She said they had game reviews over Zoom on Monday nights and discussed key points for the week.
While her busy week doesn’t leave much time for rest, Donald said she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It can be tricky to fit it all in, and it is quite busy, but I guess I just sort of have to look at it as taking the opportunities when I can and just making it work.”
She said as a farmer, the social aspect of the sport was important, “living so far out”.
“When you are farming, it’s all that runs through your head, but when I go to rugby and on the rugby field, it’s all that I can think about, so it’s a good way to just have a bit of a break.”
She said another bonus was catching up with her teammates.
“Being a girl, it’s nice to actually find some other friends that are girls, because there are mostly male shepherds out here.”
Going to Thursday training means a four-hour round trip, arriving home at 10pm, to start work at 7am the following day.
She said her boss was supportive of her endeavours, and coaches were understanding if she was late or couldn’t make training.
“The hardest part is probably just time; you can get a bit burned out, because rugby takes all of your weekend, and work takes all of your week.
“I have to finish work a bit early to make it in time just so I can feed my dogs and get there.
“I usually only make it to one … and if I can I’ll get into two.”
Donald said her passion for her work and sport made the dedication easy.
“I love being active, I love my job, and I love my sport, and even if you are a bit tired, you still do something that you really enjoy so you have just got to be grateful for that.”
Donald and the team will next play Otago Spirit on Sunday, 12.05pm, at the Hastings Regional Sports Park.
After dropping their season opener, the Tui have rebounded with back-to-back wins to sit second on the Championship ladder.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.