FATIMA THE FLYER

 

women's rugby - the magic of Rama

by Big Pat

SHE’s got powerful after burners. She’s from Kiwai in Papua New Guinea. The woman she outpaced in a rugby seven’s match up was a Kiwi from New Zealand.

It was Kiwai grunt versus Kiwi brunt. The Kiwai made history.

It took a split second and she was gone in a sideline foot race that mesmerised the rugby world, somersaulting to score what is now one of the epic tries of the Sydney Sevens.

Her name will live on - Fatima the Flyer. And speed - plenty of it - sums up the flight of the Kiwai speedster's blossoming rugby career.

Fatima Rama was born on January 28, 1991, according to rugby online player details.

Little did the parents know that one day, their baby girl would grow up into a speed machine and inevitably put Papua New Guinea on the world map through rugby.

February 2019, Sydney, Australia. the PNG Palais are facing world women's rugby champions New Zealand in a pool match.

The scoreline is a foregone conclusion. Ridiculous, when it comes to rugby, the Black Ferns are hard to beat. But wait. Hold your breath for just a few mind-boggling seconds.

The PNG girls get a penalty deep in their half. The ball is toe-tapped and sent through 5 pairs of hands before it reaches number 4 Fatima Rama on the right wing.

Then the inevitable happens in a split second. Boom shakalaka ka boom shiddo diddo!

Fatima's epic 80 metres solo try with mouth guard hanging out of the side of her mouth while leaving 2018 world rugby sevens player of the year Michaela Blyde in her wake is now stuff of legend in the women's rugby world.

The rugby commentator breathlessly whispers into her mike: ...'Fatima Rama . . how quick is she?' and 'this is unbelievable' as Rama leaves Blyde, in a desperate diving ankle tap tackle, clutching at thin air and some aussie turf.

On the sideline the PNG bench, in unison with a thunderous crowd, is in uproar celebrating their only try.

Standing 174 centimetres tall and weighing a sprightly 75 kilos, she's a natural flyer out wide as demonstrated again during the Oceania women's rugby championships last November, 2018 when she scored three tries against the Fiji Development 15s team.

For her first try, she burns a hole in the Fiji defence, and for the second she runs away from the defence and in an epic effort, she steps, dummies and simply blurs the Fiji defence with speed for the third touchdown.

Rama says she is ready for PNG's campaigns in both the short 7-a-side circuit and the 15s championships representing our country.

Women's rugby is quite new in Papua New Guinea, but it is a growing sport and Rama is surely one of its fastest players.

There are plenty of Fatima Ramas out there in the rural rugby fields of PNG. The challenge is to find them and bring to the main centres of PNG, educate them and let them enjoy the sport.