Sarah Hirini

Sarah Hirini (; born 9 December 1992) is a New Zealand women's rugby union player. She has played fifteen-a-side and seven-a-side rugby union, as a member of the New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team and New Zealand women's national rugby union team. Hirini was captain of the New Zealand Women's Sevens team that won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and back-to-back gold medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. During her time with the team they won the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2022–23 as well as the Sevens league title for the 2023-24 season. To date she has played the most games for the team.

She was also a member of the fifteen-a-side 2017 and 2021 New Zealand Rugby World Cup winning squads.

Early life Hirini was born on 9 December 1992 to Ronnie and Alan Goss. Her sister Rachael Rakatau also plays rugby and played for the Manawatū Cyclones in the Farah Palmer Cup championship in 2021.

Her father Alan was a champion shearer who won a Golden Shears title in the 1985 intermediate shearing final. Her secondary school education was undertaken at Feilding High School, where she boarded.

When she was young Hirini competed in shearing contests alongside her brother Simon. However following selection for the national Sevens team, for the next eight years she completed her studies part-time, graduating with a degree in Maori studies. "I thought it'd be good fitness for my hockey and also, if I did one more sport I didn't have to go to homework class after school."

Hirini who was in her second year of study at Massey University at the time, attended one of the trials where along with the other participants she was put through various fitness, speed, rugby skill and character assessment activities. Of the 800 who attended a trial, Hirini was among the 30 deemed promising who attended a training camp at Waiouru in mid-2012.

2012-2013 Seven Series season Hirini was selected to join Lauren Burgess, Marama Davis, Lavinia Gould, Carla Hohepa, Chyna Hohepa, Linda Itunu, Kayla McAlister, Huriana Manuel (captain), Tyla Nathan Wong, Amanda Rasch and Portia Woodman in New Zealand's team for inaugural 2012–13 IRB Women's Sevens World Series. As a result, Hirini obtained a full time one year New Zealand Sevens contract, which paid $30,000.

in 2013 she captained the Manawatu Sevens side that took out the 2013 National Women's Sevens title in Queenstown.

Promoted to captain After captain Huriana Manuel suffered a serious ankle injury in pool play against the USA at the fifteen-a-side 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, which ruled her out of playing for the Sevens team Hirini was promoted to captain and was to retain the role even after Manuel returned to the team. In the final against Australia at the Dubai tournament in early December 2014 New Zealand was 17–0 down at half-time, but came back to a score of 17–14 with a minute to play. With time up on the clock Hirini scored a match winning try to give her team a 19–17 victory.

2016 Rio Olympic Games

In 2016 she captained the New Zealand Women's Rugby Sevens team that won a silver medal at the Rio Olympics.

She made her debut for the fifteen-a-side Black Ferns team in their game against Australia at Auckland on 22 October 2016 and then played them again on 26 October. The Black Ferns went on to win the World Cup.

Hirini didn't play for the fifteen-a-side Black Ferns again until 2021, due to a combination of sevens commitments and the COVID-19 pandemic.

2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Hirini was selected in the New Zealand Sevens squad at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The 2018 tournament was the first time that women's rugby sevens was contested at the Commonwealth Games. The Black Ferns won gold in extra-time, beating Australia 17–12.

2020 Tokyo Olympic Games Hirini was selected as a playing member of the Black Ferns Sevens for the Rugby sevens at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was then selected to join Hamish Bond in being New Zealand's flagbearers at the opening ceremony. Due to a racing the next day Bond was replaced by David Nyika. Due to Covid restrictions on how many could enter the Olympic Village at a time eleven of the players and management including Hirini were due to fly from Townsville, where they had been competing in the 2021 Oceania Women's Sevens Championship) in order to ensure Hirini would be able to attend the opening ceremony. They would be joined later by the rest of the team. After their first flight was cancelled the eleven missed their connection in Brisbane, which led to their 24-hour pre-departure tests expiring. Eventually a way was found of getting Hirani accompanied by Portia Woodman to Tokyo in time to participate in the opening ceremony. She won a bronze medal at the event. She also won a silver medal at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.

2021 World Cup Hirini was a member of the Black Ferns 32-player squad for the 2021 Rugby World Cup. She scored a try in the final pool game against a scoreless Scotland who were beaten 57–0. She also scored a try against Wales in the quarterfinals. She played in the semi-final against France and then the final in which the Black Ferns beat England to become World Champions.

2022–23 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series As the result of a rest after her appearances in the 2021 World Cup she missed the first two games of the 2022–23 Sevens series season before returning to captain the team in the last five games of season which ended with New Zealand winning the title, having won six of the seven tournaments.

At the end of the international season she took up the enquiry of her former Black Ferns team-mate Janna Vaughan who was head coach of the Yokkaichi based team Mie Pearls, to play for them between May and July in the Japanese Taiyo Seimei Women's Sevens competition.

Following her time in Japan Hirini returned to the New Zealand sevens duty leading the team to victory in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Sevens Festival held in late November 2023.

In the first game of the first tournament of the 2023–24 World Rugby SVNS Series held in Dubai held on 2–3 December 2023 it was only a late try by Hirini that prevented an upset defeat to South Africa. During their second game of the tournament Hirini and her team overwhelmed Great Britain 43–7 at the expense of Hirini rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in right knee, which ruled her out of playing in the rest of the tournament. Following the end of the tournament she received an emotional haka and farewell from her teammates before she was evaluated back to New Zealand, where on 15 December she underwent surgery to repair her anterior cruciate ligament. With Hirini out of action Risi Pouri-Lane took over the captaincy of the Black Ferns.

It was expected that she would miss the Paris Olympics which were seven months away as recovery from a ACL injury typically takes nine to twelve months. By the end of the regular season she was back to non-contact training with the team and attended the grand final tournament in Madrid on the weekend of the 31 May and 2 June 2024 as an observer.

2024 Paris Olympic Games On 20 June 2024 it was announced that she had been selected as a member of the New Zealand Women’s Rugby Sevens team for the Paris Olympics. Hirini co-captained the team with Risi Pouri-Lane.

The team went undefeated though the competition. In the final against Canada she took a heavy knock to her face but continued to play on despite the pain, and soon after made a break that allowed Stacey Waaka to score and seal the team’s 19–12 victory over Canada, which gave Hirini her second gold medal. A scan after the day after the game found that she had multiple fractures in her face, which medical advice identified would heal with rest.

2024 onwards Following New Zealand's success at the Olympics Hirini continued to captain the team in the 2024-2025 sevens series, during which they won both the league and championship titles. At the 2025 Hong Kong tournament held on 28–30 March 2025 Hirini scored her 100th try in the sevens series in the teams 31-7 win against Brazil in pool play.

Following the end of the international sevens season Hirini spent from June to September 2025 playing for the Mie Pearls in Japan's Taiyo Seimei Women’s 7s Series. The team's head coach was her husband Conor Hirini, while playing alongside her was fellow Black Fern Olive Watherston, as well as Brazilians Talia Costa and Gabriela Lima.

Awards and honours In 2013, she received the Massey University Manawatu campus sportswoman of-the-year award. She was nominated, for the fourth time in six years, as the World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year.

In December 2019 she was the first women to win the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year award.

She was the first woman to play 200 matches in the global circuit. Her mother, sister and niece made the trip to the south of France to witness her 200th game.

Personal life Of Māori descent, she affiliates to the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi. She married Conor Hirini in January 2019.

While based at Mount Maunganui, she obtained her private pilot's license in 2021, after three years of study.