Canada beat them 34-19 in the semi-final<\/a>.<\/p>\n\u201cIt was pure shock,\u201d Mikaele-Tu\u2019u says. \u201cThat was the first response. I didn\u2019t think we were losing until the 75th minute. I was just in denial. I wanted us to win so badly. When you know how much our team had gone through together to get to that game, it was heartbreaking. When the game had finished and we had to face our families who had travelled to come and support us, that was when it became emotional for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
While both players describe the buildup to the bronze final as tough, they were grateful to have another week together as a squad. All week in training they believed no one would show up for their game at Twickenham before Canada took on England in the final. But about 60,000 were in their seats to watch the Black Ferns beat France.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were cruising in [on the bus] and we said: \u2018No one is coming,\u2019 and then there were so many people,\u201d Mikaele-Tu\u2019u says. \u201cWe were so amazed, it was such a cool feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Liana Mikaele-Tu\u2019u drops the ball while attempting to score a try during the World Cup quarter-final against South Africa. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n
Both players are inspiring the next generation but Sae is also showing it is possible to be a professional athlete while having type 1 diabetes. The player was diagnosed when she was four and said it is her \u201cnormal\u201d. \u201cThere is a lot of preparation that I don\u2019t really think about,\u201d Sae says. \u201cI need to make sure my blood sugar levels are all right before I train, that I am eating the right amounts, there are a lot of little things. I am so used to it now and I have a lot of support.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was young, my mum would always say: \u2018You can do anything you want, just make sure you are doing your tests right. This is not going to hold you back.\u2019 I hope it inspires other people to continue with their sports, hobbies, what they love because it is just a little extra thing you need to do but it doesn\u2019t define you or limit you to what you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Such is the allure of a Black Ferns player that during their photoshoot, which takes place outside in slightly rainy and windy conditions, passersby bob and weave their heads to try to catch a glimpse of the pair. They aren\u2019t the only people drawn to the duo either, as the former All Black Nick Evans, Quins men\u2019s attack coach, introduces himself, giving them tips on where they can find snacks from back home.<\/p>\n
Such a welcome is part of the reason both players are keen for this PWR stint not to be a one-season appearance. \u201cThe only reason we haven\u2019t in previous years is because we haven\u2019t been given the opportunity so I don\u2019t see why not,\u201d Mikaele-Tu\u2019u adds. \u201cThe amount of games we would be able to play, the experience of playing on this side of the world, there are so many pros to being here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a certain aura that surrounds New Zealand rugby players. Liana Mikaele-Tu\u2019u and Layla Sae have all the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260446,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-260445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260445\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}