Nick and Rebekah O'Neill: Tamworth couple detail their unique courtship

Nick O'Neill was her tour guide for stops that included Loch Ness.

In 2016, following a lengthy courtship spanning three continents - Europe, Africa and Australia - she brought Nick back to Tamworth and married him there the following year.

And on Saturday at Marius Street No 1, Rebekah and their children - Andrew, 4, and Breanna, 2 - will be sideline as Nick leads North Companions against Hillvue.

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"We certainly hit it off straight away," said Rebekah, who teaches at Farrer. "But I never anticipated how important he would become to me, at the time."

"We met up again for a holiday in South Africa, which was amazing," she added. "And made the decision to make it work from there. Best decision ever."

Some three years after first meeting, the couple moved to Tamworth to live in early 2016. They had spent the previous year in Scotland.

At Christmas, Nick and Rebekah returned to Glasgow for the first time since the Covid pandemic began in early 2020. There, his parents, Willie and Ellen, met their granddaughter for the first time.

Nick said his parents had been "desperate" to see Breanna. "They weren't allowed to come here, and we managed to get over there as soon as we could," he added.

Upon arriving in Tamworth to live, Nick signed with a football club as soon as he could.

"Pretty much one of the first things I did when I arrived in Tamworth was ask what soccer team I should join," the Celtic fan said.

"It's [Northies] been my main outlet ever since I've been here, pretty much," he added.

The 37-year-old captained Northies' reserve-grade side to premiership glory in 2017-18. He has captained first grade the past three seasons.

A Glasgow boy, Nick has adapted pretty well to life in Tamworth.

"I struggle in summer," said the year 5 teacher at St Edward's Primary School, adding: "I grew up in the city. But everything you wanna do is in Tamworth."

After a lean few seasons, Northies have started 2022 in promising fashion. Nick is the oldest player of a side stacked with young talent.

They drew 1-1 with ladder leaders OVA last round, and sit second of the table.

"We've got a young team, and we're looking to improve through the year," Nick said.

"We had a lot of players missing last week [against OVA]. And to get a draw against the top team the last couple of years is probably better than where we expected to be at this stage of the season."

Nick said the big difference this year at Northies was the fun factor; how "everyone's enjoying coming to training, looking forward to games".

There were times "the last couple of years" when that had not "quite been the case", he added.

Nick's parents will visit Tamworth in September. It will be their third trip to the city.

"Hopefully they'll be here for the grand final," he said. "We hope to get to finals and challenge [for the title] once we get there," he also said.

North Companions coach Andrew Mahony said Nick, a centre-back, was "a quietly spoken captain" who "leads by example".

"And when he does speak, it's really worth listening too," Mahony added.

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