Sunday, August 10, will always be a special day for the McGarvey family.
It’s the day that Te Urupounamu McGarvey was joined by her sister, Tawharautia, in the Bay of Plenty Volcanix, for their first official representative game together.
The team suffered a heavy loss to a strong Counties Manukau outfit but the result won’t be remembered by the siblings – it will be the experience and opportunity to represent their province together that they treasure.
Adding to the occasion was the debut of their cousin, Rohakino Niupalau.

Te Urupounamu has been a mainstay in the Volcanix now for a few seasons, racking up more than 20 games.

“I’m excited to play alongside my sister, but also to play alongside my cousin Rohakino who is also from Rūātoki but is located in Rotorua.”

“We’ve been playing together for quite a while now. We first started when I was about 9 and she (Tawharautia) was 7 and we were just filling in for my brother’s team and have loved it ever since.

“Shortly after, we started playing league for the Whakatāne Razorbacks and our Tūhoe league Tournament and everything took off from there.”

Te Urupounamu, who has also played several Super Rugby Matatu games for the Chiefs Manawa, is proud of her sister and the improvement she’s made.

“I’m just so proud of her and how far she’s come, she’s really started to come out of her shell, and I can’t wait to play this season alongside her and see how she goes.”

Despite not getting the results they were after; the sisters were stoked to have played alongside each other at their childhood club in Rūātoki.

“It’s always a privilege playing for home. We didn’t get the results we were hoping for but nonetheless, another season banked with my whānau and there was a lot of take-away to build for next season.”

McGarvey said her highlight on the paddock would have been their debut together but also just donning the green-and-black

“Being able to come back home and start up our Rūātoki Women’s Rugby team and just being able to play at home.”
She hopes for a few more games alongside her sister, so Tawharautia can show off her skills.
Next up for them with the Volcanix is a clash against the Manawatu Cyclones tomorrow at 11.35am at the Tauranga Domain.