Sene Naoupu
“The advice I’d give myself looking back would be to believe in myself; love myself; do more of what I love.”
Sene Naoupu is a health and lifestyle coach and group fitness trainer. Born in New Zealand, she moved to Ireland in 2011 and became a member of the Ireland team that won the 2015 Women’s Six Nations Championship. She lives in Dublin with her husband, George, who played for the Connacht Rugby team.
I started playing rugby at 13 at my secondary school, Waitaki Girls High School in Oamaru, New Zealand. I grew up playing Touch Rugby in my backyard so those skills and a small bit of game sense transferred nicely into Rugby Sevens and 15s as an adult. Moving to Ireland provided a real opportunity to express my passion for sports performance, health and wellbeing. Playing sport and being involved in business do complement each other: as a founder, co-founder, director, board director and shareholder, sport brings out the self-starter within me, and my creative potential.
When we won the 2015 Women’s Six Nations Championship it was really special. It was an honour and privilege to be part of a winning team and I’m grateful to have learnt so much in that process. Representing Ireland at the 2017 World Cup was an incredible honour also—I love learning new things and am passionate about getting the best out of others and myself.
To read the full feature on Sene, order Issue No. 3 of ALHAUS magazine.