Ua Ravu followed in her late father’s footsteps to take up rugby league and is now emerging as one of the top talents in the NRLW with Canberra Raiders and on the international stage with PNG Orchids.
UA RAVU was six months old when her late father Elwyn was scouted and recruited by the Leeton Galloping Greens in 1997.
It was a big move to a different life going from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea to the Riverina district in south western NSW. Suffice to say Mr Ravu would have never dreamed at the time that his baby daughter would grow up to play in what many consider to be the toughest women’s rugby competition in the world (NRLW) for the Canberra Raiders and represent her country with the PNG Orchids.
“When my dad first came down here to Leeton I was a baby so obviously I didn’t get to watch him play in the first few years. I do remember as I got older and he was going from first grade to reserve grade, being at games and cheering for him. There’s some footage of him we go back and watch and see how he played. It’s pretty cool that’s how I ended up in this position I’m in today.”
After representing the Riverina Bulls at the NSW Country Championships and being spotted at a Canberra Raiders skills clinic, Ravu was recruited into the inaugural Raiders NRLW side in 2023 and made two appearances in the top side.
Like many players in the women’s game Ravu, who works as an insurance brokers assistant, played a number of other sports before finding the game she loves most.
“I actually played league tag growing up. Women’s rugby league has just started to bloom here in the last few years. I also played rugby union 7s where I learned the fundamentals. We had our first Riverina Bulls rugby league team in 2019 where we took out the (NSW) country championships and had a really good team. That’s where I found my love for rugby league. So I didn’t start playing at a young age.”
After a minor setback where she went back to being a development player in 2024, Ravu was reinstated to the top squad in 2025 on the back of strong performances for Papua New Guinea in the 2024 Pacific Championships, through hard work and a positive attitude and backed up by Raiders NRLW Head Coach Darrin Borthwick.
“Ua’s game has evolved over the past couple of years since she’s been in an elite system. You can see that with the way she performed for Papua New Guinea at the end of last year in the Pacific Championships. That’s obviously a big part of why she was rewarded with a top 24 contract. Her footy is coming along in leaps and bounds. Age (28) is no barrier for her, she’s still evolving and still learning and while that’s happening she’ll perform well on the field.
“Ua is a good worker, she doesn’t complain about much, she’s more of a doer. She just gets in there and rips into whatever she does. As far as an athlete, she’s strong in the gym, she is always up leading the fitness. She’s just a good all round person and someone that is a delight to coach. Hopefully I get to do that for a long time to come.”
Ravu’s utility value, hooker, half and lock, has proven to be a valuable asset coming off the bench for the Canberra Raiders or representing her heritage nation with the PNG Orchids. So far she has played seven internationals including the last World Cup and Pacific Championships in 2023 and 2024 after which she appeared on a list for the 2024 Golden Boot award.
“I think the World Cup was a highlight because it was a group of girls that got together and we proved a lot of people wrong. Rugby league in PNG is massive but in the media and social media a lot of people put us down when we lose, so to win our first World Cup game was huge. That was an awesome experience. Going away to England, where I’ve never been before, and the Pacific Championships was awesome last year.
“I can see there’s a lot of PNG girls that are coming up in the ranks as well and coming into NRLW squads, which teaches you so so much. The rugby league here is at the top of the world for women. The more girls that we can get into getting NRLW contracts it will benefit us when it comes to time for selection for the World Cup.”
Ravu appears relaxed about her future as a rugby league player, an attitude that has most likely pervaded since she arrived in Australia in the 1990s. That’s not to say she is not focused on the upcoming season with the Raiders.
“I feel like just taking everything as it comes. I really want to have a couple games in the first grade side. In my first year I got to play two games which is pretty cool. So just working really hard to earn a starting spot or a bench spot just to prove that my hard work isn’t going towards nothing.
“Darrin (Borthwick) has been really good. So I am really grateful to him and I’ve learnt so much from him and the other coaches. I feel like we’ve been included with an upgraded facility for the women and we’ve got the support in Canberra which is nice to know.”
Elwyn Ravu passed away in 2015 at the age of 48 and never got to witness his daughter’s achievements in the sport in which they shared a passion. No doubt he would have been a proud father.
“He watched me play rugby union and league tag. He was one of those sideline coaches. He’d come up at half time, and he’s got a million things for me always offering feedback. His big thing was urgency, getting off the line real quick. He just always had something for you to improve on, which was what I loved about him being around playing footy.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 509 (June 2025)