Black Ferns Sevens Olympic gold medal winning captain Sarah Hirini has signed with her home franchise for next year's inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki competition.
Black Fern Sevens captain Sarah Hirini Photo: PHOTOSPORT www.photosport.nz
The Hurricanes have secured the services of Hirini for the 2022 season.
One of the leading sevens players in the world, Hirini has an impressive list of accolades to her name, including captaining the New Zealand Sevens team to a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 28-year-old is also a two-time sevens world champion, Commonwealth Games gold medallist, six-time World Series winner and was a member of the 2017 Black Ferns 15s side that won the Women's World Cup.
Hirini said she it was a huge honour to play for the region she grew up in and the Super Rugby side she had supported for a long time.
"I'm from Manawatu, born and bred down there, went to Feilding High School, and although I have recently moved away from the region, I still represent them and play for them.
"I'm just super excited for Super Rugby Aupiki to be going ahead. A lot of people have put in a lot of work to make sure that this competition goes ahead next year.
"It's been a long time coming and I just know that this is a great step forward, creating so much exposure for the women's game.
"Also, next year being so exciting with the World Cup in New Zealand it's just going to keep flying that momentum behind the game."
Hurricanes women's head coach Wes Clarke said it was great to have a player of Hirini's calibre returning to the region to be part of the squad.
"She's deeply committed to the Hurricanes and the Manawatu region. Every chance she gets she always plays for Manawatu even though she lives in the Mount.
"There was never any discussion about her playing for anyone else. She is always coming back to this region.
"Not only is she really passionate about the region, she's an outstanding leader, and naturally commands the respect of everyone she works with."
The Hurricanes say their full women's squad and the team's draw will be announced in the coming days.