Ekenasio’s baby break

Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio has revealed she was pregnant when she led New Zealand to their first Constellation Cup series triumph over Australia in nine years in March.

The Central Pulse star yesterday confirmed she is pregnant with her second child and will sit out the rest of the ANZ Premiership netball season, having already missed the opening three games due to medical reasons after opening up on her recent mental health struggles.

Ekenasio’s last competitive game was in New Zealand’s fourth Constellation Cup test against Australia on March 7, captaining the Silver Ferns to a 45-43 win, which clinched the series 3-1

She had an inkling during the series she was pregnant and her hunch was confirmed shortly after.

‘‘Looking back on Con Cup I was really proud to have been a part of that campaign, to lead that campaign and to obviously bring home the cup,’’ Ekenasio said.

‘‘It was such a big moment for us. We worked such a long time for it, so to find out I was pregnant at the same time felt like even more of an achievement for me personally. I played that whole tournament pregnant as well. It was definitely tough, but at the end of it I looked back and was really proud of what we did.’’

Ekenasio and her husband, former Wellington Saints basketballer Damien Ekenasio, have a three-year-old son, Ocean.

She said she was over the moon that he would become a big brother to another boy.

The goal attack is due to give birth to her second child in November and believes next year’s Commonwealth Games in England is a realistic target for her return to the netball court.

‘‘We’ve got a plan set in place which is cool and exciting because the planner, goal-setter, athlete part of me likes to look long-term and the plan is to come back and put myself in a position where I’ll be able to contest a spot for the Comm Games and the Netball World Cup.’’

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