From Hirovanaa to Olsen-Baker: Black Ferns' World Rugby award winners

Tireless and destructive loose forward Kaipo Olsen-Baker joined fellow Black Ferns Monique Hirovanaa, Dame Farah Palmer, Carla Hohepa, Kendra Cocksedge, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Ruahei Demant as a winner of World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year.

Olsen-Baker has been a force of nature in 2026. During Super Rugby Aupiki, she scored a try in every round-robin match and was the only player to make more than 100 carries. She also topped the tackle count with 136, 18 ahead of teammate Elinor-Plum King, who won World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year.

Olsen-Baker’s barnstorming form continued during the international season, when she featured in seven of the Black Ferns’ 11 Tests. Her standout performance came in the 36-14 April victory over Canada in Kansas City, when she scored two tries. A 70-metre effort near full-time capped a dominant second half, which New Zealand won 31-0.

Olsen-Baker joins illustrious company as a Black Fern to have won the World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year Award.

2002: Monique Hirovanaa

Half-back Monique Hirovanaa, now a detector dog handler for the Ministry for Primary Industries at Auckland Airport, guided the Black Ferns to Women’s Rugby World Cup glory in Barcelona in 2002.

The Black Ferns, who had lost to England in Auckland in 2001, successfully defended their 1998 Women’s Rugby World Cup title without conceding a try. Hirovanaa was at her best in a tense final against England at the Olympic Stadium. Rugby News reported:

“Hirovanaa pulled all the strings in a star performance, scoring one slick try when she scampered 25 metres down the sideline from a ruck, and then set up another for Cheryl Waaka after slicing through on a 20m run from a lineout. Hirovanaa also kept England pinned on defence with clever, well-placed high kicks, and she directed the forwards in several stinging, lengthy rolling mauls.”

The Black Ferns won 19-9.

Hirovanaa began her rugby career as a full-back in 1991 before moving to half-back in 1995, an inspired decision. Between 1996 and 2002, she partnered World Rugby Hall of Fame first five-eighth Anna Richards in 22 Tests, recording 21 wins at an average score of 57-5. On nine occasions, the Black Ferns held their opponents scoreless.

“I was an explosive player, a bit of an all-rounder. I don’t mean to blow my own trumpet, but I could kick, pass and run. I think my time as full-back helped me develop a high skill level,” Hirovanaa said in 2025.

2005: Dame Farah Palmer

Despite missing her first match for the Black Ferns since 1996 through injury, hooker Farah Palmer remained a dominant force in the unbeaten 2005 team.

At the Canada Cup in Ottawa, the Black Ferns beat Scotland 30-9 and hosts Canada 43-3 and 32-5, extending a seven-year, 24-Test unbeaten run.

A World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee, Palmer captained the Black Ferns to 29 wins in 30 Tests, including Women’s Rugby World Cup triumphs in 1998, 2002 and 2006.

2010: Carla Hohepa

Waikato winger Carla Hohepa was dynamite during the Black Ferns’ 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup triumph in England.

She scored New Zealand’s only try in the final, helping the Black Ferns overcome England 13-10 in front of a hostile crowd at Twickenham Stoop in London.

In the Black Ferns’ opening match against South Africa, Hohepa scored a hat-trick, then crossed twice in the semi-final against France.

“The World Cup final was an interesting game. We got three yellow cards, but we didn’t really notice because the crowd was really loud, and everything went so fast,” Hohepa reflected.

“When I got the ball, I knew we needed the points, so I just ran. We were lucky we had so many experienced players; they kept the rest of us calm and gave us good ball when we needed it.”

Hohepa scored 21 tries in 24 appearances for the Black Ferns and was also a pioneering member of the Black Ferns Sevens programme. From 2012 to 2015, she helped New Zealand win the first three World Sevens Series titles, appearing in 10 tournaments and scoring 37 tries.

Her sister, Chyna Hohepa, has been a longtime captain of Waikato, three-time Farah Palmer Cup champions. Chyna is married to former Japanese international Karne Hesketh, who scored the winning try in the ‘Miracle of Brighton’ – Japan’s 34-31 victory over the Springboks at Rugby World Cup 2015.

2015: Kendra Cocksedge

For much of a decade, Kendra Cocksedge, who finished her career as the Black Ferns’ most-capped player with 68 Tests, was understudy to Emma Jensen, a 49-Test veteran and three-time Rugby World Cup winner. Cocksedge started just 12 of her first 26 Tests between 2007 and 2014.

In 2015, Cocksedge finally got her opportunity to secure a permanent starting position and seized it.

Fielding 11 debutants, the Black Ferns won the Super Series in Canada, beating the hosts 40-22, England 26-7 and the USA 47-14. It was a significant turnaround a year after New Zealand recorded its worst-ever Women’s Rugby World Cup finish.

“That year was a reboot. My goal was to be the best half-back in the world, and after spending nearly a decade behind Emma, I did everything I could to achieve that. Everything about that year, the culture and the games, was special,” Cocksedge recalled.

2017: Portia Woodman-Wickliffe

In an illustrious career in which she scored a Black Ferns-record 50 tries in 34 Tests and won two Olympic Games Sevens gold medals, winger Portia Woodman-Wickliffe was often described as the Jonah Lomu of women’s rugby.

She came closest to living up to that comparison during the Black Ferns’ 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup triumph in Ireland. In the tournament’s opening match, she scored a record eight tries in a ruthless 121-0 victory over Hong Kong.

It was in the semi-final, however, that she emulated Lomu by scoring four tries in a Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final.

Against the USA, Woodman-Wickliffe crossed four times in a 45-12 victory. Her first try, scored after 25 minutes with the Black Ferns leading just 8-7, went on to win the World Rugby Try of the Year Award. In a 45-metre run, she fended off a third of the American team in a breathtaking display of power and speed.

2022: Ruahei Demant

Ruahei Demant was a surprise choice to captain the Black Ferns in 2022. Unquestionably talented and a former high school head prefect, her career had been hampered by injuries.

But, following the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour, in which New Zealand lost all four Tests against France and England, new coach Sir Wayne Smith wanted a fresh start. He explained his decision to appoint Demant as captain:

“At three-quarter time of a practice match, I heard her saying: ‘What are you scared of, girls? Where’s your courage to have a crack?’ That aligned with the fearless, expansive philosophy of play I was trying to install and that is compatible with the Black Ferns’ DNA.”

The decision proved a masterstroke. Given the freedom to attack and lead in her fearless yet inclusive style, Demant, a brilliant running and offloading first or second five-eighth, featured in 11 of the Black Ferns’ 12 victories.

She is now the Black Ferns’ most successful captain, with 34 wins in 42 Tests.