Awhina Tangen Wainohu and her son Hipirini. Photo: Supplied / Rachael Whareaitu
Awhina Tangen Wainohu, 24, is a mixture of excited and nervous to be wearing the black jersey for her first Women's Rugby World Cup tonight.
New Zealand's first game against Australia kicks off just after 7pm where Tangen Wainohu will be wearing the number 17 jersey.
The Black Fern from Heretaunga - Hastings and who is Ngāti Kahungunu descent says her two-year-old son Hipirini has helped her become a better person and role model for him.
She believes she wouldn't be in the team if it wasn't for him.
"I was very much a person that just went to play rugby ... go to training on Tuesday, Thursday night, play on Saturday. No recovery, no extras, no running, no gym, nothing. I loved rugby but I didn't work hard at all, to be honest," she said.
While balancing motherhood and her training, she said his kindergarten would send her pictures and videos of her son throughout the day which helped her keep going.
When her son was born she joined the Movement gym in Hamilton where she started connecting more with te reo Māori through her close friend and former Tall Ferns basketballer Matangiroa Flavell.
"They could speak it around the gym, there was stuff on the board, they'll have mahi o te ra - our mahi for the day. They'll just incorporate some words throughout our warm-up or throughout our workout and being Māori and not being a fluent speaker it was super inspiring and having my boy trying to connect back to our roots, both me and my partner hopefully in the future be able to speak fluent te reo Māori," said Tangen Wainohu.
A few weeks ago when she was back home for a friend's tangi, she said it was a special moment when she realised how many young Māori felt empowered by her.
"So I went home and everyone was wanting to take photos and asked who I was and stuff like that. It was really actually crazy to see my people back home acknowledging me and knowing how far I've come. And the young girls asking 'Aw can you take a photo? Do you know Portia Woodman?' Yes, I'm here and it's crazy when you see your whānau back home, your nephews, nieces asking those questions," Wainohu said.
She said having the World Cup held in Aotearoa helped give her a head start in the competition.
"For me personally, you can see the awa, you can see the mountains or you can talk about the whenua and pull into it really well. Obviously having your whānau and friends in the crowd is the biggest bonus," said Tangen Wainohu.
She was also carrying a te reo Māori kupu out with her on the field to keep her motivated during her games.
"My reset is actually te reo Māori so e tū. I go back to the farm on the ground e tū, like get up really quickly, stand strong, be courageous... there's a lot more meaning around that one word. Sometimes I could go back to wāhine tū rather than having e tū, so just being courageous, strong, don't let anyone come to you, be the one that goes forward," she said.
Amongst her achievements she was glad she and the entire team were able to show rugby wasn't a sport for only men.
"I think it's mean that we're able to go out and do and put on a performance just as well as the men do," Wainohu said.
