Otago lock Julia Gorinski might take a couple of weeks off during Super Rugby Aupiki.
Then again, she might not.
The 27-year-old is one of three Spirit players named in Matatu, the team representing the South Island as women’s rugby takes it first steps towards professionalism in New Zealand.
Gorinski is not giving up her day job, though.
She is an agri-business manager at Westpac and is used to balancing the demands of her day job and playing top-level rugby.
She has played for the Spirit for the past eight years and thought that might be her lot.
"I’m pretty excited. It was a bit unexpected [to be selected] but I’m looking forward to it."
Gorinski has continued to train with the Otago high-performance group since the Farah Palmer Cup finished for the Spirit in late September.
Matatu has training camps planned for January and early February.
The competition starts in March, and Gorinski expects to be committed from mid-February through to the end of March.
She will most likely temporarily relocate to Christchurch where her company has an office.
"The final logistics are still to be established. But I can, well, I’m still to run it past my work, but I’m sure it will be fine [to take some time off].
"We’ve got an office in Christchurch so I’ll just base myself there.
"I’ll only be working a few days a week. Most of my client base is in North Otago, so it’s two hours from Dunedin or three hours from Christchurch.
"It is not going to be the end of the world if I’ve got to go and see a client.
"I might take a couple of weeks off in the middle of it but I’ll still keep working part-time to keep on top of things."
Gorinski will be keeping some good company.
Spirit team-mates Greer Muir and Kilisitina Moata’ane have been named in the squad, which also features former Spirit players Rosie Kelly, Amy Rule, Amy du Plessis and Lucy Anderson.
Midfielder Teilah Ferguson has been picked up by the Hurricanes, and inside back Maia Joseph has been named in the Chiefs squad.
Matatu is dominated by players from Canterbury, which has won four of the past five national titles.
That bodes well for a successful season.
Matatu is the early favourite, perhaps?
"Are we? I don’t know. There are a couple of the other teams that have some pretty big names as well. But, yeah, we’ve definitely got some good talent from around the country."
Gorinski is unsure how much game time she will get but is excited to be part of something new.
"Growing up playing rugby, or even as late as a few years ago, I would have never seen this as a pathway or a possibility.
"It is a small step because it is a condensed competition with only one South Island team. But there needs to be a starting point and hopefully in the future it will grow."
