{"id":51250,"date":"2025-09-11T14:20:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T01:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250"},"modified":"2025-09-11T14:20:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T01:20:09","slug":"first-nations-women-to-make-historic-rugby-debut-in-samoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250","title":{"rendered":"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apia, Samoa \u2013 11 September 2025<\/strong> – To build on the strong rugby union ties between Samoa and Australia, an Indigenous Australian Women\u2019s national rugby 7s team is in the country to compete at this year\u2019s Teuila International 7s tournament.<\/p>\n

The 2025 tour, supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports and Rugby Australia, follows on from last year\u2019s visit by the First Nations men\u2019s team and an Australian national women\u2019s side, who both took part in Samoa\u2019s centenary celebrations.<\/p>\n

The Teuila International 7s, hosted annually by Lakapi Samoa, has become a showcase of Pacific rugby talent, and for the Indigenous Australian women, this marks their first-ever international tour.<\/p>\n

The Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team, or \u2018Lloydies\u2019, played a pivotal role in preparing the squad. For more than two decades, Lloydies have created pathways for young Indigenous athletes, continuing the legacy of Lloyd McDermott \u2013 the second First Nations player to represent Australia as a Wallaby.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving our First Nations women\u2019s team tour Samoa for the first time is incredibly special,\u201d said Rugby Australia\u2019s First Nations Rugby Manager, Matthew Sonter.<\/p>\n

\"First<\/p>\n

\u201cThese players are representing their families, communities, and culture with pride, while also showing the next generation of young Indigenous women what\u2019s possible through rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the players is team captain Renae Nona, one of our senior players at just 23 years of age, who has previously played Super W for the Queensland Reds. She said the opportunity to pull on the Lloydies jersey overseas is a dream come true.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always looked up to the women who paved the way in rugby, and now to wear the Lloydies jersey in Samoa feels amazing,\u201d said Johnson. \u201cIt\u2019s about more than just playing, it\u2019s about representing who we are, our stories, and where we come from.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the rugby field, the tour also includes a strong community engagement program, providing players a chance to connect with Samoan communities on a deeper level \u2013 building friendships, learning from local traditions, and proudly showcasing First Nations culture in return.<\/p>\n

Australian High Commissioner to Samoa, Will Robinson, said tours like this highlight the power of sport to strengthen the Samoa\u2013Australia relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cSport is one of the strongest bridges we have between our two countries,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cThrough PacificAus Sports, Australia is delighted to support this historic First Nations women\u2019s tour, which will deepen our friendship with Samoa, share culture, and open up new opportunities for young athletes. It\u2019s about building lasting ties that go well beyond the rugby field.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apia, Samoa \u2013 11 September 2025 – To build on the strong rugby union ties between Samoa and Australia, an Indigenous Australian Women\u2019s national rugby 7s team is in the country to compete at this year\u2019s Teuila International 7s tournament. The 2025 tour, supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports and Rugby Australia, follows […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":51251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[208,212],"tags":[59,5588,5590,5589],"class_list":["post-51250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diplomacy","category-rugby","tag-featured","tag-first-national-womens-rugby-team","tag-lakapi-sevens-teuila-tournament","tag-tour-samoa"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa - Talamua Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa - Talamua Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Apia, Samoa \u2013 11 September 2025 – To build on the strong rugby union ties between Samoa and Australia, an Indigenous Australian Women\u2019s national rugby 7s team is in the country to compete at this year\u2019s Teuila International 7s tournament. The 2025 tour, supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports and Rugby Australia, follows […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Talamua Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-11T01:20:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1152\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"570\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Press Release\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Press Release\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Press Release\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f1673517169a09812e76a0f0767571ff\"},\"headline\":\"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-11T01:20:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250\"},\"wordCount\":433,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Featured\",\"First National womens rugby team\",\"Lakapi Sevens Teuila tournament\",\"tour Samoa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Diplomacy\",\"Rugby\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250\",\"name\":\"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa - Talamua Online\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-11T01:20:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f1673517169a09812e76a0f0767571ff\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1\",\"width\":1152,\"height\":570,\"caption\":\"first-nations-women-rugby debut-Samoa\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?p=51250#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Talamua Online\",\"description\":\"'Talamua' in english means the 'First Word'\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f1673517169a09812e76a0f0767571ff\",\"name\":\"Press Release\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/PR.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/PR.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/talamua.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/PR.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1\",\"caption\":\"Press Release\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/talamua.com\\\/?author=4\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa - Talamua Online","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa - Talamua Online","og_description":"Apia, Samoa \u2013 11 September 2025 – To build on the strong rugby union ties between Samoa and Australia, an Indigenous Australian Women\u2019s national rugby 7s team is in the country to compete at this year\u2019s Teuila International 7s tournament. The 2025 tour, supported by the Australian Government through PacificAus Sports and Rugby Australia, follows […]","og_url":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250","og_site_name":"Talamua Online","article_published_time":"2025-09-11T01:20:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1152,"height":570,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Press Release","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Press Release","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250"},"author":{"name":"Press Release","@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f1673517169a09812e76a0f0767571ff"},"headline":"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa","datePublished":"2025-09-11T01:20:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250"},"wordCount":433,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1","keywords":["Featured","First National womens rugby team","Lakapi Sevens Teuila tournament","tour Samoa"],"articleSection":["Diplomacy","Rugby"],"inLanguage":"en-NZ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250","url":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250","name":"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa - Talamua Online","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1","datePublished":"2025-09-11T01:20:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f1673517169a09812e76a0f0767571ff"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1","width":1152,"height":570,"caption":"first-nations-women-rugby debut-Samoa"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?p=51250#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"First Nations Women to Make Historic Rugby Debut in Samoa"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#website","url":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/","name":"Talamua Online","description":"'Talamua' in english means the 'First Word'","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/talamua.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f1673517169a09812e76a0f0767571ff","name":"Press Release","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/PR.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/PR.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/PR.png?resize=96%2C96&ssl=1","caption":"Press Release"},"url":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/?author=4"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdAiL5-dkC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/talamua.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/First-Nations-Women-Rugby-Debut-in-Samoa.jpeg?fit=1152%2C570&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51250"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51254,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51250\/revisions\/51254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/51251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talamua.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}