‘I hate losing’: Sarah Hirini reflects on ‘sickening’ defeat at SVNS Perth

In sports, there must always be the person or team who triumphs and their opponent who falls short of glory. As New Zealand’s Sarah Hirini has explained, the cruel nature of competition delivers a truly “sickening” feeling to the core of athletes who lose.

At Perth’s HBF Park, New Zealand and Australia met in one of the all-time classic HSBC SVNS Series Women’s Cup finals just over one week ago. These two nations share an incredible rivalry in women’s sevens, with this decider certainly living up to the hype of that matchup.

Australia had taken out the season’s first title in Dubai late last year, but New Zealand bounced back to win the next SVNS Series event in Cape Town. While the Aussies were chasing their first title on home soil since 2018, the Kiwis were full of belief.

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Both teams had been practically flawless up until that point, with the Black Ferns Sevens only conceding 19 points across their five matches before the big one, and the Aussies had only had 29 put on them which included 17 points in the semi-final win over Canada.

New Zealand gave it everything against an injury-depleted Australian side, who were missing try-scoring machines Maddison Levi and Faith Nathan, but it wasn’t enough as the women in gold held on for a famous 28-26 win on home soil.

“Obviously pretty gutted. Hate losing, to be honest, especially to Australia here at home,” Hirini said on RugbyPass TV’s HSBC SVNS Embedded. “I think the way that the game went, I’m just really proud of the way we stuck in it.

“There were opportunities that we took, some we didn’t. Obviously, the scoreline probably reflected exactly how the game went. Just looking forward to getting home now to be honest.

“Like I said, I hate losing. As a kid we weren’t allowed to come second so that feeling deep down is pretty sickening but is what it is and have to move on as quickly as we can.

“Bringing ‘Mini’ back off her little break has been good, and easing her way back into the [SVNS Series] again, I thought she was amazing today. Might get Stacey [Waaka] back next tournament which would be cool.

“As we always  do, we just work hard for each other and we love playing footy.”

SVNS Series veteran Michaela Brake – formerly Blyde before recently getting married to New Zealand Olympic rower Michael Brake – opened the scoring for the New Zealanders in the first minute, with ‘Mini’ racing away to help get the team off to a perfect start.

But the Aussies didn’t trail for long, with teenager Heidi Dennis hitting back with an effort in the second minute. Tia Hinds and Kelsy Teneti traded tries toward the end of the first term as the two teams went into the break locked at 14-all with seven minutes left to play.

Three-time Olympian Charlotte Caslick showcased some individual brilliance to score five go-ahead points in the ninth minute before Brake hit back for the Kiwis. Dennis and Risi Pouri-Lane scored a try each later on, with the match ultimately coming down to a conversion.

Following Pouri-Lane’s try for the Black Ferns Sevens, a missed shot at goal with less than one minute to play ended up being the difference. While the New Zealanders threw everything at their great rivals, the Australians stood tall in key moments.

“Ladies, it’s a tough one, right? Losing sucks and we all feel that. Last night when that final whistle goes, you feel it. You wake up this morning and you feel it,” coach Cory Sweeney reflected the following day at the team’s hotel.

“Ultimately, if we’re real, we weren’t good enough in the moment and that sucks but that’s the journey that we’re on and that’s the thing that we’ve got to feel to know what our next steps up. Next steps are exciting.

“It’s about fire in the belly, it’s about trying to find those things that we need to enhance and then keep moving forward.

“We have two and a half weeks until Vancouver… it’s important to go reconnect with our family, but then we’ve got two weeks to learn and move and grow. That’s what the journey’s about.

“I said it last night, I’m really proud of your efforts, the sacrifice you made over Christmas to get us into the place that we were last night.”