Then ...
Debbie White first played for the Otago Rebels in 1999 after impressing for the Otago under-21 and NPC sides the year before. A versatile player, she began at goal defence, before being shifted to wing defence and centre. She became the Rebels captain and played a record 53 times for the team until its final season in 2007, before having one year with the Southern Steel.
At that point she moved to the Northern Mystics for her final year. That had not detracted from her fond memories of her long career in Otago. These days Debbie White is Debbie Christian, after marrying former Blues hooker James Christian.
"I guess I just remember having so much fun with them," she said.
"Especially the Rebels. The girls I played with were my bridesmaids at the wedding, Ali Palmer [nee Shanks] and Steph Bond. So, really good friendships and great times.
"I really treasured the whole time; I genuinely really treasured it. When I was captain, that was such an honour that I could ever get that far.
"I wasn’t very good at netball when I was younger; I grew too fast, I think. So, it was almost surreal and looking back on it, when I do my CVs and things and write everything down, it just seems so crazy that I was able to achieve all that."
Now ...
Christian married last month. She lives in Auckland and does the accounts for the distribution business she owns alongside her husband. The company delivers milk around West Auckland. Christian has two children, Ryker and Axel, and spends much of her time looking after them. She finished top-level netball in 2009 but stayed involved in the sport through coaching. She coached the top St Kentigern College team while teaching at the school between 2012 and 2014. At representative level she coached the Auckland under-19 team for two years and was assistant coach for the Auckland NPC team. Last year, she had a year off, although she was hoping to get back into coaching the sport.
She had also tried her hand at triathlon, with her highlights including a 10th-place finish in her age-group at world championships and a national age-group title in 2013. Nowadays, she exercises recreationally.
Despite not having lived in the South for nearly a decade, she retains her loyalty.
"I brought all my dresses up with me. I’m a very proud Otago person up here. My husband has played for the Auckland Blues, so I’ve been having a wonderful time watching the rugby the last couple of years, watching the Highlanders beat the Blues."
