Laura Bayfield links up in a Black Ferns captains run before their test against Australia. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a bit of small talk, he congratulated me and I just couldn\u2019t really compute it. I got off the phone and burst into tears. I was speechless.<\/p>\n
\u201cMum and Dad were about to get on a flight back to Auckland and I\u2019m pretty sure they took my call when they were on the airbridge, so it made their flight home exciting.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a steady rise through the ranks for Bayfield \u2013 in both rugby and as a captain in the New Zealand Army\u2019s 3rd Field and Emergency Response Squadron.<\/p>\n
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n Bayfield is the newest Black Fern among the 32 players named on Friday afternoon<\/a>, and one of 14 who will play in their first World Cup tournament. The youngest among them is 18-year-old fullback Braxton Sorensen-McGee.<\/p>\n At the other end of the scale, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, 34<\/a>, and Kelly Brazier, 35, will play in their fourth XV World Cups. One notable omission from the team is 2021 World Cup champion and crowd favourite Ruby Tui.<\/p>\n The Black Ferns squad<\/a> will spend the next few weeks at the NZCIS campus in Wellington before they fly to the United Kingdom for the World Cup tournament. <\/p>\n One of Bayfield\u2019s sisters is living in England, and they haven\u2019t seen each other in nearly three years. \u201cHaving this opportunity to finally get to catch up with her is really special,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Discover more<\/p>\n After gaining her first full-time Black Ferns contract after this Super Rugby Aupiki season, Bayfield missed selection for the Pacific Four series, so returned to Christchurch for a few club games with the Linwood W\u0101hine. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was so fun going back to club after the Super season and I loved the opportunity to keep working on my skills and enjoying the game,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n With only one match to go in the lead-up to the World Cup, Bayfield received the call she\u2019d been hoping for. <\/p>\n \u201cLeading into my debut, I wasn\u2019t too worried about World Cup selection as I knew that it wasn\u2019t within my control so just had to focus on the game ahead,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was told that I was coming off the bench I was in the airport with [teammates] Chelsea [Bremner] and Alana [Borland] so we started walking through the lineout calls in the terminal, just to make sure I was prepared.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt the nerves coming in on the captain\u2019s run but when I ran onto the field on the day, I was confident and had a massive sense of pride. It was so special to play my first match on home soil as not many people get to do that, especially since my mum and dad were in the crowd.\u201d <\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n Bayfield isn\u2019t a stranger to pressure. Becoming a New Zealand Army captain at 24, and as a sapper \u2013 or army engineer \u2013 who\u2019s specialised in building bridges, she\u2019s been put through her fair share of training in highly pressurised situations. These skills will be vital in the upcoming tournament, where a target will be on the backs of the Black Ferns as they seek to defend their 2021 title. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Army has definitely provided the mental skills to perform under pressure, both doing field work and tactical exercises in the classroom. I didn\u2019t realise how much experience I had with dealing with pressure until it became time to pull on that jersey and perform,\u201d says Bayfield.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough in the past year, as we\u2019ve been getting out on Cass Bay for boating exercises and doing demolition exercises in Tekapo, I\u2019ve been responsible for the paperwork, so it\u2019s not been quite as exciting.\u201d <\/p>\n Bayfield has placed her military career on hold as she chases her rugby dreams.<\/p>\n After following in the footsteps of her grandfather Roy Moore \u2013 a Kiwi Fern in the 1950s \u2013 Bayfield dabbled in rugby league, playing for the Mid-Central Vipers in the 2021 NZRL national premiership before turning to rugby union. <\/p>\n She was roped into her first club game for Linton by fellow international representative Crystal Mayes, who was also posted to Linton Military Camp in Palmerston North. <\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cCrystal was taking one of the PT sessions on a particularly wet and muddy day, and I was going hard trying to beat all the boys. Once the session finished, she came over and told me that I had to come to the next rugby training.\u201d<\/p>\n While she\u2019s been based in Christchurch for the last few years, she\u2019s sacrificed time with her long-term partner, Rikki Rawleigh, who lives in Palmerston North and works for the Royal New Zealand Airforce. <\/p>\n The Canterbury development system was a big drawcard for Bayfield moving south, where she became stationed as the second in charge of the 3rd Field and Emergency Response Squadron in Burnham.<\/p>\n Bayfield made her FPC debut for the Tasman Mako in 2022 before tearing her medial cruciate ligament (MCL) in her knee in her fourth game. After a painful recovery that knocked her out of the season, she returned to the pitch in 2023, this time pulling on the red and black for Canterbury. <\/p>\n After a brilliant breakout season with Canterbury and still balancing her full-time Army engineering duties, Bayfield made her debut for the Black Ferns XV against Samoa\u2019s Manusina XV in 2023.<\/p>\n Whitney Hansen, head coach of 2023 Black Ferns XV and Super Rugby Aupiki side, Matat\u016b, was quick to pick up on Bayfield\u2019s talent and she played her Super Rugby debut in 2024. As a standout in her debut season, starting all six games at lock, Bayfield was contracted again to Matat\u016b in 2025. <\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n Looking back on her journey to the Black Ferns, Bayfield can\u2019t quite believe she\u2019s made it this far. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first started playing it was just for fun, I never thought it would turn into anything,\u201d she says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until I first played for the Mako that I thought it could be a career option, and then as I made my debuts for Canterbury and Matat\u016b, I started to think that maybe I could do this.<\/p>\n \u201cRikki has always known that I was going to be able to get to this point and has always supported me in making the right decisions to become a professional athlete \u2013 including doing long-distance for three years now. I also love my work within the military so giving that up hasn\u2019t been easy, but this selection does help make those sacrifices feel worth it.\u201d <\/p>\n Bayfield\u2019s other love is multi-sport and adventure racing \u2013 although she hasn\u2019t been able to do much of the latter since fracturing her ankle in the Godzone adventure race in 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cI managed to put my foot through a rotting log and had to get helicoptered out 24 hours in, so have some unfinished business there. I\u2019ve heard that women get better at endurance racing as we get older, so I think I have some time to get back to that,\u201d Bayfield laughs. <\/p>\n With years of balancing rugby trainings with intensive Army PT sessions of running intervals, battle scenarios and obstacle courses carrying heavy packs and logs, she says it\u2019s been refreshing to dive into one sport. <\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky to be able to take leave without pay and have been very grateful for the support the Army has given me to focus on rugby,\u201d Bayfield says.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m feeling strong and as a full-time player I\u2019ve had more time to be deliberate in developing my skills and my strength. The feedback I\u2019ve been receiving from the coaches is more specific, too, so even though I didn\u2019t play in the PAC4 series at the start of the year, I\u2019ve still felt the growth training at home.\u201d<\/p>\n A fresh body and mind will be on her side as the Black Ferns travel to England to take on Spain in their first pool match on August 25 in York. <\/p>\n Bayfield\u2019s support crew will be in full force, with her parents, Rawleigh and a couple of aunties and uncles jumping on a plane to attend the games. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a pinnacle event and I\u2019m really looking forward to the atmosphere and buzz around England. The connection and energy this week throughout the team has been amazing, we are just all really enjoying the moment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is such a crazy job, you get into it because you just love playing rugby and then you\u2019re getting to hang out with your best mates every day. It\u2019s super special.\u201d<\/p>\n AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.<\/a><\/p>\n The Black Ferns take on the best in the world from their first match against Spain on August 25. Match schedules here: rugbyworldcup.com\/2025\/en\/matches <\/a><\/p>\n