Chelsea Bremner of Chiefs Manawa and Alana Bremner of Matatū. Photo / Photosport
Chelsea Bremner of Chiefs Manawa and Alana Bremner of Matatū. Photo / Photosport
Step aside Barrett brothers, the Bremner sisters are the new show in Super Rugby and they’ll go head-to-head this weekend in round three of Aupiki.
Other than battling as children in the backyard, Alana Bremner and her younger sister Chelsea are used to wearing the same jersey — for Canterbury,their club side, or the Black Ferns.
However, a switch in teams this year for Chelsea — from Matatū to Chiefs Manawa — sees the talented sisters meet on opposite sides of the park for the first time, and it’s been the talk of the family this week ahead of the match this afternoon.
Additionally, both are set to play at lock, so there could be some inter-family contests in the lineout, something that has excited both sisters.
“Everyone is really excited,” said 26-year-old Alana, who stayed put at Matatū for the second season of Aupiki.
“It’s the first big game in a long time we’ve come up against each other, we’ve always been on the same side, so it’s going to be funny.”
But Chiefs Manawa lock Chelsea isn’t overthinking the occasion, saying she’s “not treating the game any differently”.
“When I’m on the field I kind of just see everyone as players. I’m not playing the game too much in my head, I’m just excited to play my old club,” said the older Bremner.
“I feel like we’re the type of people to just let the game speak for itself rather than too much banter before the game begins.”
Alana and Chelsea Bremner with the O'Reilly Cup trophy. Photo / Photosport
However, there will be some banter after the match, particularly from their whānau.
“I think mum and dad are a little bit torn about where they’ll be sitting, what jersey they’ll be wearing, and who they’ll be supporting,” says Alana.
Chelsea messaged her mum this week saying she has a Chiefs jersey ready for her to wear but isn’t sure if she’ll put it on.
“I think they’ll definitely stay with their South Island allegiance.”
Originally playing netball before making the switch to rugby, Chelsea learned a lot from her younger sister, and it’s the reason why they’re more of each other’s biggest fans rather than competitors.
“We’ve always just helped each other out,” Chelsea explained, not that she needed much help, according to Alana.
“I don’t think I did too much, she grasped it pretty quickly.
“We always played lots of games but she was always netball. We hadn’t come up against each other in sport very often. It was a different kind of competition, like board games and that sort of thing.
“There’s three of us so it always tended to be Chelsea with our younger brother or me and Chelsea up against the younger brother Michael.
“She’s an exceptional athlete which I think has shown with her acceleration into the high-performance space and the black jersey.”
While the occasional “sister fight” could briefly break out on the field, being together in the Black Ferns environment was only a positive, with the high point being winning the Rugby World Cup on home soil last year.
“It was really special to be able to do it with Chels, we were living together for a couple of years in the lead-up to the World Cup,” said Alana. “That was obviously our goal to make that squad and then come out on top and to be able to play in that final together was something pretty special.
“Being able to be with each other when we’re going through the highs and then going through the lows together.
“We trained together every day, and in everything we did we always had an aligned goal, so to be there at the final whistle with her, with the family in the crowd was pretty cool.”
But now as they line up on opposite sides at Waikato Stadium this afternoon, just as they used to in the backyard, Chelsea knows what will decide the Bremner bragging rights
