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Black Ferns captain Hirini can't wait for the opportunity to play in Hong Kong
By Adam Julian
For the first time in 22 years, New Zealand Rugby will send an official women's team to the Hong Kong Sevens when the Black Ferns Sevens compete in the sixth round of the HSBC World Sevens Series.
The last time New Zealand's women played at the iconic Hong Kong Stadium was in 2001.
With World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee Anna Richards and pioneering legends Annaleah Rush and Dianne Kahura to the fore, New Zealand won the tournament without conceding a point.
Black Ferns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini can't wait for the opportunity to add Hong Kong to her 56-tournament list.
"I have always wanted to play at the Hong Kong Sevens and to now have this opportunity is going to be amazing," Hirini said.
"Hong Kong is the home of sevens and has always been the biggest event of the men's sevens calendar.
"I feel the greatest games have been played in Hong Kong and a memory that stands out for me would be the Jonah Lomu try that went 104 metres from the in goal to the try line."
That Lomu try was in 1994, the first year of play at the Hong Kong Stadium, where New Zealand ended up beating Australia 32-20 in the final.
The Black Ferns have beaten all in sundry the last four tournaments to establish an almost unassailable 14-point lead in the World Series Standings with two events to play.
In 2022 Australia largely had the Black Ferns measure. What's changed since the XV's World Cup in October and November?
"I think the group has gotten even more competitive," Hirini said.
"Players took their chance to show why they are in the team and are proving why they should be wearing the black jersey.
"It's been awesome coming back and seeing the growth everyone has had and having to work even harder to make the team."
It would be remiss when reflecting on the history of New Zealand female Sevens in Hong Kong not to mention the impact of Aotearoa Maori, an unofficial women's seven team sent to represent New Zealand.
In 2002 Peter Joseph and his wife Shelly auctioned their house in Rotorua to ensure a Kiwi presence at the tournament with the newly put together team. Aotearoa Maori then became a juggernaut winning five tournaments in a row.
They featured Black Ferns legends like Honey Hireme-Smiler and Selica Winiata. In 2010, schoolgirl Sarah Hirini featured for the side.
"He literally started my sevens career. He gave me an opportunity when I was 17 to play for the Aotearoa Maori and I will always be grateful for that experience."
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Latest Comments
Yes I was surprised at how close the pen count was - the spread between best and worst being just 2. The number of yellow cards though will surely be something the Boks will look to address
Go to commentsBriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiistol! Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiistol! Briiiiiiiiiiiiiiiistol!
It's incredible to see the boys playing like this. Back to the form that saw them finish on top of the regular season and beat Toulon to win the challenge cup. Ibitoye and Ravouvou doing a cracking Piutau/Radradra impression.
It's abundantly clear that Borthwick and Wigglesworth need to transform the England attack and incorporate some of the Bears way. Unfortunately until the Bears are competing in Europe, the old criticisms will still be used.. we failed to fire any punches against La Rochelle and Leinster which goes to show there is still work to do but both those sides are packed full of elite players so it's not the fairest comparison to expect Bristol to compete with them. I feel Bristol are on the way up though and the best is yet to come. Tom Jordan next year is going to be obscene.
Test rugby is obviously a different beast and does Borthwick have enough time with the players to develop the level of skill the Bears plays have? Even if he wanted to? We should definitely be able to see some progress, Scotland have certainly managed it. England aren't going to start throwing the ball around like that but England's attack looks prehistoric by comparison, I hope they take some inspiration from the clarity and freedom of expression shown by the Bears (and Scotland - who keep beating us, by the way!). Bristol have the best attack in the premiership, it'd be mad for England to ignore it because it doesn't fit with the Borthwick and Wigglesworth idea of how test rugby should be played. You gotta use what is available to you. Sadly I think England will try reluctantly to incorporate some of these ideas and end up even more confused and lacking identity than ever. At the moment England have two teams, they have 14 players and Marcus Smith. Marcus sticks out as a sore thumb in a team coached to play in a manner ideologically opposed to the way he plays rugby, does the Bears factor confuse matters further? I just have no confidence in Borthers and Wiggles.
Crazy to see the Prem with more ball in play than SR!
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