The newest side to the Farah Palmer Cup are looking forward to getting amongst the country's top women's rugby teams when they kick off their season next week.
Becoming the 13th province to join the competition, the Northland side will take part in the Championship division, taking on neighbours North Harbour, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki, Tasman and Otago.
Former Harbour player Stacey Tupe has returned home to play for the province her father Alan Martin played for many years ago.
She says she is stoked to be able to pull on the Cambridge Blue, and kauri tree logo, and share with her new teammates the knowledge she gained through her father.
"And also to surprise him that I have come from North Harbour, or playing netball and just to be able to say 'yeah, I can play rugby too, dad!'"
She says there has been some banter amongst the family, "there's been a few snarky remarks that I could do things a little better than him," she said at the FPC launch today in Auckland.
Despite being their first season in the competition Northland has assembled a team that carries a wealth of experience, and youth which Tupe sees as "a really good opportunity for Northland again to put ourselves on the map."
Head coach Cheryl Smith, herself a former Black Fern has current Black Ferns Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate and Victoria Subritzkty-Nafatali in her squad after the pair left Counties-Manukau to head north along with other Heat players, Timara Leaf and Harono Te Iringa.
Other former Black Ferns Rawinia Everitt and Aroha Savage have been helping coach the Te Rarawa women's team in the local comp this year, guiding them to the grand final of the Northland Premiership.
Arihiana Marino-Tauhino, who plays for the Counties-Manukau Heat but has whakapapa links to the north says it's an exciting time for the women's game in the north now that there is a pathway for the many talented players in the province.
Tupe says the squad can't wait to put on the jersey when their season get's underway next weekend.
"We've gone through so much, committing to trainings."
The squad brings together players from the southern-most club of the region, Wellsford and from the northernmost Te Rarawa. They have held localised regional trainings once a week, before coming together near the halfway point in Kaikohe for full-team training on Thursday evenings before turning around and making the long drive back home.
The Northland women head to Park Island, Napier for their season opener against Hawke's Bay Tuis on September 7th.