In 2024, an idea was launched to take a team of girls and enter the Rugby Youth Festival in Portugal in 2025.
This wasn't a rep tour but a tour for girls to have the experience of a touring rugby team.

The tour started in France. Travelling down from Paris, they went to La Rochelle to play a warm-up match against the local U18 girls.

The two teams had a combined training session. They then went to lunch at the local school and then did a scavenger hunt around town. Afterwards, the girls were interviewed by the local students studying English and sport in New Zealand.

The next night, after the game at the after-match, the girls banged out the boom box with their new French friends all the way till midnight.

The next stop was Lisbon. They visited Sintra and the local shopping mall, Columbo and again we trained with some local Portuguese girls.

Then came the tournament. A fantastic rugby event with 120 teams of boys and girls across multiple age groups.

The girls won all four of their pool matches to make the final. At each match, the crowd got bigger as word of the NZ girls and the Haka got around.

The final was a very big moment and summed up by the coach and tour leader, Darrin Robertson, in a write-up afterwards.

We stood in the tunnel next to our opposition, waiting to be called out. The stadium was full, and you could hear the noise of the crowd, the music, the announcer and the anticipation of the players.

The Portuguese girls knew how to play and were conditioned and ready. This was their home town, home crowd, and a final against a NZ team. This was a once in a life time moment.

The Northcote girls were a young group, playing in a U18 competition and about to run out for an international rugby match final. This was a once in a life time moment.

At this time, I was glad I was standing at the back because the tears welled up as I had a moment of reflection. I looked back at where they had started, the rugby players they were now, and where we were now. I was so proud of them. I had wanted to give them all the greatest experiences I had had when on rugby tours, and now, here they were giving me my greatest experience. 
Little did I know that it was not over. 

The girls ran out to a roar of the crowd, who were split between the Portuguese for the local team and the British Isles for Northcote. They performed their best Haka to date and then entered into one hell of an intense match of rugby. 

The Portugal girls started the attack first, getting inside our 22 for over 5 minutes. The goal defence held and held, but eventually they got through for the first score.

Northcote then took to the attack themselves. As the half-time drew near, it looked like the Portugal girls would hold, but with a late penalty, a quick tap reaction, we scored. 7-5 down at half time.

In the second half, the girls stepped up and worked well and soon scored to put them 10-7 ahead.

But the Portuguese girls got into our 22 again, and the most intense goal line defence ensued near the end of the match, right to the point where the Portuguese girls crashed over the line. 

Winning is nice, but what was special about this team is that every player wanted to win. We had a team saying, 'Don't rely on the team, the team is relying on you!' And so, as the Portugal girl crashed over the line, three Northcote girls were there to meet her, holding up the try and forcing a 22 drop out.

Then, from the dropout, they regathered a failed catch, stormed down the line, kicking it to the other end. Wanting to win, the girls had plenty of chasers. The Portuguese knew they had no time, forced a play which we capitalised on, securing the ball, then out along the backline and scoring the sealing try for the final play of the game and a 15-7 finals win.

Every girl had at least half a game in that final, and each girl played their best rugby I have seen them play. 
And every one of them owns that trophy.