Young female poets send stirring message to galvanise Aotearoa to get behind Rugby World Cup 2021

• Four Papakura High School students Umisuma (Rosaline) Petelo, Pauline Kaulave, Ilhaam Sheik Freed and Mercy Lauesi have authored the rousing spoken word poem featured in Rugby World Cup 2021’s latest video
• Video premiered to Black Ferns ahead of Pacific Four Series victory versus Canada
• Video launches Champions ambassador programme involving high profile celebrities, sports stars, change-makers and community leaders who are voicing their support for Rugby World Cup 2021
• Video, produced by Whisper, features familiar faces Sean Fitzpatrick, Dave ‘Buttabean’ Letele, K’Lee McNabb, Anna Richards and Scotty Stevenson, among other influential fans of women’s rugby
• Rugby World Cup 2021 team and venue ticket packs are available here, with individual tickets going on general sale 30 June

Young female poets from Papakura High School are the creative minds behind a powerful spoken word poem sending chills down the spines of the world’s best women’s rugby players ahead of Rugby World Cup 2021.

The four young performers, Umisuma (Rosaline) Petelo, Pauline Kaulave, Ilhaam Sheik Freed and Mercy Lauesi, have penned the poem that features in Rugby World Cup 2021’s latest video to launch its Champions ambassador programme, aimed at inspiring people to get behind the tournament and supercharge the women’s game.

The biggest global women’s 15s rugby tournament, Rugby World Cup 2021 will take place in Aotearoa, New Zealand from 8 October to 12 November – the first time ever it has been staged in the Southern Hemisphere.

New Zealand’s five-time Rugby World Cup winning Black Ferns are preparing to defend their title against 11 other teams for the first time in front of a home crowd and what are hoped to be sold-out stadiums at Eden Park, Waitākere Stadium and Northland Events Centre.

Themes of empowerment, resilience, defiance and legacy are echoed throughout the Champions video which was shared for the first time with the Black Ferns ahead of their Pacific Four Series victory versus Canada at Waitākere Stadium.

The Champions programme has already seen a diverse group of celebrities, sports stars, change-makers and community leaders jump aboard the Rugby World Cup 2021 waka with the intention of promoting the tournament to new and existing rugby fans and to share the importance of valuing and celebrating women’s sport.

Three-time Rugby World Cup winner and former Black Ferns captain Dr. Farah Palmer leads a continuously growing group to voice their support for the programme including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, four-time Olympian Beatrice Faumuina, broadcaster Jay Reeve, radio host K’Lee McNabb, content creator Logan Dodds, Olympic great Lisa Carrington, Kiwi entrepreneur Anna Mowbray and boxer turned social impact leader Dave ‘Buttabean’ Letele.

Speaking at the premier of the video, Mai FM radio host and Rugby World Cup 2021 Champion K’Lee McNabb said, “These brave young wāhine toa have shown us the power in words and that when we trust and support our up and coming creators, they thrive.

“What they have produced is truly moving and I am honoured to have been a part of their journey and to support the women’s Rugby World Cup kaupapa.”

The release of the video marks the official launch of the Champions programme and sends a compelling message encouraging viewers to attend Rugby World Cup 2021 – not only for the chance to see the best in international rugby, but to demonstrate to the world that New Zealanders value and celebrate the women’s game.

Shot and produced by Whisper, the video features iconic locations throughout Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and those of significance to women in rugby, including Eden Park, Takapuna beach, and The People Weaver – Hineteiwaiwa mural by Bobby MacDonald and Ngā Atua Hou in Onehunga.

Rugby World Cup 2021 Tournament Director, Michelle Hooper said, “The four young women from Papakura High School have captured the essence and spirit of women’s rugby in such a dynamic and poignant way. Their poem is the embodiment of everything we are working to achieve with this tournament in terms of inspiring Aotearoa and leaving a legacy for women and girls who play rugby in the Pacific. We took a leap of faith and trusted the story-telling voice of our youth to deliver and deliver they did. We are delighted with what has been created, the video will inspire all who watch it, to show their support for our wāhine competing in Rugby World Cup 2021 and those playing rugby in every corner of the world, this is for you.”

Tournament organisers are targeting a world record attendance for a women’s Rugby World Cup game at opening match day at Eden Park on 8 October where the Black Ferns will take on Australia as part of a triple-header featuring South Africa versus France and Fiji versus England. Eden Park will then create history by becoming the first stadium to host both the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup finals on Saturday 12 November.

For more information and to purchase tickets go to https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2021.

Champions poem by Umisuma (Rosaline) Petelo, Pauline Kaulave, Ilhaam Sheik Freed and Mercy Lauesi.

Precision and perfection 

Combined with endurance and unwavering faith  

Results in unimaginable power. 

 
Her power, her capabilities,  

She evolves and shapeshifts every day. 

 
Consistent in a team and extraordinary running solo, she can and will do it all 

 
We do it all 

 
From her sun kissed skin  

to the calves carved the shape of spears 

The way she makes falling on her face seem graceful,  

they’re envious of her 

 

The way she holds herself confident and content  

Sometimes her demeanour is mistaken for arrogance 

 
But she’s a warrior 

 
Relentless days and restless nights for the sole purpose of making it to the top.  

Come October she will be unstoppable  

Standing proud in the stadium,  

As she looks to the stands and sees us.  

 
Forget the glass slippers. This wahine toa wears boots 

 

Working hard she is the embodiment of her tupuna 

A representative of her roots 

The answered prayer of her ancestors 

The descendent of her origins  

 

It’s not just the weight of her body,  

It’s the weight of everyone before her  

 

And Hinemoana smiles upon her 

Flowing to the land and back to the sea.  

 

Hinemoana e rere ki uta, Hinemoana e rere ki tai  

 

With the ball in her hands, she feels a wave of legacy,  

proving wrong to all those who said it was a fantasy. 

Every step she takes  

wakes them up to reality. 

 

Her eyes may be closed but by faith she does this naturally. 

 

Her power is ancestral 

Her warmth infectious 

Her prophecy unleashed unto the world 

 

She is staunch 

Independent 

Her ways: true and authentic 

 

She is, was, and will continue to be.  

Even through fatigue,  

she knows  

if not I then who?  

if not now then when?  

If not here then where? 

 

From locker rooms to boardrooms,  

Her pride and mana kept unsealed. 

She has now truly revealed, 

the result of overcoming the battlefields. 

 

So won’t you watch her rise? 

Won’t you say her name? 

Won’t you bask, When she shows you her strength?  

And rally for her when she needs your support? 

 

She is standing up 

She is taking her place 

Deserving to be seen 

And come October she will be  

your  

champion. 

 

With thanks to New Zealand Rugby