The Rugby Europe Women’s 7s Trophy Series is always a tight contest between nations aspiring to reach the Championship, producing new stars and surprises at every new season. So, like destiny, a new surprise arose on the podium, with Denmark winning the silver medals in the first leg of the 7s Trophy Series.
After a very promising 2024 season, Denmark picked up the pace and is now contending for a promotion to the Championship, imposing a physical and logical game plan that has allowed them to finish in 2nd place at the Makarska leg.
In the middle of it all, head coach Nina Vistisen is the mastermind behind the ascension of the women's Danish 7s national team, with her vision boosting Denmark’s rugby chances to make it to the top.
While she was a basketball and touch rugby player for most of her youth growing up in Singapore, rugby took Vistisen’s life by storm when she moved to England.
“After letting go of my dream of playing pro basketball, I moved to the UK for university—Loughborough University in Leicestershire. I started with a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science with Management.”
And then, an ad from the Loughborough University popped up on the bulletin board…
“It looked like they had great socials, and the team seemed super diverse. I joined the development squad and picked things up quickly. My touch rugby background definitely helped—passing backwards to go forwards wasn’t totally foreign—and honestly, basketball is rougher than people think!”
Her touch rugby proficiency and basketball skills allowed Vistisen to quickly get a hang of the game, playing for the Loughborough Town Ladies for two years before taking a one-year break to finish her studies. In 2015 she joined the Saracens, helping the team win two Premiership Women’s Rugby before moving to Loughborough Lightning.
“I was still with Saracens when COVID hit. But when I returned to Loughborough to pursue graduate studies (an MSc in Exercise as Medicine), I switched to the Loughborough Lightning—the travel between club and Uni was just too much.”
However, even if she had a knack to play 15-a-side, Vistisen had a special gift for the 7s. She dedicated most of her career to the code variation, creating some of her fondest memories.
“My entire summer calendar would be packed with 7s tournaments — I once played 14 almost back-to-back. That eventually led me to the England Development Sevens programme, and at one point, I was even offered a contract. Unfortunately, eligibility issues got in the way, and the contract was terminated almost immediately.”
Vistisen didn’t take “No” for an answer and kept working to overcome the obstacles raised by the governing body and her own body.
“I spent the next few years trying to gain eligibility and earn a spot in the programme again, but things just didn’t go my way. I also had a few invitations to England 15s camps, but between injuries and those same eligibility challenges, I never quite reached what I believed was my full potential—or at least, that’s what I choose to believe!”
A mentally draining injury picked up at the AON Sevens Series in Australia would be the final nail in her career as a player.
“Combined with the ongoing disappointment of not achieving what had been my biggest dream, representing England on the HSBC Sevens circuit, it eventually just wore me down. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to be the best. And I suppose that if I felt I couldn’t reach that, then I didn’t want to do it at all. Which is a shame, because my teammates were incredible.”
However, when life gave Vistisen lemons, she made an incredible rugby lemonade transition to a new role in a few years. She left her life in the UK behind and embarked on a journey to return to Denmark, her parents-birth country and where she lived for a few years.
“During the pandemic, I met my now-partner—which gave me a reason to finally move back to Denmark and start a new chapter, this time without rugby. To begin with, at least. Little did I know I’d soon be stepping into one of the biggest challenges of all: coaching. And not just coaching—coaching a national team. But that’s a whole other story.”
Recognized as one of the major driving forces behind the Danish women’s programme, Nina Vistisen’s mindset has been crucial for all the latest accomplishments of the 7s side.
“Looking back at my childhood – that constant drive to be the best, or at least to compete hard – definitely carries over into how I coach today. I think my players would agree that I’m competitive, but I hope they’d also say it doesn’t come at the cost of having fun.”
Whilst she has hung up her boots a few years ago, Vistisen hasn’t changed who she is, but has also enjoyed personal growth, while relishing new challenges.
“I am always looking to improve. I think about the game constantly and try to learn from every coach I can. I have had moments of real imposter syndrome, when it felt like I was winging it, and still do. But maybe that is what keeps me hungry and curious. I do not pretend to have all the answers. I just keep showing up, doing the work, and trying to get a little better each time, for the team, and for myself.”
Whilst working for the union, the former Saracens and Loughborough Lightning speedster has been working as a Data Lead for the project Startblokken – Idrætten Skaber Livsbaner of the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark. For Vistisen, projects such as the Startblokken can be the bedrock for success.
“I’m incredibly grateful for this position—it allows me to have the best of both worlds and to work with people who are passionate and like-minded. The project itself is deeply meaningful, supporting individuals who struggle to gain a foothold in the job market through the power of sport.”
Talking now about her work as a head coach, she explains how it helped her evolve and get a better understanding of the game.
“Coaching has completely changed how I see the game. It is no longer about my own performance but about creating the right environment for others to succeed. That shift has pushed me to grow in how I lead, communicate, and manage people. And the most rewarding moments are often the quiet ones. It is when we nail the timing of a new move, or when players step up and lead in their own way.”
Vistisen jumps from her full-time desk job to her coaching gig, fully focused on bridging both worlds together to help her players achieve greatness.
“I won’t lie—it’s also pretty convenient that the Rugby Denmark office is in the same building. That’s the organisation I technically volunteer for as the head coach of the Danish women’s sevens team. I take that role very seriously, and my staff and players put everything they have into it.”
The silver medal won in the first leg of the 2025 7s Trophy Series is just a small bit of evidence of how strong the foundations are and where they can take Denmark in the next few years.
“Growth only happens in the right culture. We work hard for each other, we care about each other, and we do not take ourselves too seriously. We laugh a lot, often at ourselves, and we stay honest even when we disagree. What holds it all together is a shared sense of purpose and a team dynamic where passion and belief in each other run deep.”
With more to come, Vistisen is proud of what they have accomplished and why she would do the same journey all over again.
“You can really see how the seed we planted back in 2022, with our ambitions for the team, has been watered day by day—and now it’s finally starting to bloom. I’m incredibly proud of what this group has achieved.”
With the head coach going back to her work, the Danish women’s 7s team will now be laser-focused on the 2nd leg of the Trophy 7s Series to be played in the Moldovan city of Chisinau, scheduled for the 27th-29th of June.
