Vania Wolfgramm

Vania Wolfgramm
MNZM
BornVania Nive Hannah Lavea
(1981-08-26) 26 August 1981
Auckland, New Zealand
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
SchoolOnehunga High School
Notable relativeJustine Lavea (sister)
Rugby union career
Positions
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007–2009 Auckland 18 (10)
2005 NZ Invitation XV 1 (0)
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2003–2007 New Zealand 4 (0)
National sevens team
Years Team Comps
2008 New Zealand

Vania Nive Hannah Wolfgramm MNZM (née Lavea; born 26 August 1981) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. She played for the New Zealand women's national rugby union team between 2003 and 2007. She is now a women's rugby development manager for New Zealand Rugby, the governing body of rugby union in the country, and a television commentator.

Early life

Wolfgramm was born in New Zealand. Her parents came from the villages of Safotu on Savai'i islands and Lauli'i on Upolo island in Samoa. She attended Onehunga High School in Onehunga, a suburb of Auckland. She made her international debut for New Zealand on 11 October 2003 against a World XV at Whangārei. She played for the Black Ferns and the Black Ferns sevens.[1][2][3][4][5]

Career

Wolfgramm joined New Zealand Rugby in March 2012 as a women's rugby development officer for the Blues region. At that time, she was the sole employee working on women's rugby. By 2020, that had increased to seven. In 2020, she became Game Development Manager – Women's Rugby. She has played a leading role in developing the Pacific Aotearoa Cup tournament, which aims to expand opportunities for women of Samoan, Tongan, Cook Islands and Māori origin to play rugby. In 2019 she organized the New Zealand Women’s Rugby Invitational Tournament (NZWRIT) in Auckland, which attracted approximately 1100 participants of all age groups. She coaches the Auckland Samoa women's team.[1][2][5][6]

Since she joined New Zealand Rugby there has been a marked increase in the number of women and girls playing rugby. In part this is due to increased coverage on television. Wolfgramm is a commentator for Sky Sport. In 2019, she was one of 16 people worldwide chosen to take part in a global sports monitoring programme in the USA, organised by the US Department of State and ESPN. She was mentored by Stacey Allaster, former chair and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). In 2020 she initiated the first women-only rugby educator programme, known as Ako Wāhine. This aims to build a confident and competent network of women to develop and deliver female-specific rugby developments and programmes.[2][3][4][7]

In the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours, Wolfgramm was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to rugby.[8]

Personal life

Wolfgramm is married with three children. She is the older sister of fellow Black Fern, Justine Lavea.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 "ACTIVIST ADVANCES WOMEN'S RUGBY IN NEW ZEALAND". Global Sports Mentoring. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Pacific Women Leaders: Vania Wolfgramm". US Embassy Samoa. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Black Fern gets a new feather in her cap". locker room. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. 1 2 "FORMER BLACK FERN TO ATTEND ESPN GLOBAL SPORTS MENTORING PROGRAM". All Blacks. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Vania Wolfgramm". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Victorious Auckland Samoa women". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "Rugby Educator Programme 'Ako Wāhine' set to return in 2021". New Zealand Rugby. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  8. ↑ "King's Birthday Honours 2026: The full list – knights, dames and all other recipients". The New Zealand Herald. 1 June 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  9. ↑ Julian, Adam (8 June 2022). "Bremners join special Black Ferns sisters' group". allblacks.com. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
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