Match made in sevens
Black Fern Sarah gets the gold!
Scooping an Olympic silver medal in Rio de Janeiro was an undoubted highlight of Sarah Goss’ glittering rugby career to date. But just weeks later, it was a trophy of a different kind that had the Black Ferns sevens captain fizzing with excitement – her engagement ring!
The pretty 24-year-old beams as she recalls how her boyfriend of three years, Conor Hirini, 24, got down on bended knee in the sand during a romantic sunset beach proposal in Fiji last September, following the Ferns’ triumph in Rio.
“I was so speechless, I burst into tears – I didn’t even reply,” laughs the Manawatu-born athlete, showing off her whitegold and diamond ring, which glints in the sun outside the pair’s Bay of Plenty home. “Conor had to ask me, ‘Are you going to say yes?’”
While the proposal was a surprise, it’s a natural progression for the couple, who met three years ago through the Manawatu rugby scene, with Levin-born Conor admiring the talented Black Fern from afar.
But it was Sarah, a former competitive shearer, who made the first move, wishing her future boyfriend a happy birthday on Facebook. The pair continued to chat online for a while before they finally came face to face at a Wellington sevens after-party.
“It was nice to meet each other in person,” she smiles,
“but then I had to go away for a month for the sevens.”
On her return, Conor took her on their low-key first date – to a Turkish restaurant. Bonded by their love of rugby and their laid-back personalities, the sporty pair quickly became an item and after living for a couple of years in Mount Maunganui, they recently bought their first house in nearby Papamoa.
While Sarah spends stints away from home every month to play for the Black Ferns, Conor, who works for a power company, looks after the house – and their adorable three-month-old Airedale terrier puppy Booker. “He’s the closest thing we’ll have to a kid for a while,” jokes Sarah.
In their downtime, the couple love training together, going to the beach and watching movies. “Our Friday ritual is takeaways and a movie,” tells Sarah. “Conor’s pretty into his superhero movies and I wasn’t really into them before, but in the past three years, I’ve seen pretty much every single one!”
Proud Conor reveals that it was while supporting Sarah in Rio that he decided he had to put a ring on it.
“Watching her at the Olympics was massive!” he says. “I went over with her family and we stayed for three weeks. It was an unreal feeling that my partner is an Olympic medallist. Then during the celebrations, she pretty much said to me, ‘Are you gonna hurry up and ask me to marry you or what?’ I got the hard word from her!”
“Not true,” laughs Sarah. “I just knew I didn’t want to spend
the rest of my life with anyone else. He is my best friend.”
But for a couple who spend nearly all their leisure time together, getting the ring took a bit of undercover work – and a few false starts. First off, Conor accidentally sent a picture of the sparkler to Sarah, rather than his mum, whose opinion he wanted.
“I freaked out a bit, but I tried to stay calm,” he admits.
Sarah confesses, “I didn’t take it seriously! I thought he was just joking around.”
Having decided to propose in Fiji at the last minute, Conor had to get the ring couriered from Mount Maunganui to Auckland Airport just before their flight. He recalls, “I made up some excuse and ran off to
pick it up from duty-free. I was pretty stressed. There were a couple of times on the flight when Sarah delved into my bag to get something and I thought she was going to find it, but luckily she didn’t.”
Icing on the cake
Conor was nervous in the lead-up to the proposal. “I wanted us to enjoy our holiday, so I decided to get it over with on our first evening,” he tells. The couple celebrated by ordering chocolate mud cake and cider from room service before enjoying four days of paradise at their resort, lazing on the beach and snorkelling the surrounding islands.
Sarah’s family was delighted, as were her fellow Black Ferns. “There’s about four of us who got engaged after the Olympics, so we’ve been able to share the excitement together,” she says. The wedding will be “laid-back and real chilled out – just like us”, adds Sarah. “And it’ll happen on the beach!”
But they’re planning on leaving their big day a couple of years so that the dedicated rugby player can focus on making the Black Ferns team for the Rugby World Cup in Dublin, followed next year by the Commonwealth Games and the Sevens World Cup.
“There’s a busy year ahead and I want a gold medal so bad,” smiles Sarah. “That’s definitely the next big goal – along with marrying the love of my life!”