She was part of the Black Ferns’ 2017 and 2021 Rugby World Cup winning teams.
Hirini also won gold medals in the 2024 and 2020 Olympics and a silver medal in Rio 2016.
In December 2023, the Black Ferns captain tore her ACL, an injury which can take up to a year to heal.
However, through an extensive rehabilitation routine, she was selected to be a part of the team to pick up back-to-back gold medals.
In the 2024 final against Canada, she took a knock in the face during the game, but kept playing and provided the assist for Stacey Waaka to score the winning try.
A scan the following day revealed Hirini had suffered multiple fractures in the face.
“I promise it was one of the happiest days of my life,” wrote Hirini at the time.
“But I was in some amount of pain from the knock I got on my cheek.
“The next day after scans we found out that I have multiple fractures in my face, thankfully not requiring anything other than some rest.”
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