Happy homecoming for Northland Fern

Today’s test in the far north is extra special for Northlander Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu.

The 30-year-old halfback from the tiny Northland town of Te Ahuahu, about 30km inland from Paihia, will be starting a test for the Black Ferns for the first time against the United States.

But that’s not all. Marino-Tauhinu’s family – including most of her nine siblings, her husband, grandmother and cousins – will be there at Whangā rei’s Semenoff Stadium, a venue which will host matches at the women’s Rugby World Cup in October and November.

‘‘It means that little bit more because it’s in the north and is where all my family are from,’’ Marino-Tauhinu said.

She was born down the road, in Kawakawa, and replaces Kendra Cocksedge, the most-capped Black Fern on 59 tests, for a rare start for her country in her eighth test since her debut in 2019.

It will be Cocksedge’s 53rd test in a row for the Black Ferns, of which many have been starts, but Marino-Tauhinu gets a chance to

show if she can challenge the incumbent halfback in the final round of this month’s Pacific Four Series.

Marino-Tauhinu’s rugby journey began in an era when the women’s game was barely recognised or given enough support to prosper.

She didn’t know New Zealand had a national women’s rugby team and was playing alongside boys in her teenage years.

‘‘My mother and father were very keen for where I could go next. That’s when I found out

about the Black Ferns,’’ MarinoTauhinu said.

Women’s rugby has started to thrive, eventually, and she is among the fully contracted Black Ferns after missing last year’s northern tour while recovering from shoulder reconstruction.

With a move to Auckland, at 17, Marino-Tauhinu gave league and touch rugby a crack before getting her chance in rugby with Counties Manukau after playing for the Manurewa and Moerewa clubs in Auckland and Northland respectively.

‘‘Back then, there was no pathway, especially in Northland,’’ she said. ‘‘The rugby here is very raw, there is so much talent, it’s gritty and is a place that epitomises grassroots.

With iwi affiliations to Te Uri Taniwha, Ngā ti Hineira, Ngā puhi and Ngai Tāhuhu, representing her whānau and Māori culture means the world to MarinoTauhinu.

She has led the Black Ferns’ haka in tests for the first time this month and hinted at something different today to face the United States, acknowledging the cultural significance of a test on home turf that will be equally special for team-mate Krystal Murray, another Northlander who is on the bench.

‘‘It’s a privilege and an honour to be part of a team that has such an amazing legacy and provides a platform for women, and Māori women and girls, to break stereotypes, rewrite the narrative and be able to express themselves.

‘‘To come to the north and to inspire all young girls, and men, to take women’s rugby seriously, and now that it’s a career, it’s an amazing thing.’’