Stacey Waaka has a new goal after second Olympic gold

There’s no rest for the wicked and neither is there rest for double Olympic gold medallist Stacey Waaka, who is in Brisbane just five days after writing her name in the history books once more in Paris.

The 28-year-old is launching into a new challenge with the NRLW’s Brisbane Broncos, and although her days with the Black Ferns Sevens are far from over, the excitement of a new challenge is taking her ambition to new places.

Two years remain on Waaka’s New Zealand Rugby contract so Kiwi rugby fans shouldn’t fear losing one of the country’s best talents to the other side of the ditch and another code, but another black jersey is potentially within reach for the 2021 Rugby World Cup winner.

She was asked what’s next after so many incredible feats.

“I’m scared. I am scared as heck,” Waaka laughed on The Breakdown. “I’m nervous, I’m still trying to learn the rules!

“I’m trying to watch as much as I can, but I’m excited too. I’m excited to go out there and do something new.

“Yes, I have been to a lot of pinnacle events; Commonwealth Games, World Cups, Olympics, but next goal on the list is potentially play for the Kiwi Ferns (New Zealand’s women’s rugby league team).

“I’m probably going to put my hand up and trial this season, just to see where it goes. Obviously, I’m back with Sevens for the next two years so you can’t get rid of me just yet, but maybe a potential code switch after I finish playing rugby, who knows. Maybe a league World Cup, we’ll see where life takes me!”

The quick turnaround means Waaka is yet to celebrate her latest grand accomplishment with her family. Her eternal positivity has helped stomach that.

Wherever Waaka ends up professionally, she takes with her lessons from some of the greats of the game. Teammates Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Tyla King have been icons of the black jersey for years and have been major components of the growth of the women’s game.

She spoke about how their retirement from the Black Ferns Sevens influenced the gold medal run.

“A lot of emotion running through the body, I can tell you that for sure. We knew it was Tyla and Portia’s last run in the black jersey with us, so we made sure to make it special and winning was just the icing on top of the cake for them.

“We talked about enjoying the moment and making sure that we did celebrate because we had family and friends in the stands this time, it was so much better than Tokyo with no crowd to play in front of.

“We loved the atmosphere, it was crazy! You’ve played in front of a French crowd before, you’ll know how hectic it is out there. How loud it is.”

The exit of two icons may draw their chapters to a close but the legacy carved in the jersey remains. Moving forward, the success the pair have driven will set the next generation up thanks to the experience of big moments.

“It’s probably lucky for us that we’ve been in big, pressure moments quite a lot. We’ve made a lot of finals. We’ve won some, we’ve lost some.

“That’s probably the growth area that we’ve had; all the girls in our team have had experience across the board.

“It’s probably the most game time that our whole squad have had, this season. There were no debutants, all the young girls had their opportunity and when the team got named we were all very confident with ourselves, with each other, that we’d be able to get the job done.

“That was probably key, believing in ourselves, believing in our own ability, that we actually did deserve a spot and we actually had the goods to be out there and perform when we needed to.

“I suppose it just comes down to the group and everyone having each other’s back whenever we needed to.

“Canada have never played in a big final moment like that – over the last few years – so I knew it would probably be hard for them. But for us, just being calm, adapting as we went and our big-time players like Sarah Hirini stepping up when we needed her most to get that last try.”