Super Rugby keeps him in Hamilton<\/a> with the Chiefs, while All Blacks duty takes him overseas for weeks at a time.<\/p>\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know anything else,\u201d Anika shrugs. \u201cWe\u2019ve been doing long distance our entire relationship. I\u2019ve never had him home full-time.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s harder on Anika, adds Leroy. \u201cI\u2019m going and seeing 40 of my best mates every day, whereas she\u2019s here by herself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not that she sits at home waiting. As soon as Leroy left for South Africa, Anika was back on the front line with the police. <\/p>\n
She smiles, \u201cA lot of people say I\u2019m living the WAG life, but I don\u2019t see it like that. I\u2019m working full-time, often more hours than him. I\u2019m still doing my own journey while supporting him.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The lovebirds are looking forward to making the most of Leroy\u2019s downtime. Photo \/ Alice Veysey<\/p>\n
When we ask Leroy what he loves most about Anika, he doesn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cShe always makes sure I\u2019m good. Whether that\u2019s if I need something for rugby or making sure dinner\u2019s sorted, she\u2019s always looking after me.\u201d<\/p>\n
And the feeling is mutual, Anika continues, \u201cHe knows how important it is for us to stay connected while we\u2019re apart. Even if it\u2019s just a phone call, a text or sorting out any issues back here with the house, he\u2019s still looking after me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her only gripe is Leroy\u2019s memory. Anika sighs, \u201cHe just forgets everything!\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Leroy agrees he\u2019s not great with his words, so Anika\u2019s put him on notice about his vows. He\u2019s already asked her, \u201cDoesn\u2019t someone write them for me?\u201d To which she informed him, \u201cNo! You\u2019ve got to think about what you want to say about me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although Leroy\u2019s rise in rugby has appeared lightning-fast from the outside, he insists it took time. After nine years growing up on the Gold Coast, he came home to attend Tauranga Boys\u2019 College. He then spent almost three years missing out on contracts before rugby sevens came calling, at which point things moved quickly. Leroy went from the Olympic Games in Paris to a Chiefs deal, then the black jersey.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone dreams of becoming an All Black,\u201d he smiles. \u201cIt\u2019s still a shock to say I\u2019m an All Black. It\u2019s wild.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, it hasn\u2019t all been easy. After a tough outing in South Africa, Anika found the online commentary hard to read. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou might have one bad game and 10 good ones, but they\u2019ll only remember your bad game,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
However, Leroy\u2019s learning to take it in his stride. <\/p>\n
He shrugs, \u201cEveryone can have their opinion on the couch, but it\u2019s not until you\u2019re in the arena that you actually know what it\u2019s like.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the All Blacks season due to end next month, the lovebirds are looking forward to making the most of Leroy\u2019s downtime. They hope to celebrate their engagement in early December, once he\u2019s home from their Nations Championship games in the UK, and have set a wedding date for late 2028, after next year\u2019s World Cup.<\/p>\n
![\"Leroy]()
Leroy and Anika with their dog Remis. Photo \/ Alice Veysey<\/p>\n
Rarotonga is high on the location wish list as Anika\u2019s mum was born there, most of her family still lives there and her parents are about to retire to the island. When she took Leroy over earlier this year, her parents pointed out wedding venues over dinner. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love Raro,\u201d says Leroy. <\/p>\n
Family plans are still a way off. For now, their baby is Remis, the passport-munching pup. She joins them for runs and keeps up with Leroy far better than Anika does. <\/p>\n
She laughs, \u201cLeroy\u2019s always saying, \u2018You can go faster!\u2019 and I\u2019m like, \u2018No, I really can\u2019t!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
But kids are firmly on the cards for the future. <\/p>\n
\u201cI love what I do for work,\u201d says Anika. \u201cBut if there\u2019s the chance, I\u2019d put work aside. We\u2019re just trying to enjoy whatever\u2019s happening for now. If it happens, it happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt actually went better than I thought it would,\u201d he grins. After picking up the ring in South…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[5263,8136,17878,246008,17909,310898,2004,296,5511,42928,17877,130,310899,111,139,69,71979,61492,1562,16513,6327,20863,6180,62328,544,213,2737,48499,2846,4468,11395,19030,22187,17217,33345],"class_list":["post-634631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-all","tag-blacks","tag-carters","tag-chew","tag-chiefs","tag-cushions","tag-engagement","tag-into","tag-just","tag-laughs","tag-leroy","tag-more","tag-munches","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-passports","tag-played","tag-plenty","tag-reason","tag-rugby","tag-she","tag-shes","tag-shoes","tag-some","tag-sports","tag-star","tag-taste","tag-them","tag-thing","tag-toys","tag-tropical","tag-unusual","tag-whos","tag-winger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634631","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=634631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}