The 2027 Team
18 Players
7 Schools
6 Clubs
10 Cultures
The Story
The Northcote Girls Rugby Programme is made up of players from across the region, from Kaipara to Devonport to Pakuranga.
The programme is for girls whose focus is rugby and who want to learn more about how to play the game.
In 2026, we come together to learn about the game and how to play it, and in March 2027 we travel to Portugal to play in the Rugby Youth Festival in Lisbon, entering the U19 Women's grade.
The tour is not about going to win a trophy or an overseas trip, but about instilling confidence in the girls that they can step up to something that is bigger than they believe themselves to be.
“Coming home in 2025 was amazing with the whole rugby community talking about us. ”
Darrin Robertson, Tour Leader
Our tour starts with a stopover in Seoul before playing a Dutch team in Amsterdam. We then travel to La Rochelle, France, for a warm-up match, then head to Lisbon to compete alongside 120 other rugby teams.
Though not an official representative team, we travel with the aim of representing New Zealand rugby in North Harbour/Auckland, and in particular Women's rugby.
This is the second tour of its type. In 2025, we took a team of girls, and it delivered everything we could have hoped for. The girls not only won the tournament, but more importantly, they developed the belief they could win, which led them to set greater goals in their lives.
The 2025 team started with no representative players, yet by the end of 2025 we had 20 representative accolades across the team.
Join The Squad Behind The Squad
Follow the 18 girls on their road to Portugal, and help get them there.
This programme is more than a trip to a tournament in Europe.
The programme is about learning another level of the game and providing a stepping stone for girls to go on to club rugby when they leave school.
It's about the experience of being part of a team that isn't picked for their rugby talent, but for their desire to play the game and to be surrounded by girls with the same attitude.
This isn't a team about winning. It's about:
Wanting to win.
Wanting to learn.
Wanting to be better.
First Step
Register Free
Join the Fan Club and get our seven-edition newsletter, following the girls from training to Lisbon.
What you get
- Seven newsletters from November to the tour, finishing with a live diary from Seoul, Amsterdam, France and Lisbon
- A place on our Fan Wall (you can opt out)
- Entry into the Fan Club prize draw, announced in our Christmas edition
- First look at kit reveal and tour news
- Option to buy team gear
Join the Portugal Girls Fan Club
Your name and email will not be used or shared for any other purpose.
Your details will be deleted before May 2027
It's a long way to Europe, so we're aiming to raise $19,000 to get us to Seoul through fan contributions and advertising in our newsletters.
Make a Contribution
A $19 contribution is $1 for every member on the team. You can do this whenever it suits. If you’d like to give a little more, you can select to contribute $2, $3 or more for each team member.
Advertise in our Newsletter
You can also contribute by advertising in our newsletters to an engaged group of fans who are backing these girls.
Perhaps you would be interested in getting your business printed on our jerseys.
Our Fan Wall
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