'We want to play relentless rugby': Leti-I'iga outlines bold Black Ferns objective

Ayesha Leti-I’iga has a knack for breaking try-scoring records. She scored with her very first touch as a 16-year-old at Porirua College and has been making history ever since.

In 2015, she scored a try with her first touch for Wellington. Since then, she has set a record of 56 tries in 43 games for the Pride.

During the 2021 Rugby World Cup final, the Black Ferns beat England 34-31 at Eden Park in Auckland. Leti-I’iga scored the winning try – her second of the match – with seven minutes left in a tense game against a Red Roses team that had won 30 Tests in a row.

Then Black Ferns Director of Rugby, Sir Wayne Smith, called Leti-I’iga “the best rugby player in the world.” Even having missed over a year with a knee injury in July 2023, Leti-I’iga has scored 23 tries in 33 Tests for the Black Ferns. 24 of those matches have ended as wins.

She scored two more tries as the Black Ferns defended their Pacific Four Series title in April, dotting down twice in a 40-5 win against Australia on the Gold Coast. This victory also kept the Laurie O’Reilly Trophy for matches against the Wallaroos.

“The scoreline didn’t reflect how competitive that game was. It was special to have a good game in front of my family,” Leti-I’iga told RugbyPass.

“My partner flew over from New Zealand, and like a lot of Kiwis, I’ve got family in Brisbane, so they came to watch the game, which was awesome.

“The whole of PAC4 was awesome, actually. We have a new team and game plan after the World Cup. It was a proud moment for Justine McGregor, Ona Palu, Tara Turner, Maddi Robinson and Lucy Anderson to get their debuts while some of us who’ve been in the team for a while have grown since England last year.”

With typical modesty, Leti-I’iga didn’t reflect on the Aussie tries themselves. Her first involved blistering pace and precise hands to gather a pinpoint Ruahei Demant grubber. Her second started near the halfway line after a sweeping movement with centre Amy Du Plessis.

“I don’t have a favourite try because they are all team tries. My grandfather, Faaui, taught me you get nowhere without hard work and teamwork. I used to cry when he woke me at 5am for runs. Looking back, I guess it was worth it.”

The Black Ferns’ new coach, Whitney Hansen, has so far been a player favourite. Her ability to empathise with the players and achieve a better balance between defensive and attacking strategy has resonated.

“We want to play unpredictable, physically dominant, relentless rugby,” Leti-I’iga explained. “We want to play freely, but before we can do that, we have to earn the right.”

The Black Ferns did that in a replay of their Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final defeat against Canada, achieving a resounding 36-14 win in Kansas City. The Black Ferns trailed 14-5 at halftime but rallied to score 31 unanswered points in the second half.

“There was a lot of motivation to perform in that game after the World Cup,” Leti-I’iga said. “We stepped up in the second half with physical pressure and were clinical. It was always going to take time to gel because for many girls it was their first rugby this year.”

The next assignment for the Black Ferns is Super Rugby Aupiki, running from 13 June to 1 August. Leti-I’iga plays for the Hurricanes Poua and is their leading try scorer with six tries in 12 games.

Pacific Four Series

P

W

L

D

PF

PA

PD

BP T

BP-7

BP

Total

1

New Zealand Women

3

3

0

0

15

2

Canada Women

3

2

1

0

10

3

USA Women

3

1

2

0

5

4

Australia Women

3

0

3

0

0

When she can, Leti-I’iga also plays for her club Oriental Rongotai [Ories] in Miramar, a small suburb southeast of Wellington’s city centre.

Ories is known for its vibrant Polynesian community and tight-knit connections. All Blacks Ma’a Nonu, Julian and Ardie Savea are proud “Magpies” as is Black Ferns Women’s Rugby World Cup winning lock Joanah Ngan-Woo.

When Ories won the Jubilee Cup, Wellington men’s senior competition, in 2023, they did so with 39 players, 15 of whom were affiliated with the EFKS Ueligitone Christian Congregation Church of Samoa.

Down the road is PIPC Newtown, where Wellington Lions flanker Sione Halalilo and the Solo and Ropeti families, contributors of six Ories players, congregate. Roderick Solo is in the All Blacks Sevens and Dominic Ropeti is with Moana Pasifika.

Leti-I’iga is Ories equivalent to Don Bradman. On Saturday at Kilbirnie Park, she came on as a second-half replacement for the women’s senior team in their Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy match against Poneke. Ahead 19-12 at halftime, the more highly fancied Magpies needed energy and got it. Leti-I’iga scored four tries in the 56-17 win.

Her second try was her 200th for Ories in 82 appearances, a stratospheric statistic unlikely to ever be repeated.

“I just caught the ball and put it on the line,” Leti-I’iga said modestly. “Tylah Reihana-Aukuso mentioned the record before the game. I wasn’t thinking about it. I’m not interested in personal accolades. I just want to do what’s right for the team.

“The plan was for me to come on in the second half. Many girls have been training hard all season, so it’s not fair if I just walk in. At half-time, we talked about doing better to take the opportunities we created.”

Cell phone footage of the game was shared on the Facebook page of Poneke coach Nehe Milner-Skudder, who scored a try in the All Blacks’ 34-17 win over Australia in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final. The video shows Leti-I’iga in jersey ten scoring a try with a swerving run that began well before the halfway line.

“I wasn’t playing first five. I started on the wing and moved into midfield,” Leti-I’iga explained. “We wear jerseys that fit us because we don’t always have the right numbers.

“The try from halfway came from a chip kick. When I see space, I can play freely. At Ories, I’m back where I started playing with my best friends. It’s always special.”

For a while, scoring tries was profitable. Her grandfather Faaui, gave her $10 for each try she scored.

“He stopped that after the first year,” Leti-I’iga laughed.

Sadly, Faaui passed away in 2019 before he could give his granddaughter $20 for winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

Had Faaui lived to keep paying Leti-I’iga for her tries, he might be broke by now. Leti-I’iga’s try-scoring feats for Ories are as imperious as any rugby player in any competition on the planet.

She has scored 202 tries in 82 games, with tries in her last four consecutive matches. She has been involved in at least 69 Ories wins. In 42 of those games, Ories scored 50 or more points.

The first of her three tries hauls came in a 60-0 win against Wainuiomata on April 18, 2015. She has since scored 36 hat-tricks.

In 2018, she scored 41 tries in 13 games. She won the Wellington Women’s Club Player of the Year [now known as the Erin Rush Medal] in 2017 and 2018.

Between a 62-10 win over Old Boys University on July 7, 2022, and a 106-0 win against Paremata-Plimmerton on July 28, 2018, she scored tries in 15 consecutive matches.

Her record for most tries in a single game is eight against Avalon in a 114-0 win on July 25, 2020.

She scored seven tries the following week in a 78-0 win against Paremata-Plimmerton and went on to score at least one try in the next twelve matches, including seven against Poneke in a 98-0 win.

In 2009, Ayesha’s mother, Mary Asolupe Leti-I’iga, died at 35 when struck by a vehicle, leaving 11-year-old Ayesha to be raised largely by her grandparents.

“I have a routine before my game. I always strap up my arm and write my mum’s name on it. It’s the first thing I do in the changing room,” Leti-I’iga said.

“Every time I score a try, on my way back to the restart, I kiss my wrist because it feels like Mum is running beside me.”