Mother’s Day mums who just love their rugby
Mother's Day special: Meet some rugby playing mums who’ve made the game extra special and in one case how a mother’s tragic death inspired the career of a Queensland Reds prop.
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Happy Mothers Day to all the mums this weekend, and a special Happy Mother’s Day to the rugby Mothers.
In this story we pay tribute to just some of the proud rugby mum’s who have helped make the code tick over.
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In our story we feature 10 mothers who were merely a snapshot of what goes on around the state every rugby union season.
Salani and her son Sef Fa’agase
Experienced Queensland Reds prop Sef Fa’agase honours his late mother Salani every time he pulls on his jersey on game day.
From sporting made, working class Logan City where he attended Shailer Park SHS, Fa’agase had Salani’s name tattooed on his chest as a constant reminder of her.
Before each game, the big prop also gently kisses her name.
“I give my mum’s name a kiss before I pull on the jersey. It’s something I hold dear and do it before each and every game,” he said.
“She never got to see me play professional rugby. Every time I step out on the field I’m representing my family and hopefully mum is looking down on me and feels proud.”
Fa’agase lost his mother to cancer when he was just a boy in 2012.
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When he was a child she was the one who would drive from Logan City to Beaudesert to play each Saturday, with the aroma his mum’s favourite dish for her boy, chop suey, trailing them across the country side.
You see Salni Fa’agase would cook enough for the whole team to enjoy after their match.
With a meal like that sustaining him, it is little wonder Fa’agase went on to grow into a hulking Super rugby prop.
Jasmine Reynolds
Jasmine first started in rugby aged 41 after watching her eldest son play, and the whole family followed into the code.
For three years prior to that Jasmine had been involved as a volunteer around the Whitsunday Raiders club where she played with her twins.
Rugby has helped her live with the death of her husband.
“All my kids inspire me to do better since we lost their dad last year it is very important to me to keep my mind and body busy and healthy,’’ Jasmine said.
“I love the culture of footy, I love that our club is very family oriented and I love seeing the
ladies smile when they are walking off the field win or lose.’’
Liz Patu and Peter
Reds prop Liz Patu returned to play the recent Buildcorp Super Rugby Women’s season just eight months after the birth of son Peter.
Rugby and motherhood are a juggle. More than once, baby Peter found himself blissfully unaware of his surroundings when his pram was wheeled into a team meeting at Ballymore.
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Cecilia Smith and Ruby
Queensland Reds women’s captain Cecilia Smith is the proud mum of eight-year-old Ruby.
Ruby is the team’s unofficial mascot.
Ruby runs the water at training at times and carries the ball out for kick-off on other occasions.
“When I was named captain, Ruby said ‘I’m proud of you’. They are lovely words to hear,” Smith said.
Vanessa Bradley
Bradley was a rugby playing women before her daughter started in the sport in the under-12.
Due to age restrictions at the time, her daughter ceased playing for six years until resuming when she was 19.
A former Queensland and Wallaroo for some 14 years, Bradley started in the code after being introduced to the sport by her University lecturer.
“What I loved most about playing was the challenge to compete,’’ Bradley said.
“I loved the different roles for different body types and I loved the team aspect.’’
Despite all her success, nothing has beaten watching her children play. “I love watching my kids play. I have coached both my son and daughter’s teams and love seeing them play with teammates and achieve skills they have practised over time.
Amy Papuni and daughter Jaemee Papuni Nuku
From the Helensvale Hogs on the Gold Coast hail the Papuni family.
This time it was daughter Jaemee Papuni Nuku who started playing first, inspiring her mother Amy into the sport.
Jaemee started playing aged eight and aged 17, she plays alongside her mum.
“This is my third year playing XV aside,’’ mum Amy said.
“The last two years I have had the pleasure of playing alongside my daughter
. This year she is an assistant coach for our team due to an ACL and MCL injury.
Asked what she enjoyed most about the code, Amy said.: “I continue to play because of the sisterhood we have formed and the diversity of players we have in our team. Most of all, I feel as though my daughter and I have a closer relationship through our passion for rugby.’’
Amy said she still gets a thrill from watching her daughter player. “I am my daughter’s biggest fan, and when I grow up, I want to be as good as her,’’ Amy laughed.
Jennifer Gillett and daughter Florence Gillett
A part of the Brothers Rugby Club family, mum Jennifer was rugby mad, a trail blazer who earned 100 caps for the club - the first female in Queensland to achieve this.
Jennifer played with distinction between 1996 and 2018 and now watches her daughter Florence play in the under-8s.
“It’s surreal to see her play what I think is the best team sport, meet friends outside
of school, have a lot of fun and grow confidence,’’ mum Jennifer said.
“Starting at such a young age, imagine her when she gets to the age I started playing (20). She and her friends will be streets ahead on all things great about being a rugby player in a rugby team for a rugby club.
“Maybe even one day they will get paid full time to play the game they love.’’
Jennifer kicked off her career out of QUT after watching her brother play First XV rugby at Nudgee College.
“I couldn’t believe it was an option for a woman to play- and so I jumped at the chance,’’ she said.
Asked what she enjoyed most about playing, Jennifer said: “The thrill of the game, the highs and the lows with friends. We are still strongly connected and best of friends today.’’
Angela Coombes and son Brock Coombes
It was young Brock Coombes, aged just six, who started playing first and then, aged 36-year-old, mum Angela climbed aboard the rugby express and took to the field for the first time.
Why? Angela was inspired to play after her brother had a cardiac arrest after one of his rugby games.
“When he woke up from a coma, he was worried that no one in the family would play
rugby after him.
“While I was visiting him in hospital at the time, I saw an advertisement for a local women’s rugby team on the Sunshine Coast, so I signed up and helped build the women’s game on the coast.
“Rugby has changed my life ever since,’’ said the Maroochydore Swans and Brothers Sunshine Coast player.
“I have also managed teams and coached in Samoa and across Queensland,’’ mum Angela said.
“What I love most about rugby is instantly having a huge group of female mates that
have your back – on the field and off the field.
“I love how the game brings together so many different women of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and abilities.
“Most of all, I love how rugby makes you become a stronger version of yourself.’’
And what does it feel like to watch her son Brock play so successfully in the code?
“My son is my hero – and he’s a lot of fun to watch play,’’ Angela said.
“I love watching him play in Samoa when we go back to visit, because “island style rugby” is so different to his games in the GPS competition or the Super Rugby tournaments.
“Brock motivates me to do better everyday; its impressive watching him play, especially drawing crowds at the new Ballymore Stadium and travelling interstate.’’
Natasha Belleville-Mattingley and daughter Gabi Williams
Mum Natasha has driven the country mile to make sure her daughter, and later herself, play rugby union.
The family lives in central Queensland and mum Natasha has done her share of driving the back roads of the state en route to the rugby field.
“This is my first and probably last year,’’ the 49-year-old side.
“I have driven her thousands of kilometres over the years to play because living in rural CQ she (daughter Gabi) doesn’t have many opportunities to play locally.
“I’ve loved watching her play and always wished that I could have played when I was younger, but it wasn’t even a thing where I’m from.
“We decided this year I would play in our local Waitangi Day game so we could have a game together.
“My niece also played that game with us. She then talked me into playing with her in the Rugby Capricornia season.’’
Lisa Wilson and daughter Ava Wilson
When Ava Wilson started playing for the Maroochydore Swans aged just seven, a light bulb went off in mum Lisa Wilson’s head.
If she was so good at giving advice from the sideline, then shouldn’t she put her knowledge to the test and actually play for sport?
“I started playing because I kept giving Ava game advice which she did not appreciate.
“She told me I should play and see how hard it was - and I never gave her advice again after my first game,’’ Lisa laughed.
“I loved the team spirit, commitment and fun that comes with rugby. I also thoroughly
enjoyed tackling people twice the size of me.’’
But her biggest enjoyment in the code still comes from seeing her little girl play. “I am inspired everyday by Ava in general, but watching her on the field, her love and knowledge
of the game and how hard she has fought to get to where she is makes me a very proud Mum.
Kylie Walker and son Tyson Walker
Kylie Walker, the mother of Sydney Roosters NRL ace Sam and Ipswich Grammar School First XV back Tyson, started playing one day after being inspired by watching a group of girls launching into some tackling pads in a park while in Hong Kong in 1994.
“I asked them if I could join in and so I started my rugby journey,’’ Kylie said.
“We started a women’s rugby 7’s league. I played for a club called Aberdeen and we were sponsored by Richard Branson.
“We were called the Aberdeen Virgins which created a lot of publicity at the time.
“We went on to be the first women’s team to play at the Hong Kong 7’s and Dubai 7’s, and Hong Kong hosted the first ever women’s World Cup seven-a-side tournament in around 1996.’’
When Walker returned to Australia in 1998, she progressed to playing 15’s rugby for Wests Bulldogs - one of the pioneering clubs for women’s rugby.
“I have always loved sport and my four kids played every sport imaginable.
“I love what being part of a team does for people and of course keeping fit and active is essential for physical and mental health.
It was only natural that Kylie’s children continued in sport.
After all, not only was she an outstanding player, but her husband Ben was an NRL player with Manly and the Broncos, his brothers Shane and Chris played NRL, while their father Garry was an outstanding BRL player with Norths, Brothers and in the Toowoomba competition back in his day.
“My kids have worked hard at all their sports and gone on to play at high levels,’’ she said.
“My three boys have played rugby in the GPS system and for the emerging Reds program. “They’ve also excelled in touch football and rugby league as well.
“I’ve been the footy mum, that was at every training, every game, usually, I was the embarrassing mum doing my own training in the car park or going for a run while they trained.
“Every weekend was spent driving from one side of Brisbane to the other.
“I wouldn’t give it up for anything. They are the most well rounded, friendly, connected humans and I put a lot of that down to their sports.’’
Originally published as Mother’s Day mums who just love their rugby
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