Sarah Hirini is coming back to the Black Ferns Sevens only four months after giving birth to her first child, and has signed a new contract with New Zealand Rugby that runs to the end of 2028.
The two-time Olympic gold medallist and long-serving sevens captain confirmed the deal on Friday. Her son Masaru was born four months ago, and she stepped away from rugby less than a year ago to become a mother, New Zealand Rugby said in its announcement. The new contract takes her professional career into a 16th season and makes her the longest-serving professional women’s player currently under contract with the national body.
Hirini, who is 33, told RNZ that retirement had never really been on her mind. “I wasn’t ready to step away from rugby, now we’re here and it’s all go again. I’m very excited to get back into the team.”
Family life and rugby overlapped almost immediately. RNZ reported that she signed her NZR contract while she was in labour. “It’s been a pretty crazy year, having my boy in Japan, then re-signing a new contract to come back and hopefully giving it another crack,” she said.
The target is the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where the Black Ferns Sevens will be trying to win a third straight gold medal. Hirini has already captained the side to three Olympic medals, including back-to-back gold in Tokyo and Paris. A place on the plane to Los Angeles would give her a fourth Games.
“To go to my fourth Olympics and win three gold medals would be very special,” she told RNZ. She was clear that the first hurdle was simply getting back into the side. “But my goal, first and foremost, is to make it back into the Black Ferns Sevens team with my son Masaru in the crowd. That would be very, very special.”
A big part of her motivation is showing other women that motherhood and a career can go together. “I want to show people that it’s possible and you don’t have to give up your career or your passion to be able to be a mum at the same time. I know it’s difficult at times, but we can do it. Being a mum is a superpower.”
She was frank about how hard the juggle is day to day. “It’s a different lifestyle and all the mums would understand what it takes to just leave the house. Trying to express enough milk, trying to make sure everything’s okay. But I love it.”
In the official announcement, Hirini said “Becoming a mum has been the most amazing life experience and I hope that other first time mums feel that it’s possible to continue their careers, sporting or otherwise, and know that motherhood doesn’t have to be a competing life choice.”
She thanked her husband Conor, her family and New Zealand Rugby for their support, and said she felt the team still had more to give. “I still feel that we are only scratching the surface and I can’t wait to see what other things we can accomplish as a team,” she said, RNZ reported.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Lancaster called her “an incredible player, but also a special person who has become an ambassador for our game and a role model for young New Zealanders.” He said the organisation was proud to have several mothers on contract. “We’re incredibly proud as an organisation to have a number of mothers of young children contracted in the Black Ferns Sevens environment and being supported to continue their professional rugby careers.”
Head coach Cory Sweeney was realistic about how long the comeback might take, but had no doubt she would get there. “Like any athlete returning after some time away from the game she will take some time to get back to full capacity, but knowing the person she is and her work ethic she will be fit and firing for the 2026/2027 World SVNS series.”
Hannah Porter, who heads sevens high performance at New Zealand Rugby, said the two-year deal kept the Olympic door open. “Re-signing her for another two years gives Sarah the opportunity to push for selection for a fourth Olympic Games in LA.”
Few New Zealand players in either code have a record to match. Hirini was born in Feilding in December 1992 and grew up in ManawatΕ«. According to New Zealand Rugby, she made her sevens debut in 2012, signed her first NZR contract in 2013 and was the first women’s player to be professionally contracted by the national body. She has played 283 matches for the Black Ferns Sevens and was the first female international to reach 200 games.
She has won two Rugby World Cup Sevens titles and five medals across the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, including Commonwealth gold on the Gold Coast in 2018. She also crossed codes with real success, winning 17 test caps as a loose forward for the Black Ferns fifteens side and taking home the Rugby World Cup in 2017 and 2021.
Her leadership has been recognised off the field too. She won the Sport New Zealand leadership award, was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to rugby in 2019, and was a finalist for New Zealander of the Year in 2025.
Her return also shows how far the professional women’s game has come since she signed that first contract. New Zealand Rugby now has several mothers of young children on contract in the sevens programme and says it is supporting them to continue their professional careers.
The Black Ferns Sevens have won the last two Olympic titles, and Porter said Hirini’s experience, professionalism and knowledge of the game were hugely valuable as the team builds towards 2028. Getting a player of her standing back in the build-up to Los Angeles could be a big boost, even if she needs a few tournaments to reach her old level.
For Hirini, the chance to keep playing is about more than medals. “It’s just about more than half my lifetime, this team have given me so much. It’s helped shape my life. I just want to be able to continue playing in the best team in the world,” she told RNZ.
The 2026/2027 World SVNS series is where her comeback will be tested. 1News also reported the re-signing on Friday.
Do you think Sarah Hirini can make it to a fourth Olympics in Los Angeles? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job π
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