Sevens star Shiray 'I WAS SO CLOSE TO GIVING UP'

Tackling the opposition on the field was easier than making a hard family decision, tells the rugby star

- Rebekah Hebenton

Shiray Kaka has sacrificed a lot to be a member of the gold medal-winning Black Ferns Sevens team.

She has spent six years living apart from her husband Gillies, 31, a former All Blacks Sevens star who now plays rugby league in Japan - meaning he's overseas nine months of the year.

Shiray has also put off her dreams of growing her family, but this is something the 26-year-old is prepared to do in her pursuit of becoming one of New Zealand's rugby legends.

“I haven't reached my full potential as a rugby player yet," she asserts. “I've always been the player who only just makes the team or is always on the bench. I've never been the star player and I want to see if I can reach the promise of what I know I can be.”

In the four years they've been married, most has been long-distance and Shiray had planned to retire once she finally secured her gold medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics to spend some quality time with Gillies. But she couldn't ignore the pull the sport still had on her.

“I said to him if I won gold then we'd have kids and that would be me done,” recalls Shiray. "He was so excited to have me in Japan. So for me say that I didn't think I was done with rugby was a big conversation.