BLACK FERNS LEG ENDLES 'FAMILY IS MY NEW FOCUS'

The retired captain is expecting another miracle baby after one of the most tumultuous years of her life

- Hayley Barnett

After a year of uncertainty, disappointment, mourning and what felt like defeat, former Black Ferns captain Les Elder is looking forward to sunny days ahead.

At 32 weeks pregnant, Les is cleaning up after daughter Mihiterena's third birthday party when Woman's Day visits her Mount Maunganui home. "Would you like some cake? I made it myself, which is probably why no one has eaten it," she laughs.

The past year has been tough for Les, 36, and her husband Johnny, 40. But you wouldn't know it from their joyful energy. Les says it's thanks to the hard times that they've realised they have a lot to be grateful for

"I've always believed in keeping things in perspective," says Taumarunui-born Les (née Ketu), who was part of the World Cup-winning Black Ferns squad of 2017. "I like to remind myself there's always someone going through way worse than I am. I don't know if that's the right way to do it, but it's always helped me."

Not having made the Black Ferns team in 2022, Les felt it was the perfect time to focus on her family and try for another baby. "I knew I was retiring and I was doing the commentary for the World Cup at the time," she explains. "The timing just felt right."

Les - who is of Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Hāua ki Taumarunui descent - and Johnny went through IVF with the first pregnancy, so knew what to expect. Les still had eggs left from the first round, which made things easier, but she still had to get regular blood tests.