Every so often there is a player who makes spectators circle a date on their calendars: This is the day I first saw XXX play rugby in person. On Feb. 12, 2015, the USA Rugby Girls High School All-Americans (GHSAAs) played its first-ever competition at the LVI 7s, fielding two full teams in the U18 Elite division. The roster was packed with players who would go on to the 2016 Olympics, USA national teams, DI Elite and NIRA schools, among other high-performance programs, and even then, 16-year-old Nia Toliver stood out. Cue red marker on calendar.
Toliver started playing rugby as a 12-year-old with ICEF, and by the time the Los Angeles native was in eighth grade, everyone in Southern California recognized the phenom. Through ICEF, Toliver was able to tour and play in countries like England, France, New Zealand, Japan, and around the U.S. She spent 22 weeks in Christchurch playing for the Burnside High School Sports Leadership Academy and the University of Canterbury, and developed important relationships that would impact her future.
Toliver went on to represent the GHSAAs in 7s and 15s during the first two years of the program’s existence, traveled to France to compete in the European U18 7s Championship, and featured in the October 2015 issue of Sports Illustrated as the High School Athlete of the Month. She attended developmental camps at the then-named Chula Vista Olympic Training Center. In June 2016, Toliver graduated View Park Prep, and college recruits salivated.
Toliver with the 2015 GHSAA 7s / Photo: Dave Barpal
But Toliver had other plans.
“When I was younger and played in New Zealand, one of the coaches there had played in Japan,” Toliver said of Mark Ealey, the Burnside international rugby program manager. “He asked me what I wanted to do in the future and I told him: Play rugby and get paid for it.”
Ealey wanted to help the player who in 2014 scored 77 tries in Christchurch, and talked to the manager of the Hokkaido Barbarians. Those conversations led to a professional contract for Toliver, who then readied for a relocation to the northernmost island of Japan.
But, as rugby is wont to do, Toliver tore an ACL and was unable to travel to Japan.
“I had torn my labrum in 2015 and that took me out of the game, too, but this was the longest break I’ve ever taken,” Toliver said. “I took a full year off. I didn’t try to come back quickly.
“It was extremely tough. It was the weakest I’ve ever felt. Just not being able to do things on your own, that was a shocker for me,” Toliver continued. “Personally, I realized I couldn’t move this fast anymore – yes, literally – but with all the things I was trying to do. That injury reeled me back in. I started thinking about what I should and shouldn’t do, in case I have another injury like this. … It was mentally and physically challenging.”
Mark Ealey and Toliver in Japan / Photo: Mark Ealey
In 2017, American International College and then-head coach Peter Lang offered Toliver a scholarship to attend the NCAA varsity program. Additionally, Lang had worked out an arrangement where Toliver could play in Japan – the 7s series is 3-4 months long – and then return to AIC to finish school. Still rehabbing, the Californian relocated to Massachusetts for fall 2017, but before Toliver could take the pitch for the Yellow Jackets, Lang was fired. After a semester-and-a-half, the freshman also left AIC.
Once Toliver regained full strength, Japan talks resumed, and in April 2018, dreams of professional rugby finally came true.
During the Hokkaido season, Monday and Friday were off days, Tuesday and Thursday were gym days, Wednesday was a field session, and the weekends were full-team runs. The 7s competition featured fellow recruits from New Zealand and Australia, although games could not field more than three foreigners on the pitch.
“The competition level in the series was high,” Toliver said. “You can’t go to Japan and think, ‘Oh, the Japanese are smaller, it’s going to be a cake walk.’ That was the case in some instances, because they are smaller, but they’re more of a skill team. I play the power-and-speed game, but when you’re playing against high-level girls, you’ve got to be quicker on your feet. It was definitely challenging, to say the least.
“I played the same role as I do on all teams: Get the ball to me and run and score, and that was it. Be powerful and be fast,” Toliver added. “As far as the training I got – it was a good-level tournament but I knew it wouldn’t prepare me for where I needed to go in the long run. I had to move on.”
Toliver was in Japan for a year-and-a-half, and the considerable amount of free time bred some independence. Toliver went to some World Cup games in Sapporo, fell in love with the cuisine, exercised some caution when attempting to snowboard in some of the world’s best snow, and came away with some unexpected perspective.
“Japan has a very high elderly population – something like 35% is over 65 years old,” said Toliver, who works in an assisted living facility today. “You see a lot of old people, and I got this weird sense of mortality there. When I had my ACL injury, I wasn’t able to stand up on my own. I want to take care of my body for when I’m old, but I also want to do enough when I’m young so I can be proud of myself later in life. It’s about maximizing the moment.”
While in Japan, Toliver received the occasional message from USA Rugby Women’s High Performance Manager Emilie Bydwell. The two have known each other for years, and Bydwell was an assistant coach for the first GHSAA 7s team on which Toliver featured.
“I always say, ‘I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t know her,’” Toliver said of Bydwell. “She had been reaching out to me and keeping that connection alive. She invited me [to Chula Vista] last August/September for a trial, and then I was offered a [USA 7s] contract.”