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‘Can I try’: Injured Sarah Hirini refusing to give up on Paris Olympics dream

Gold medalist Sarah Hirini of Team New Zealand celebrates with her gold medal during the Women’s Rugby Sevens Medal Ceremony on day eight of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Tokyo Stadium on July 31, 2021 in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Injured Black Ferns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini is down but not out. With the Paris Olympics just over five months away, Hirini is in a race against time to be fit and ready for the Games.

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Hirini, who was the flagbearer for New Zealand at the Tokyo Games three years ago, was helped from the field at the SVNS Dubai in December after suffering a serious knee injury.

The Olympic gold medallist was later ruled out of the next SVNS Series leg in Cape Town with an ACL injury – a tough blow that put the skipper in doubt for the rest of the season.

But after returning home to New Zealand and undergoing a successful ACL operation, Hirini embraced the challenge with a telling Instagram post in December.

“Ready for the tough road ahead,” Hirini wrote, with the caption accompanying a picture of the sevens star post-surgery.

But it still seemed like long odds that Hirini would even be a chance for the Games – but don’t tell her that. It won’t be easy, but Hirini is tackling the challenge head-on.

Hirini believes she can be on the plane with the New Zealand Olympic team to Paris, which the 31-year-old made clear in another social media post earlier this week.

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“I get that this is the normal timeframe but because there is an Olympic Games, can I try and make it back?” Hirini said in a video released on her Instagram.

“If they are going to tell me no, then I knew that that was a complete no.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Sarah Hirini (@sarah.hirini)

“They’ve said, ‘Yeah, there’s time. We’re pushing it but realistically there’s a time that you could try.’ And so I said, ‘Sweet, that’s all I need.'”

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In the absence of Hirini, the Black Ferns Sevens have struggled this season. After losing the final in Dubai, they were pipped by France in the Cape Town semi-finals a week later.

New Zealand appeared to be tracking well at the series’ most recent tournament in Perth, but a tough match-up against arch-rivals Australia in the quarters was always going to be tough.

It was a clash filled with thrilling tries and controversy, and in the end, hosts Australia emerged victorious at HBF Park.

“If anyone watched that game yesterday, it was worthy of a final,” New Zealand’s Tyla King told RugbyPass after New Zealand’s final match in Perth

“It was pretty ridiculous, I’m not gonna lie. Two red cards in the space of a few minutes of each other. It was just all over the show.

“Pretty entertaining for everyone out there watching but pretty gruelling out there for us. Not how we wanted to finish this tournament.”

Next up on the SVNS Series is an event in Vancouver from February 23 to 25. Those interested in watching some of the world’s best rugby while enjoying the best party in town can get tickets HERE.

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1 Comment
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Jen 285 days ago

Such a great player. I hope she bounces back quickly.

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Hellhound 46 minutes ago
France put World Cup pain behind them with unbeaten run in November

France is starting to look like they are finally over their WC headache, although they were lucky that NZ had a very bad game. The Argies as usual is one game good, the next bad. If they can sort that out and be more consistent, they could become contenders for the WC.


NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.


With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.


That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.

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