Celebrity Treasure Island<\/a> star is enjoying being home.<\/p>\nHuriana explains, \u201cIn Japan, everything was new and overwhelming. I was constantly learning and trying to understand what was happening to my body. This time, there\u2019s a sense of calm and familiarity. I\u2019m more present and enjoying the little moments, like feeling baby move and imagining life as a bigger family.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The surprise pregnancy was a beautiful and much-needed prompt for the rugby star to slow down. Photo \/ Amalia Osbourne<\/p>\n
Mum Liza, who raised Huriana and her four brothers on her own, is also thrilled her daughter is back home in Aotearoa for this pregnancy and that her next mokopuna will be a baby girl, who\u2019s due on the couple\u2019s ninth wedding anniversary next month.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s her influence that Huriana is drawing on as she prepares to expand her family. As a solo mum, she says Liza \u201cjust got on with it\u201d \u2013 always putting her kids first and maintaining a strong work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe never made excuses for why she couldn\u2019t do something,\u201d says Huriana. \u201cShe worked full-time to take care of me and my brothers, but we never felt that struggle because she never complained. She\u2019s instilled that in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liza\u2019s support has been invaluable since Huriana became a mother as she frequently cares for S\u0101chi when the couple are working.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s his second mum,\u201d Huriana says. \u201cIf Mum and Dad need to go places, he\u2019ll ask, \u2018What\u2019s Nan doing today? Can I stay home with her?\u2019 They\u2019re very close, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Liza\u2019s]()
Liza\u2019s support has been invaluable since Huriana became a mother. Photo \/ Woman’s Day<\/p>\n
Having such consistent help has been even more crucial since the couple opened their second gym, The Yard Te Atat\u016b \u2013 a role that Huriana juggles with visiting schools and communities as an Olympic ambassador, and being on the board of the Auckland Rugby Union.<\/p>\n
They asked her to step in after ex-All Black Keven Mealamu moved to the New Zealand Rugby board. After helping the Black Ferns win two World Cups and captaining the Black Ferns Sevens team to a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, Huriana jumped at the opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cRugby has shaped so much of my life, identity, opportunities and growth, so being part of the governance side feels like a way to give back to the game that raised me,\u201d she enthuses. \u201cAs a M\u0101ori woman who has come through the system as a player, representation and diversity in decision-making matters. I want to contribute to meaningful changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"]()
<\/p>\n
Knowing she\u2019s about to have a daughter makes the work more significant to Huriana. If her little girl ever wants to play rugby, she hopes she\u2019s well-supported, and that rugby is a place that\u2019s strong, inclusive and inspiring, where everyone feels welcomed and truly able to thrive.<\/p>\n
But for now, Huriana is relishing the chance to take a step back and listen to her body.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing pregnant has taught me to slow down,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019ve prioritised what matters, and I\u2019m finding balance between staying active and continuing the work I\u2019m so passionate about, while embracing the softness and pace of this season, as well as having another bubba.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Huriana had been helping run the couple\u2019s two gyms, working as an Olympics ambassador, serving on the board…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[95,7022,135772,16120,14032,117638,6097,2109,1444,10541,18126,14322,135770,10109,3223,13840,135771,111,139,69,90,3766,5994,13084,9831,6327,44439,213,2737,1886,88,8475,1845,1533],"class_list":["post-227601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-and","tag-black","tag-bro","tag-carpenter","tag-daughter","tag-derek","tag-down","tag-family","tag-famous","tag-ferns","tag-golf","tag-grandmother","tag-huriana","tag-husband","tag-legend","tag-like","tag-manuel","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-parents","tag-pregnancy","tag-prepare","tag-question","tag-rugby","tag-slowing","tag-sports","tag-star","tag-support","tag-surprise","tag-thats","tag-welcome","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}