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Jubilee for Norths

Like many great Kiwi ideas, this one started over a beer. Last winter, girls were sprinkled among the rippa rugby grades at the ParemataPlimmerton club. As pre-season got under way this year, junior coach Peter Jones – himself blessed with daughters – and other club members realised there were enough girls in the under-7 grade to try something very different.

‘‘There were five playing [in 2011] but after the registrations were done, there were 13 this season. Someone said as a joke, while I think we were having a few beers, ‘why not have an all-girls team?’. There was a bit of engineering, but it’s all fallen in our laps, really.’’

Jones and co- coaches Craig Walker and Richard Potton are confident their side, dubbed the Angelfish, is the only all-girls junior team to play in the Wellington region.

‘‘The girls wanted to be called the Mermaids and I think some of the dads saw a potential sponsorship deal, but it wasn’t allowed,’’ says Jones. ‘‘We were told ‘if you catch a mermaid, you can call your team that’, otherwise we had to go with saltwater fish like the other ParePlim sides.

‘‘We did a search on Google and Angelfish was as girly as we could find.’’

So far they are having an excellent season, with as many ticks in the win column as there have been losses, placed third among ParePlim under-7 teams.

‘‘I think it started as a bit of a novelty but they have turned out to be a very good side, every week they improve. Nothing is lacking when it comes to spirit and they’re being taught what it’s like to be in a team environment and about decisionmaking.’’

Some of the reactions from opponents – and their coaches and supporters – when the Angelfish have played well, have been priceless.

‘‘There’s a few eyebrows raised when we turn up with 13 girls and you should hear some of the coaches at half-time, telling his boys they’re losing to girls. Classic.’’