Portia Woodman during the Kaikohe team huddle. Photo / Tania Whyte
For those of you who weren't in Ahipara to watch yesterday's clash between Te Rarawa and Kaikohe, you missed witnessing history.
Because within Te Rarawa's enthralling, nail-biting 22-19 win over Kaikohe in the Northland women's club rugby final, exists every indication a Northland rugby dynasty is about to be established.
Yesterday's game had absolutely everything you could ask for in a rugby final. Early action, late drama, contentious calls, a rowdy crowd, big-name players and even bigger hits.
Te Rarawa, playing at home in Ahipara, overcame an incredible Kaikohe comeback to win Northland's women's club rugby crown - 12 months after they finished second-best to the same opposition in last year's competition.
The first and most obvious contributor to the significance of yesterday's game was simply the sheer amount of talent on show.
From both teams, no fewer than eight players had played at an international level. Chief among them were Portia Woodman and Tyla Nathan-Wong, two of New Zealand's premier sevens talents who have been able to return to their home region thanks to the impact of Covid-19 on their international schedule.
Yesterday should have seen Woodman and Nathan-Wong competing for Olympic Games gold in Tokyo with the Black Ferns Sevens team.
Instead, the pair were in Ahipara - about 14 hours by plane and car away from the Japanese capital - playing in Northland's second women's club rugby final since the competition was restarted last year.
Both are legends of the game, having played almost 400 international games between them. Woodman, 29, is the top try scorer in World Series sevens competition history with 195 tries, while Nathan-Wong, 26, was the youngest ever to be selected for the national team when she made her debut as an 18-year-old in 2012.
However, these Sevens superstars were not the only big names to grace the Te Rarawa Rugby Club grounds yesterday. Current and former Black Ferns Te Kura Ngata Aerengamate, Aroha Savage, Kamila Wihongi, Rawinia Everitt and Cheryl Smith also featured - alongside New Zealand rugby league representative Krystal Murray.
That totals eight current or former international sports players competing in a club competition 237 kilometres north of Eden Park.
I would be prepared to wager a sizable amount that no other code, across male and female competitions, has seen such pedigree in such a remote place. Such stardom is unprecedented in the most populated of areas, let alone one of the most rural regions of the country.
But if that wasn't enough, the game's action was as thrilling as you could have hoped for.
Te Rarawa, getting off to their trademark fast start, piled on the points to be 22-0 ahead early in the second half. All seemed lost for Kaikohe, who had struggled to live with the home side's intensity on attack.
Enter Woodman, for whom it was becoming increasingly evident that her side's predicament was quite frustrating. The powerful centre suddenly came to life, breaking the Te Rarawa line, evading defenders and finally putting the 'BOOM' in 'BOOMFA' when she ran through fullback Alexandra Kingi to score her side's first try.
Minutes later, the acclaimed Sevens player was in the points again, gassing defenders on the right-hand touchline to score her second.
Once down and out, Kaikohe were three points behind and had all the momentum going into the last 10 minutes. Even as the clock wound down, Kaikohe had their chances to clinch their second consecutive title.
However, much like their maunga Whangatauatia which towered over the grounds, Te Rarawa's defence held strong, denying wave after wave of attack.
A game with such drama and action is not common, but extremely fitting for these two teams who stand out as Northland's premium women's rugby units.
Despite the drama on the field, it is the context off the field which should amaze anyone invested in the future of Northland rugby. The culture that has been cultivated within this group of players is extraordinary, considering the short time the competition has been running.
It is all too clear to see that these women will bleed for their jersey. They will fight tooth and nail to see their team succeed, no matter the cost.
No amount of money can buy that level of commitment. That desire comes from pure respect and aroha for a person's whānau, team and region - something not developed overnight.
Despite its rarity, this quality seems to exist in spades in Northland's women's rugby. Talk to any player in this year's competition, even the ones who have played all over the world, and they will reference how special it is to play on Northland soil.
A perfect example of this is Te Rarawa coach Rawinia Everitt. The former Black Fern returned home to the north and, having given away the game, laced up her boots for one last time to see her team across the line in the final.
With Northland's second Farah Palmer Cup campaign set to begin at the end of the month, the brains trust at Northland Rugby need to be making plans to harness this commitment to the Kauri and ensure no matter where their players go, they will always feel at home in Tai Tokerau.
Realistically, Northland will never keep all of their sporting talent within the region simply due to the lack of tertiary education options and restricted economic opportunities.
However, if we can preserve the pride and respect with which our wahine view the Cambridge Blue jersey, we can rest assured knowing our players will always return, ready to guide the next generation.
I'm confident Northland Rugby is aware of this, despite the fact it let go its only women's rugby development manager - something which will certainly not help the growth of the women's game.
Nevertheless, with a renewed focus on women's rugby, my only message for the likes of Auckland and Canterbury is, "Look out, Northland's wahine are coming".
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