
tournament, you know,

for Taranaki. And they asked all
the women that wanted to play

to do a lunchtime...

(LAUGHS) 'Show us what you
got. Let's play women's rugby.'

And I played in that and scored
a couple of tries and thought,

'Why have I waited
so long to do this?'

And wrote to the
rugby union, saying,

'I wanna start a club team
and we wanna play inter-club,

'and we wanna play,
eventually, for New Zealand.'

And I got this letter back
in September 1988.

It said,

'The NZRFU is most favourably
disposed towards women

'taking an active playing
role in the game.'

The thought that we needed to
have permission as well was,

yeah, just a sign of the social
feelings at the time, I suppose.

- I'm sure there are probably
a lot of old, grey-headed

white men that thought Vicky
Dombroski was a nuisance,

but it should never
have been a problem.

It shouldn't have been an issue
to get the OK from people

to say that you
can play this game.

It's just sport,
for heaven's sake.

Just, you know, play it.

- Yeah.
- Yeah. Don't overthink it.

I'm well aware of that trio
of Mum, Vicky and Geri,

and what they've done for
women's rugby in Taranaki,

which makes me very
proud, of course,

you know, being proud
'Naki girls that they are.

They're such humble people that,
like, you wouldn't have any idea

that Vicky was the
first female coach.

Like, I didn't know.
I probably did, but forgot.

That's the kind of people they
are. They don't wanna, you know,

boast about what they've
done with rugby.

It's just the matter of
the fact that they play it

and they love it. Not for
long. I will talk about it.

I'll boast them up. (LAUGHS)

- When I first met
Vicky Dombroski,

that would have been
way back in 1989.

Vicky said to me,

she said, 'The first time
I saw you, I sort of thought,

'She's not gonna be able to
play rugby; she's too pretty.'

I'm, like, 'What?' (LAUGHS)

And she said,
'Then, next time I see you,

'and it's just, like,
oh, my God.'

- I mean, in my mind, you
know, she's just my mum.

But seeing her in her 20s
in a Black Ferns jersey

was, like, 'Whoa.'

That's my mum from when she was,
you know, back in the day, so...

Yeah. And her perm. (LAUGHS)

Rugby, for her, was a love.
It was a love of the game.

Whereas nowadays,

you get paid full-time to be
professional rugby players,

but that's all thanks to what
Mum and her team

and that legacy did for us to be
full-time professional athletes.

They put rugby on the map,

so it's all thanks to them
for where we are today

with women's rugby, and to know
that my mum was a part of that

makes me very, very proud.

- Full circle, all these
things, you know -

everything comes
around, goes around.

They got a legacy.

(LAUGHS) There's been
some magical players

come out of this club,

and they've got a legacy
to follow, yeah.

(GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC)

- So, my full name,
including my middle name

is Michaela Grace Blyde.

My nicknames are MG,

Mini, Michaela Gracie,

Gracie, Legs 11,

Beautiful, Babe,

Mini Mac. Taranaki is MG.

That's about it. (LAUGHS)

Yeah. Whenever I drive home,
one of the first things

that I'll look out
to is the coast.

And that's when I'm thinking
to myself 'Yeah, I'm home.

'I'm back where I belong.'

So very proud to say
that I'm from Taranaki.

Like, my fondest memories are

getting chucked into the calf
trailer in behind the motorbike,

and then going with
Dad in the morning

to go and collect the calves,

even if it was at
5 o'clock in the morning.

And then I also weirdly enjoyed
herd testing. (LAUGHS)

(COW MOOS)

When it comes to my parents
and working on the farm,

there is no weekends off.

You know, the cowshed doesn't
randomly close on a Sunday.

Come here, Dad.

Come here, Dad.
Just give me a hug.

Give me a hug.
- (LAUGHS)

Work ethic has been huge. You
know, like she's seen Mum and I,

you know, we're still
out there doing it now.

So, you know, she realises if
you wanna get somewhere,

you've gotta put
in the hard yards.

And, you know, let's be honest -

Michaela has put
in the hard yards.

She's sacrificed a lot
from age 18 to 25, 26.

When kids are going out
and having a good time,

Michaela would be training.

And reaping the benefits
now, obviously, so...

Nah, I'm very proud of her.
Yeah, what she's done,

what she's accomplished
from little Lepperton.

You know, you don't have to be
from Auckland, Wellington -

you can do it from Lepperton.

- We clearly don't
like the city. (LAUGHS)

- She's really stepped up -
flying on the outside.

Michaela Blyde with the
first try of the quarterfinal.

- So whenever you see Michaela
after she scored a try,

she goes like that.
That's to her dad.

- Dad was the person who
taught me how to score a try.

He was the one that went
to my soccer games

when Mum was with
the boys playing rugby,

and so it was just a reminder.

It was meant to be subtle, but
now I've scored over 200 tries,

so it's not subtle any more.

Um, a reminder that
he's also important.

Just because he wasn't a
Black Fern or an All Black

doesn't mean that he wasn't
a huge part of my childhood.

- 250 times, Michaela
has scratched her nose,

and that's 'Hello, Dad.'

And I've seen every single
one of them, so...

Very special. Yeah, yeah.

(ACOUSTIC GUITAR MUSIC)

- Rugby, Southern, Kate Thomson.

(SNAP!)
(LAUGHS)

That is so cool.
I don't know why.

I just love being outdoors.

I'm a physical person,
so I like to,

whether it be on
the rugby field,

like, doing everything with my
hands. I'm an active relaxer.

Being able to have
free range on a farm,

whether it's dairy, sheep and
beef or anything like that -

just outdoors is
the main thing.

And sitting in an office,
like, yuck. (LAUGHS)

I've been there, done
that. It's not for me.

Growing up, I've been passed
around my family a little bit,

so I've lived with both
sets of grandparents,

both of my parents,

and I moved out of home
when I'd just turned 17

to go to my first
shepherding job.

I'm in the Southern Sharks.

I consider myself an
old girl. (LAUGHS)

Or an original,
an OG of our team.

I've been playing
for Southern for...

This is my eighth year
playing for Southern,

and I love it.

I could never, ever wear
another team's colours.

(LAUGHS)

Oh, look, here they
come. (LAUGHS)

Hey, darlings.

Hi.
- (BARKS)

- Scout's a Mini Friesian.
(LAUGHS)

When I first started out,
when I was shepherding,

I was the only girl on my farm.
Definitely felt out of place.

Hey, darlings.

Now, you're ,like, you know,
growing in the industry,

being a loud voice for
women in agriculture,

I guess you can say that

I'm loud, proud to
be a dairy farmer.

I just want to find
my friendly cow,

but I can't seem to find her.

I think farming in general
is very isolated.

Getting hungry now? (LAUGHS)

Cos it can be very isolating
sometimes

when you're talking
to your cows.

I think you know, you know,
'OK, Kate, this is not good.

(LAUGHS)

'Time to go for a beer,
catch up with your mates,

'or, you know,
go to rugby training.'

Once you're out of those
farm gates, milking's done,

it's a sigh of relief. Like,
'OK, cool, I can go home,

'light the fire,
you know, relax out.'

(SERENE GUITAR MUSIC)

My mum travels over 600km to
actually come and watch me play

every Saturday,
so just having and knowing

that she's taken that
time out of her day

to come watch me play
means so much to me.

Yeah. Absolutely does.

Yeah. Especially when you
hear her yelling on the field.

(LAUGHS) God damn,
she's loud. (LAUGHS)

- How are ya?
- I'm good.

OK.

My mum's brought my nana, who's
cremated, with her. (CHUCKLES)

Fuckin' weirdo.

Right, then.

I always play for, like,
my Nana Sue,

who passed away just recently.

She was a firm believer
in women in sport.

She could never
come watch me play,

so in finals, you always
have, like, a little band,

and you write stuff on there,

like, so, like, my Nana
Sue and my stepdad.

They're the ones that, you know,
if you're on the ground,

and you don't wanna get
up or you're really tired,

you seem to look down at them,

and it gives you the
sudden burst of energy,

or ,like, 'I'm playing for them.
I've got this,' kind of thing.

So it is extremely helpful...
(LAUGHS)

....to do that, cos you don't
wanna let them down.

You know, they've put so much of
their time when they were alive

with you doing
that kind of stuff.

So I think it's important
to let them run out

on the field with you. (LAUGHS)

Yeah. And hopefully
win. (LAUGHS)

So,

Nana?
- Cos Nana.

- Why'd you bring her?
- I brought Nana because

Grandad's finished making
her wooden box.

- Oh, nice.

- And I didn't stop on the way,
so I stop on the way home.

So Grandad can put
her in the wooden box.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Oh, fuckin' hell.
She's heavy as.

- Cos she's got all those
dogs in there with her.

- I'm scared, like, something's
gonna jump out at me.

- My dreams for Kate would be

to find a lovely, lovely man...

and have babies.
I want grandbabies. (LAUGHS)

- My mum has wanted me
to have kids for a long time.

But I will not be having kids

until I get my 100th
for Southern.

I wanna be the first
woman in Taranaki

to get a hundred premier women's
games under her belt.

And then I can retire (LAUGHS)
and start farting out kids.

(LAUGHS)

(COUNTRY MUSIC)

(BIRDS WARBLE)

- What have you got
going on in there?

- It's lamb's kidney
and lamb's heart.

Did you want to try some?
It's good for you.

You'll actually like it.

- I like it, but it's
not what I fancy.

- Dad cook for you and that?
- Yeah, he cooks most nights.

Cooks dinner for us and lunch.

Breakfast - pretty much cooks
for me all day long. (LAUGHS)

He's quite the master chef,
so he likes his things,

I like my things.

- What do you like?
- I do not like that.

- Maddy - what's it
like to coach Maddy?

It has its challenges at times.

They're all like daughters
to me in some sort of way.

But...

You know, we have our ups
and downs, like any team.

You know, you get your odd
catty bitchiness and cattiness

that has to be stood
on, you know,

when it doesn't need to be.

But that happens
in any team environment.

So I'm sure the All Blacks have
that sort of shit going on too.

(LAUGHS)

- Yeah. Playing for
Clifton, it feels good,

cos I've played there
since I was little.

So, like, putting the colours
on just brings back

all the memories from
when we're playing.

Even if we're not
always playing,

they're always supporting us.

Even though we're
girls playing rugby.

Even though people say
rugby isn't a girl's sport.

But, yeah, it's cool to see
everyone out there,

and it means a lot to put
those colours back on.

Yeah.

- Rugby's an outlet for me.
It's an interest off-farm,

and you have to have
an interest off-farm,

because you'd drive yourself
fucking mad otherwise.

Like, you would.

This year's sort of taking
quite a toll, like, doing both.

It's sort of been
quite hard, but,

yeah. See what happens.
(CHUCKLES)

- I'm trying to convince
him one more.

So then he'll be there
when I get my blazer.

One more season.

(CRICKETS CHIRR)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER, LAUGHTER)

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Kia ora.

- What up, big dog? (LAUGHS)

- This week's gonna be
our toughest Test, OK?

So we need to sharpen up on what
we did wrong on the weekend.

There wasn't a lot.
It was a good performance, 100%.

But we need to be, like,
right in their face.

Because Southern will capitalise
on that, like, big time.

Right. Let's get out there and
do our game-day warm-up

and rip into it.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

(WARM MUSIC)

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

Hit it!
- Yeah!

- I love being in
a women's team.

You can have a bit of fun.

First, get all that
giggliness out of you

before you start
a serious training.

And the coaches know that too.

So when you've got good coaches
that really believe in you,

and if you have a bit
of fun and laughter,

it really helps build
that team culture

and also build up the team.

- Mereana's a great girl.

Well, she's not a girl -
She's a woman.

This year, she's gone
leaps and bounds.

She's got even better.

- I've gotta get it!

Wow. I said I will charge at it.

I am a tighthead prop.

My job is being, kind of,
the strong pillar of the team

and making sure that I kind
of carry, like, the strength,

and kind of bunting people over.

That's my sort of fun
when I'm on the field.

That's the kind of pleasure
I get out of the rugby game,

is just, kind of,
bunting people off

and also running over people,

and then giving them
a bit of a big hit at the end.

- Whoa. She's strong.
She's so strong!

One, two, three.

- But then, at the same
time, I gotta do my job.

So if I'm gonna hurt you,
I'm gonna hurt you.

And if you get knocked
out, you get knocked out.

And if you hurt your shoulder,
you hurt your shoulder.

I mean, strengthen it up.

Maybe. (LAUGHS)

- She'll whack someone
in a big tackle really hard.

She'll get up and
say 'Ooh, sorry.'

- (LAUGHS) She does.
- You know?

So, hey. Yeah, she's got the...

She's got a heart of gold.

- All righty. Room 14,
haere mai, haere mai, haere mai.

Who's using their mat manners?
Sitting up straight, eyes on me.

- CHILDREN: Eyes on you.

- Looking at me.
- Looking at you.

- Smiling at me.
- Smiling at you.

- Ka pai. Tino rawe.

- Mereana, she's my oldest.
We only had one daughter.

And then we have
four other sons.

So she's my highlight, being
my first daughter, obviously.

University, for me,
is a new thing.

You know, my daughter
graduating at high honours.

Those goals she's achieved,

she's done it all on herself and
out there by herself. So yeah.

- READS: Sharky McShark
and the teency, wee...

- BOTH: ...crab.
- Mm-hm.

I feel like in rugby

I can forget about whatever's
going on in my work life.

Sprint! Here we go!

Ooh! Shivers!

I have to find a balance
between rugby and school.

Because obviously when
I'm playing on the field,

I look like I'm an
aggressive, angry person.

But then when it
comes to school,

I'm, like, this gentle
giant to the little ones.

You're making me tired.

That's one thing that school
and the kids teach me

is patience. So hopefully
I can bring that into the field

as well. (LAUGHS)
Patience is key.

(UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC)

(LAUGHTER)

- I can't do that.

Players.

I play, like, in the forwards,
so, obviously,

same as everyone, like,
you know, I wanna hit, like,

smash people,
and I get adrenaline

out of hitting, smashing people.

But then I also think I have
the other physicalities

to, like, run and get
around people, I guess.

- Phoenix has the capability
of doing whatever she wants.

She is not cut out for

Monday to Friday, work 9 till 5.

She's a little bit extra,

they call it these days,
don't they? She's a little bit-

Is it? They just call it extra.

She's extra. Yeah.

- Probably, Phoenix probably
would excel as a sevens player,

just her speed and strength.

Yeah. Those young girls
that come in this year

have all got a big future,

whether it's league
or union or what.

They've just... Yeah,
They have got a big future.

- The first year I wanted to
play rugby, Mum didn't let me.

I was doing gymnastics
or something.

- Oh yeah. So, Phoenix was
doing gymnastics at the time.

Um, and... (SIGHS)

do I look like
a dance mum? No. (LAUGHS)

- And then the next year,

it wasn't Mum taking Neo to
the registrations, it was Dad.

So I swooped in there, and
I told him to put my name down.

When I started,
I was a bit more freaked out

about, like,
getting hit and stuff.

Dad would just tell me,
like, 'Oh, nah. You're fine.

'You're all good.
Get up,' you know?

- Team sports give structure
and, like, it teaches them stuff

that I can't teach
them as a parent.

And I don't think they
learn that young.

They learn how to do cartwheels
on a field together. (CHUCKLES)

But as they get
older, it changes,

and then they get the real
gold from the team sports,

almost. Yeah.

- And it'd be awesome
to get paid to play -

like, anyone's dream, yeah.

But, no, I love it, and I hope
to make it to the top,

just as far as I can go for,
like, women's rugby or league.

- Michaela Blyde, she went to
New Plymouth Girls High School,

and so it's good for the local
girls here that we've got,

you know, such a representative
for women's rugby.

She's a superstar.

(DOWNBEAT MUSIC)

- Nice and loud, please.

- Girls on three!
One, two three!

- ALL: Girls!
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

- Oh, to have a Michaela Blyde
tournament that's after me,

like, that's a huge honour.

- Good girl, Rita.
Go forwards. Go forwards.

- Amazing. Like,
such a phenomenal athlete.

You know,
the girls look up to her,

and she's just the athlete

that you want the
girls to look up to.

You know, she just does
everything so well.

And the work ethic is huge.

So it's cool.

It's really cool to have
a cup after Michaela Blyde.

- Nice, Annika!

Good girl!

- To hear people say, 'Oh, yeah,
Michaela Blyde's my idol,

'I wanna be just like her,'

Sometimes it's a pinch-myself
moment, because to me,

I'm just still a real country
kid from Taranaki,

even better, from Lepperton,
who just loves playing rugby.

And so it is definitely
a reminder

that I have a really
massive responsibility

to inspire this young generation
to want to be rugby players.

- I got a photo with her.
-Yeah, I've seen her.

And she's so short.

- She's very short, yep.

- Just watching her
at the Olympics-

- But she's so fast. We were
watching her at the Olympics.

- She inspires me, yep.
- She was awesome.

She was awesome.
- She's inspiring.

- Inspiring.

- She's a very inspiring
rugby player.

- Yes.
- ALL: Michaela Blyde.

- You know, just having another
Taranaki girl out there,

and it's so good to see the
Michaela Blyde Cup out there,

and, you know,
the name's getting there,

and all the girls are wanting
to be like Michaela Blyde

and all that kind of stuff.
So It'll be cool.

It's cool for the game.

- ALL: Good game, good game,
good game, good game.

Good game, good game,
good game, good game.

Good game, good game, good game.

- Well done.
- ALL: Good game, good game.

- Well done.
- Well done, boys..

(POIGNANT COUNTRY MUSIC)

(ENGINE REVS, RUMBLES)

- It's always busy in the
mornings for me on Saturdays.

Getting up at 5.30, going
to get the cows and milking,

going straight from work to
the game to go warm up,

straight home. I have in the
past even gone straight to work

in my playing kit,
because I've never been late.

It is actually freezing.

People don't wanna be up
at negative-2 degrees

in the morning, you know,
can't feel your hands.

Farming can be very deceiving.

I mean, look,
the beautiful views that we get,

with the mountain behind me.
I'm sitting on a hay bale.

You know, you can almost
see the grass growing.

The sun's out. but farmers are
the ones that have to front up,

to get that milk
into that vat for...

so people can have their
coffees in the morning.

So my plan of attack for
rugby as of last night,

so we're milking the
second herd now,

and then from here,

straight home,

have a protein shake, so I've
got something in my tummy,

and then go
straight to the field,

start warming up.

(COW MOOS)

(SMACK!)

- For Kate's first proper
pair of rugby boots,

it took me about six months
to save up to get her a pair,

and I said to her that if
I buy you a pair of boots,

you have to look after them.

But she's still not very
good at doing that.

She runs around in the morning,

trying to get everything
together in a rush.

Yeah.

- And here's the semi-final

between Southern and
Coastal Okaiawa

here at Hicks Park in Hawera.

The referee's said
'Let's get underway.'

Coastal Okaiawa kick off.
Beautiful day here.

Driving maul to the line.
They're close. They're over.

What does the referee say?

Try time.
And the disappointment is clear.

- Right now the score is 5-0
to the opposing team,

Okaiawa Coastal.

- Great fend and a power through
the defence for Southern.

- Good girl! Stay with her,
Mels, stay with her!

- Great run through the defence.

Needs the support.
What a great offload!

Stunner for the corner.
They'll get there.

Oh, what a great run!
Down the sideline.

Needs some support.

(ROCK MUSIC)

- We need to look up, and that's
when we know when they're going.

OK? I love rugby. Smart rugby.

Spread out on defence.
We're all bunchy.

Bunching hard. Trust your
insides and your outsides.

- The semi-final's not gonna
roll up and give it to us.

We've gotta keep working.
We're working our arses off.

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

(ROCK MUSIC CONTINUES)

- Here's a run down to the
sideline by the captain.

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

And she's gonna
score the try.

That's the match winner!

And Southern are
through to the finals.

`- We're into the
finals, babies.

- Yeah, we could
take it out, 100%.

And, yeah, it would
mean everything.

That'll be our fourth
championship win

that I've had with
the Sharky Wahs

if we can pull the
season through.

- Finals, baby!

- Yeah the Sharky Wahs.
- Up the fuckin' Sharky Wahs.

(PEACEFUL GUITAR MUSIC)

(ENGINE RUMBLES)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

Oh ,my God, it's cold
out there. (LAUGHS)

- Well, I lit the fire.
- Thank you so much. Hello.

(CHUCKLES) Hi. (CHUCKLES)

`Have you missed me?

- I do worry about Kate,

and there have
been occasions where

I have had to just
drop everything

and drive the three
hours to come to her.

She's had a couple
of sporting injuries,

where she needed
some support there,

you know, just to
help her out of it.

- You're so pretty.

I think it was inevitable

that I was gonna have
some sort of knee issues.

It was in a same-tackle motion.
My knee went back that way.

- And it wasn't diagnosed
to start with,

so she's hobbling around
on this compound fracture.

And then we took her
back to the hospital,

and they gave her an MRI.

And it was one of the worst
compound fractures

that they'd seen.

- They've seen all this
black bone, and they're, like,

'Come here,
have a look at this.'

And it turned out to
actually be dead bone.

So my knee had actually already
started really deteriorating.

- That was her worst injury.

And I think her spiral fracture
in her finger was another one,

because they were
treating it like a sprain.

So they were pulling
at it and pushing at it

to try to put it back in place.

- I can't feel it, cos
you've put so much...

- But the actual bone
down the finger had split.

- I grabbed her with
my shirt and my hand,

and she landed on top
of my hand like that.

So I dislocated
all these fingers,

but this finger here
was dislocated,

and the nail was
facing towards me.

So, yeah, it was pretty bad.

I don't have a lot of
feeling and stuff in it.

- It doesn't matter what
position they play either.

There is no safe position.

It's rugby - it's a man's game.

And those ladies
play it like men.

They really, really do.
Blows my mind.

- I've had a lot of knockouts
and concussions.

My worst one was when
I was playing in Hawke's Bay,

and I was playing
league over there,

and I just got a knee
straight to the head

and knocked out cold.

- You see everybody else,

but you don't see that big,
blonde head popping up.

- So you wake up and,
you can't see anything - ooh.

- And she was
calling out for me.

She was, 'Mum, Mum.'

- And I just, like,
see my mum popping over.

'Don't you cry, Bobby.
Don't you cry.'

- No, it was 'Don't
you fucking cry, Bob.'

- I knew I'd cry.

- So the not crying
on the field...

is...

I don't wanna say it shows
you're being weak, cos it's not-

it's not a weak thing. It's a...

You've gotta have
your game face on.

You've gotta be on that
field and you've gotta be...

(GROWLS) you know?

The field is a battlefield,

and there's no place
for tears on there.

You know?
It's a rough, tough game.

And if you wanna play it,

you play it without crying
on the fucking field.

(SLOW BLUES MUSIC)

- Growing up on
a farm, it's been...

has its good days,
and it has its bad days,

especially when
the cows break out,

and you gotta go help Dad early
in the morning. (CHUCKLES)

Nah, but I loved growing
up on the farm.

You just get so many
different aspects of life,

whereas, townie, you don't get
that much. (CHUCKLES)

(BLUES MUSIC CONTINUES)

- Fuck off.
- (GIGGLES)

- You're annoying me.
- Naw.

- Get out.

- Yeah, I do feel in the shadows
of my brother and sister.

She's a professional
league player,

and he's a professional
basketball player.

And everyone's, like,
'Oh, what are you?

'You're not nothing yet.'

Like, they're just always asking
when and what I'm gonna do.

And I'm, like, 'I don't know
yet. I'm still young.'

- I think I was a little bit
maybe the trial and error child

and, um,

yeah, obviously
being the oldest,

You kind of carry that flag.

Your parents were still learning
as you were growing up,

and then by the time they
get to the third, it's, like,

'Oh well. Do what you want.

'Live your best life.'

Don't start.

My sister probably didn't
have it easy, by any means,

with all the injuries and
stuff that she endured.

- And then he goes,
'What are you doing?

'Stop crying. Get up.
Just take a concrete pill.'

And I was, like, 'I can't.
This one really hurts.'

- No, she wasn't breathing,
though - she was just-

- I was hyperventilating.
- She was hyperventilating.

And I said to her, 'Stop
fucking crying and breathe.

'Like, breathe,
and you'll be fine.'

Yeah. She was injured,
obviously, but...

- I still tried to play on.

- She still strapped
up and tried to play.

So it can't have been
that fucking sore.

- I had an ice pack
strapped to my arm.

And I was, like,
running around like this.

- But nah, she didn't
end up getting on.

I didn't let her get on. But I
mean, yeah, it was broken. Yeah.

- It certainly was.
- (CLEARS THROAT)

Yeah, that's all it was.
She was just hyperventilating.

She just needed to breathe,
to calm herself down.

That's all it was. So...

Yeah.

- I was only 3 when
I was in the cowshed,

and I was playing on the
backing gate with my siblings.

(POIGNANT MUSIC)

And I got my arms caught
under the wheels

that were on the backing gate
that brings the cows forward.

And it's sort of like a train
going over a train track -

it's quite fast and sharp.

It rolled over my arms
and cut my arm off,

so it was only hanging
on by a tiny bit.

And then this one
was also stuck,

but my brother pulled
that one out.

- Then my mum walked out
with Maddie in her arms

covered in blood.

Wasn't a pretty picture.

Basically, the doctor
said if she was 9 or 10,

they would have just
cut her hands off.

But because she was only 3,

they stitched her up, and...

Yeah.

It was pretty horrific, really.

So it took a long recovery,

a long, long recovery. So...

- When my dad was telling
the story to you guys,

I was quite upset. Like, I...

We don't really talk about
it much in this house,

cos they know how much it...

can have a toll on me.

But, yeah, it's
quite a scary time.

I just... Yeah, I didn't know
what was happening.

All I know is I was then
in the ambulance.

People cut my pyjamas
off. (LAUGHS)

They were my favourite ones.

But yeah,

really scary time.

When people bring it up,
I kind of start crying

or I have to laugh it away,
so then I don't cry.

When people ask what happens,
I say, if I don't like them,

I tell them I got bit by
a shark. (CHUCKLES)

- When she was younger,
we were always a little

bit more wary of her
and what she was doing,

especially on the farm,
and where the accidents

can happen and shit like that.

Anyone was gonna break
a fucking bone, it was her.

- You're still wary, though.
Every time I get in the tractor,

he's, like, 'Be careful.'
- Yeah.

- 'Don't hurt yourself.'
- Yeah. So it's just...

Oh, it's just the
parent thing, isn't it?

- Natural instinct.
- Mm.

(RELAXED COUNTRY MUSIC)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

- Semi-finals,
those are big-time.

So we gotta keep
our head in the game.

- How are you feeling?
- I'm all right. Bit hungover,

but that's it. (LAUGHS)

- He went over to the
neighbour's the night before,

and what they do
on a Friday night,

have a few beers,
you know, just to catch up,

cos they'd been away. So Dad
was a little bit hungover.

I said, 'Only a few. We've got
a game tomorrow, right?'

Nervous. (GIGGLES)

Just, yeah, wanna get it done
and over with. (CHUCKLES)

- Did you sleep all right?
- No. Slept like shit.

I got home about 10,
and then I just couldn't sleep.

I don't know why - just nervous,

but I don't know why for.

(ROCK MUSIC)

(BROOM RASPS)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

- Beautiful day here at
the Tikorangi Sports Ground,

the other semi-final
between Clifton and Inglewood.

Great to see Vicky
Dombroski here -

the only female coach
of the Black Ferns.

(ROCK MUSIC)

Anderson fends off
a couple of tacklers.

Good momentum here for Clifton.

Stormy run by the number
eight for Clifton.

They've got some momentum now.

They've got some
space down the edge.

And Louise Blyde scores.
(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

- Seriously, how bad
do you guys want this?

- Very bad.

- Because you're
playing like fucking shit.

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

- Phoenix Fraser now,
ball in one hand.

Spots the gap and goes
for it. What a great run!

Here's Davidson.
It's 29-0 at the break.

- Yeah. Somewhat avid Clifton
supporter and ex-player.

Still just love, uh,

being here and acknowledging

some of those silky
smooth skills

that we see out
there today. Yeah.

- The way we're playing
at the moment,

there ain't no way we're
gonna win the grand final.

I rarked them up.
Yeah, I did. (LAUGHS)

- It's a very comfortable
lead for Clifton.

And the coach is
still not happy.

(ROCK MUSIC)

In possession again, Clifton,

in a really dominant display.

`(WHOOPING)

Quick hands here for Clifton.

Clifton to the corner.
They're over.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

- Yeah, we really needed to
dominate the second half,

as they dominated
the first half,

and we had to pull our
fingers out of our arse

and get our shit into game.

But we finally did it after
probably 20 minutes or so,

which was good.
That's what we needed.

- Inglewood gave us a
good contest, actually.

It was a real good contest.
Yeah. That's what we needed.

Yeah. Our girls - probably
our worst game we've played,

actually, to be honest.

I just asked them at half-time

how much they really wanted it.

You know? What
we've built towards the-

for this whole season,
and, yeah.

Just told them a few home
truths, to be honest. Mm.

(BASSY ROCK MUSIC)

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE, WHISTLING)

- On-on-one with Nathan. Gonna
try and weave her way through.

Gets through Teagan Levi.

And now pushing away
and just weaving.

The balance and the pace
from Michaela Blyde.

Gets away from Faith Nathan!

That's absolutely sublime

from Michaela Blyde!

- So much adrenaline.

I go into this beast-mode zone,

where no matter
who's in front of me,

I'm going to beat you.
I'm going to run around you.

I'm going to hit you.

It's a mentality that's,

kind of, hard to describe,

unless you're truly in it.

Um, and...

when I've got the
ball in my hand,

no matter who we're up
against or what game it is,

whether it's an Olympic
gold medal final

or the first game

of our pool matches at a
World Series, my mindset is

'I'm gonna catch the ball,
and I'm gonna embarrass you.

' I'm gonna make you
look worse than me.'

Yeah. I call it my, um,

IBM - Inner Beast Mode.

- Are you kidding me?

That is sensational stuff
from Michaela Blyde!

- I've been in the Black Ferns
sevens since 2012.

I was 16. I'm nearly 29,

so it's been nearly 13 years of

professional environments
and professional training

and sevens - just sevens.

There's obviously a lot of women
who have transitioned

into league and it
has become their job.

So I just wanna be
a part of something

that's growing each
and every year.

And for me, the Warriors are
giving me the opportunity.

And so I can't wait to put
on a Warriors jersey.

And just to be a part of a group
of females who play league

for the love of it
but are also very, very young.

I'm, like, the third or second
oldest in the team.

(GROANS) And so I'm gonna
be like one of those nannies.

(LAUGHS)

And I'm gonna be relying on
these young 18- to 20-year-olds

to teach me how to play
league, which is exciting.

Like, I can't wait to be a
student again and learn -

like, I haven't learnt in,
like, three or four years now,

just because of my experience
in the sevens game now.

And so I'm ready to be a student
again and to be the one that's

asking questions rather than
the one that's answering them.

- Good girl. Shot.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- I've been over to Australia
just recently for league,

in a little mentoring group,
just to have a look at the

facilities over in Australia and
what they're like over there.

(DOWNBEAT ROCK MUSIC)

And so I think that's definitely

opened a few doors for me

potentially just to have
a look at and, um,

be interested in.

- She's got some
speed, that girl.

- Yeah. Not quite
Michaela, but yeah.

- I see Phoenix as getting
to the Kiwi Ferns

more than the
Black Ferns. (CHUCKLES)

But yeah. Oh, either, either.

They could definitely make
either, either. Yeah.

- Like, it was kind of
just a Saturday sport.

But now, like, it's pretty
much my whole life.

- It's small steps.
We're taking one step at a time.

And each step is amazing.

It's phenomenal. And if we
don't get to the next step or,

you know, it stops there,

just to have those opportunities
and experiences

for these young girls
is pretty epic.

- Phoenix Fraser.
(APPLAUSE)

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- So make sure we get out there,
girls; and your starting -

you start hard. We need you
off the blocks nice and early.

- Phoenix and her dad talked
about league a lot, a lot.

And so it's Phoenix's...

It's a big thing for her

and what her and her
dad talked about

as a goal together.

Yeah. Yeah.
So it's pretty special.

(SOLEMN MUSIC)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

- A few days before,
we got into an argument,

but that was about league,

and I had not done what
he told me to do.

And so when he got mad at
me, he wouldn't talk to me.

No, It was just this thing.

And, like, I knew it wouldn't
go on for very long.

But then that day, I woke
up, and we, kind of,

started talking again.
And so it was, like, good.

I knew he was going surfing,
and then, I was babysitting,

and then Mum called
me and told me that...

she was gonna be-
Oh, she texted me, sorry,

and she told me that she
was gonna be a little bit late,

cos something had happened.

And I'm really good at
picking up on things like that.

Like, when something's wrong,
I just get these massive, like,

you know, feelings.

(SOLEMN MUSIC CONTINUES)

- Dad had caught a wave and just
put his hand, like, you know,

he was, like, 'Yeah, yeah.'
Cheering. And then he went,

paddled out,
caught another wave,

and then put his
hand up, and then...

that was him.

It was probably one of the
biggest paddle-out I've ever

seen. There was, like, 200
and something people there.

`Everyone kind of
circled around us.

There was a group of us in
the middle, which was me,

my brother and my sister,
and then his closest friends.

- One,

two, three!

(ALL WHOOP, CHEER)

(SOMBRE MUSIC)

- I can just feel him.
Like, in my heart,

in my body. You know, like,

even in the back of my head,
I can hear him yelling,

just cos he was such a big
mouth when he was here.

It doesn't really go away -

his voice. Yeah.

- Dan had a tone, and so Phoenix
would hear the tone sometimes,

and she would give him the look,

is it, you know, 'You'd better
shut up.' Like, that's what she-

And then he'd not shut up.
And so that was his support.

But I think in hindsight,

for what's happened,

that's the voice
she can hear now.

That voice, that tone -
she can hear that.

And that's what drives her.

- But, yeah, no,
I think he'd be so proud of me,

if I made it that high.

Or made it that far with
my rugby and my league.

So that's what I aim to do,

just purely for him
and for my mum.

(PLANE WHOOSHES)

(WATER RUSHES)

- My dad's my biggest idol.
He doesn't know that.

Won't tell him -
unless he watches this.

But it's definitely my
dad, I think, cos,

like, he's really helped
me push myself in rugby.

And he wants to get the
full potential out of me.

So he's definitely my idol.

I mean, I could say,

other players

that played for the All Blacks,
but, no, it's my dad.

`He's cool.

He'd love to see me be in
that Black Ferns jersey.

You know?
It would make him proud.

- (SLURPS)

- Yeah. So, I got an email.
Had no idea who it was,

what this thing was for,

and when I finally
told my parents,

they knew who the coach was

that was gonna be taking us,
but I had no idea who he was.

Everyone else did but me.

- So, here in Auckland,
running the first ever

Black Ferns scrum
camp, or scrum clinic,

I think this morning
when I mentioned that

I'm here to find Black Ferns,
it might be the first time

that they've actually
thought about that.

When you see the
look in their eyes,

it's pretty cool.

- And I was sitting
on the chair, like, 'Huh?'

Oh, I got a bit emotional with
that one, cos I was, like,

'Oh, my gosh, are you serious?

'I'm just, you know,
a girl from Taranaki,

'doesn't even know anything,

'only been playing
rugby for three years,'

and then come to this
camp, and then all this...

all these opportunities are
arising. So I'm, like, 'Yep.

'I'll take that.'

- Oh, there's no front-row
Barbie. You know? There's no...

Not many girls grow up dreaming
of being a tighthead prop.

So giving it a go, and then
realising that, 'Hey,

'I'm actually good at this,'
and then, actually, 'Hey,

'I might get paid to hang
out with my mates

'and travel the world
and play footy,'

is a pretty awesome prospect.

- Father's dream is to see,
you know, your kids

to achieve the Black Ferns.

- The next couple of years,
she's gonna be a really,

really good player.

She's critical to our scrum
and forward pack.

Justin, like, treats them
as his daughters, eh.

And you would. I'd do the same.

You know, you treat them as
your daughters, you know,

cos that's- we call it a
pounamu, a treasure.

That's his pounamu, you
know, that's his treasure,

that he's gotta hold
every game, every training.

He's gotta take that home.

(BLOWS WHISTLE)
- Nice, that's good.

(APPLAUSE)

(SERENE MUSIC)

(BIRDS CHIRP)

- I mean, it's always good to

get off-farm and catch
up with my uncle.

Like, he's always in
a good headspace.

And then when you
get taken out hunting,

you know, it's a special thing.

So, still coming
straight to your work?

- Yeah. I'm here now.
- Oh yeah. Sweet.

Won't be too far away.

- I've got some scones
and a bit of slice, and-

- Oh shit. Aren't you sorted?

- Yeah!
- (LAUGHS)

- Kiwis, bro. Trying
to sort for everyone.

(SHEEP BAA)

(CLIPPERS BUZZ)

- Growing up with Uncle Aran,
he was always, like,

everyone was always scared,
but us kids would all, you know,

'Oh, I'll kick you up the
bloody arse,' you know,

if we were in trouble,
but, I mean,

he was also the coolest person
to hang out with as well.

And now, you know, we have
a bond that's quite strong.

I spend a lot of time with him.

Probably not as
much as I should,

but I spend more time with him

than probably anyone
else in my family,

to be fair.

- How's everybody
have their drinks?

Two lots of milk.
- (LAUGHS) Two lots of milk.

This season's been
quite rough on me,

mentally and physically.
Being a farmer as well,

you can't show your emotions
and be sad or cry all the time.

There's no time for it.

That's really yummy.

- Yeah, there's been quite
a bit of loss in Kate's life.

My partner of 14 years
committed suicide.

(SIGHS)

Um...

Cos, I mean, there's
been a lot of loss for Kate.

- Like, losing my stepdad
was huge for me.

Aw.

(SNIFFLES) Um...

He just had so much input
in my life and my rugby.

So it was really hard
when he passed away.

But, like, mental
health is so huge.

And especially playing rugby,

getting head knocks
all the time.

There is obviously
more of a chance

that you're gonna
fall into those spots.

So my mum always worries that...

that I'll fall into
something like that.

- I'll always be there
for Kate, you know -

I think her of one
of my own, really.

And she had troubles,
she had struggles,

and you just had to pick her up
and help her along some days.

'Oh no. Don't.' You just pick
her up, and you help her.

'Come on, babe,' you know?

And you just gotta be there
for them and support.

If you give somebody support,

there's a light at the
end of the tunnel.

(DOG BARKS)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- Oh. A fucking bee
came through the window.

- Cool
- Ugh! Not again!

No, cos I react really
bad for this shit.

- Do ya?
- Fuck off!

Why does this shit have to
happen to me? (GROANS)

- (LAUGHS)

Aw. Even your dog's
abandoning you.

He's, like, 'Fuck that!
I'm over here.'

- It really hurts.
- Aw.

- Brings out the best
in you, don't it, babe?

Somebody with no support,
well, they just go backwards,

out the back door,

and you forget about them -
see you later down the road.

So rugby and what
it's instilled in her

and things that she's learned
has really helped her.

I can see it, eh,
right from the get-go.

She's amazing.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

There's two deer.

(GUNSHOT)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

- Oh, look. There he is.

Fuck yes, Uncle.

At 57, fuck, he'll be tired.

I feel so bad for him.

Shit, you're a beast, Uncle.
- I gotta...

practise what I preach.
- Huh?

- When I tell the young
people never to give up.

- (LAUGHS)

Well.
- Nearly there, girl.

Nearly there.
There's the fucking fence.

No! Fucked it up!
- Oh, fuck.

- Just like in a rugby game.

One more push,
and you're over the line!

Auē! We've got it. We've got it.

Yep. Just lean against the fence
and drop it on the other side.

- Fucking hell.

- If you can't pick
things like that up,

and you're not willing
to go that extra mile

for these individuals,

well, you might as well throw
grassroots out the window,

cos that's what it's all about.
It's about empowering them,

right from when they are
young and mobilising them,

to get them moving.
You know? That supports.

You know? I'm pretty heartfelt
on that situation, really.

(BIRDS CHIRP)

(PERCUSSIVE MUSIC)

Whakataka te hau ki te uru.

Whakataka te hau ki te tonga.

Kia mākinakina ki uta,

Kia mātaratara ki tai,

hei hī aki ana te atakura.

He tio, he huka,

he hauhū. Tihei...

mauriora.

Finals. Emotional day, you know?

What are we playing for?
Who are we playing for?

Our koro. The maunga.

It's dressed up today,
cos it's got the snow.

When you see the cloak,
that's our korowai,

that our koro puts on,

making it beautiful for the day.

(BASSY MUSIC)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

- Coming into finals,
the more I think about it,

the more I get a bit 'giggity'
in my tummy about it.

(POP MUSIC)

- So now we start pushing on.

Better just do with
everything we do, OK?

And we're fucking
hissing. Let's push.

(LAUGHTER)

- This will hopefully be
our fourth championship.

And Clifton have only won once,

so yeah.

I just wanna rub it in
their faces some more

that we've got four and
they've only got one.

- Thank you, driver.

- Nothing is ever
guaranteed at all.

But it's always who wants
it more on the day,

for sure.

- We definitely wanna
win this year.

There's a burning desire.
The girls want it.

This is what we've worked
towards on our team goals,

right from the word 'go.'

I guess losing the final by
two points last year

has probably egged them on
a little bit. But, like I say,

finals footy is a
different kettle of fish,

but we're definitely confident.

The girls and ladies are
confident that they can do it.

So it's all it takes, really.

As long as they're confident in
themselves and doing the job,

they'll get out there and do it.

(CHEERING, APPLAUSE)

- Everyone was
hissing at the start.

Everyone was,
you know, getting ready,

feeling confident -
I was feeling confident.

- Go, Kate!
- Get it, Kate! Get it, Kate!

- I call Kate the bulldozer
when she's on the field -

'Yeah, big girl. Yeah, Dozer.'

- Wahs on three.
One, two, three.

- ALL: Wahs!

- Wow. I mean, she's a
bulldozer on and off the field,

and I'm hoping that's the
mindset she's got today.

Just bulldoze through,
and maybe get the ball

and maybe get a bit of a run.

I was fine walking
down the stairs,

and in warm-up, boom.

Straight away, as soon as
I turn my neck, sharp pain.

Being told that you can't
play in a rugby final,

I mean, that's horrible.

So, yeah, I was very emotional.

So, I was starting
and at the turn,

and it just- I got sharp pain
down the side of my neck.

So not allowed to start.

I'll be brought on at half-time,

but I don't know how long
I'll be allowed to play,

but yeah.

And for me,
not playing is not an option.

I need to play. I love it.
So, you know, yeah.

- And we started with five clubs
dotted around Taranaki.

Tukapa - the new
kids on the block.

Great to see them
boost the competition.

Coastal Okaiawa
combined Inglewood,

and it's now down
to the final two clubs,

Southern vs Clifton here
at Stadium Taranaki.

A massive rivalry has
developed over the years

between these two teams.

Southern won the final last
year by just two points,

but Clifton's been
training hard,

and they've had a really
good campaign to date.

(CHEERING, SHOUTING)

(WHISTLE BLOWS, CHEERING)

- There was a few times
when I had the ball.

My goal was just to
run it up the guts

and not hold back.

- Oh, some big hits
going on in this game.

- So even if I was fending or

pushing any of the little girls,

big girls off, I had to do it,
and it was for my team.

- Watch out, Hannah!

- But also get the crowd going,

because I like it when
I hear the 'Ooh!'

- Let's go, Mereana!

- Yep. He was sure yelling for
me on the sideline, so, yeah,

you could hear him and everyone
else that was yelling.

(YELLING)
- Go, Alesha!

- For finals, It's gotta
be a forwards' game.

Keep it in tight. Pods hit out.

The old rugby style -
one off the ruck, pick it up.

- Keep the pressure on.
Keep it on. Make it work!

Make it work!

(CROWD SCREAMS)

- Start coming out, Southern!

- Long pass over
to the sideline.

Clifton score the try.

- How good, eh!
(CHEERING)

- Go, Hannah!

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
- Yes! Yes!

- Come on, Southern!
- Clifton sells the dummy.

Finds the gap. But a great
tackle from Southern,

and Phoenix Fraser is
there in support to score.

(CHEERING)

- No matter what I do,
having my mum there,

it just makes everything better.

I don't know if it's just a mum
thing or my mum thing, but,

yeah, she makes me feel better

and makes me wanna push harder.
I think that's probably why,

um, I did want to go on.

But also not wanting to let
my mum down either,

uh, is a big thing for me.

So making sure that I was
on the field at some point,

you know, I can at least say
that I played in the final,

instead of sitting out
and not doing something.

- As a mum -
oh, God. I can't even.

(SIGHS)

VOICE BREAKS: As a
mum, I'd like her not to,

but, um,

that's her call -
it's not my call.

It's Kate's call.

- 40 minutes of
this final to go.

As the second half gets underway
here at Stadium Taranaki,

here's Kate Thomson, her first
touch of the afternoon,

and Clifton say,
'Welcome to the final.'

- I definitely feel like I made
an impact in the scrums.

I love the scrums.
Scrumming is my thing.

I think I tackled two
or three people.

I probably shouldn't
have played at all.

No.

(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)

- Here's Clifton on
the charge again.

Breaking through and bumping
off a couple of tackles.

What a try!

Clifton now with ball in hand.

Oh, great stuff.
Clifton putting their head down

and going straight through
to the defensive line.

Solid platform here for
Clifton. Here's Blyde.

Sells the dummy, spots a hole
and goes straight through.

And she'll score under the
bar, effectively untouched.

Clifton - the momentum
going their way.

(CHEERING)

Here's Mereana Anderson.
Another strong carry.

She's a promising
player, this one.

Down the sideline they go,
stretching out and scoring.

Are they over? Yes, they are.
The referee has the arm up.

And the final whistle blows.

Clifton win the women's final
and their second title

by beating Southern 55-0.

- The girls played
fuckin' awesome.

- Well, they wanted revenge,
and they got it.

- 55-0 was the score.

You don't need to put that in
there, though. (LAUGHS)

You don't need to highlight
that. (LAUGHS)

- Yeah. It was pretty
gutting, to be fair.

Felt for the girls.

Obviously, it's gut-wrenching,

to even have a final like that,

but kudos,
absolute kudos to Clifton.

You know, they started putting
in the mahi right from January.

And you can see their class the
whole way through the season.

Yeah. Unbeatable from the start.
And they 100% deserved to win.

- ...hui e...
- ALL: Taiki e!

- Oh, there was no way
I expected that score.

I was expecting the same
score as last year,

cos I knew that Southern
were gonna bring it.

- Happy!
- We're here.

We're happy!

- (LAUGHS)
- We won.

It was exciting. It was exciting
to get the championship.

It's what we've been
working for from the start.

- We had one goal at
the start of the year.

We had a few goals,
but that one ultimate goal

was to get that trophy back.

And next thing you know,

we were lifting up that trophy,

and all the hard work that
us girls have put in,

you know, that's the reward
we got at the end of the day.

(ALL CHEER)

(GENTLE, PERCUSSIVE MUSIC)

(SYNTHESISER SOLO)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

- It's just a passion. Like,
you get it from a young age.

If you find the sport
that you wanna play,

you'll keep going,
striving for anything.

I found rugby when
I was little, and..

I've never stopped playing it.

Yeah, when I coach rugby,
like, my little girls,

they are so good.

Like, looking up to me.
Like, I get a lot of the girls

coming to me and saying,
'We wanna be like you.'

I love that.
It makes my heart go, 'Ooh.'

- Yeah. What it means
to me to play rugby

is just that whole whakapapa.

And, you know, using my tūpuna
as a way to guide me.

They are your
pillars of strength,

and you can always use them.

When you put on any jersey,

I just feel like they're
just there with you.

The support and love I get from
my own whānau members

is probably the best thing.

And they're basically my
why of why I play rugby.

- My favourite time of the
year is the rugby time.

Getting off-farm,
doing what I love.

- One, two, three.
- ALL: Sharkys!

- Being social, you know,

having a few too many
beers. (LAUGHS)

Hanging out with my friends.

I mean, I can't imagine
my life without rugby.

Rugby is everything to me,

and I think I'd
be lost without it.

(PERCUSSIVE MUSIC CONTINUES)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

(MUSIC FADES)

Captions by Able.
www.able.co.nz

(POP MUSIC)

- ♪ Show me what you like.
I could be your type.

♪ See you every night;
we could be tight.

♪ Meet me at the bar.
Show me your guitar.

♪ Throw it in the car.
We could go far.

♪ I get what I want,
what I want.

♪ What I want is you.

♪ Can't stop, won't stop.
Can't stop, won't stop.

♪ I haven't slept much lately.

♪ You've been running
through my mind.

♪ I think I'm going crazy.

♪ I think about
you all the time.

♪ I want you, I want you,
I want you to...

- I'm loving my rugby
at the moment,

but unfortunately, this year,
Clifton don't have a team,

so I've come to join the Sharks.

So, I'm real excited about that.

And at least we now know that
we're not gonna get thrashed by

Clifton in that big doughnut
again, so... (LAUGHS)

- I love you.

- Crouch. Bind.

- Oh, this is weird.

When you got attacked
by a cow and thrown

in the fuckin' ground.

I'm actually gonna have
a black eye. Fuck me.

So, this season I'm
finally injury-free,

and I'm absolutely chasing
that 50 games for Southern.

So watch out, because
I'm back! (LAUGHS)

- When you start off in
a club, you're pretty loyal.

We started at Tukapa.

Dan played for Tukapa, and
his dad played for Tukapa.

Maybe Phoenix will go back
there one day. Who knows?

- ♪ Meet me at the bar.
Show me your guitar.

♪ Throw it in the car.
We could go far.

♪ I get what I want,
what I want, what I want.

(INDISTINCT, EXCITED CHATTER)

I watched this documentary
about men's rugby -

black and white - and I'm, like,

' Where's the girls?'

- ♪ I haven't slept much lately.

♪ You've been running through
my mind all the time,

♪ I want you, I want you,
I want you to be mine.

♪ I want you, I want you,
I want you to be mine.

♪ I get what I want,
what I want, what I want.

- It'll be very weird when
that changes to Brake.

The good thing is
is that it's only, like,

those three letters
that are changing,

so it will still look
the same. (LAUGHS)

- From Blyde to Brake.

Walk her down the aisle.
- In gumboots.

- I don't think I'll be allowed
to wear my gumboots.

- I said you can.
I said 'I think it's funny.'

- Mum said, 'I don't think so.'

- Here's Brake again.
This is what she loves.

(CHEERING DROWNS OUT SPEECH)

And for 10 years,
one name has stood at the top

of the try-scoring stats.

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe changed
the face of women's rugby.

Michaela Brake has taken
that legacy to a new level.

The all-time leading try scorer

in women's sevens history.

- Playing rugby is a different
old game. You get to...

legally... (LAUGHS)

you know, just bash people over,

and there's no other
feeling quite like it.

You get to learn your power.

♪ What I want,
what I want is you. ♪