Black Fern Huriana’s perfect match
Love’ s the winner on the day for this sporty duo
Huriana Manuel approaches her wedding day much like the way she plays a game of rugby – cool, calm and collected. The former Black Ferns captain, 30, who led our women’s sevens team to silver at last year’s Olympic Games, is still lounging in bed with breakfast just four hours before she’s due to walk down the aisle in Warkworth, north of Auckland, to wed fellow rugby star Derek Carpenter. Although her mother and bridesmaids are running around madly to iron out last-minute details, when Woman’sDay asks how she’s feeling on the big day, Huriana shrugs and smiles, “I’m just chilling.” When she finally changes into her stunning Trish Peng gown, the athlete looks every bit the blushing bride, but she still can’t escape a little sporting hijinks on her dream day. As the bridal party gathers for photos, Huriana and her Black Ferns teammates Carla Hohepa and Linda Itunu propose the idea of a rugby line-out for a fun snap.
The girls execute the perfect lift, while Super Rugby player Derek, 28, and his band of groomsmen – all friends from high school – struggle to get him into position. “Get right under my cheeks,” instructs Derek as they take a second shot at the line-out. “Do you want me to lift him?” laughs Carla, who has played rugby alongside Huriana for almost 16 years.
It’s fitting the bride and groom have a touch of footy at their wedding as the sport brought them together when Huriana first caught Derek’s eye eight years ago at a rugby academy camp. “He remembers me from the camp, but I don’t remember him,” laughs Huriana. “Probably because there were
about 50 guys in attendance and only two girls.”
Their paths crossed again in 2014 at the Sevens Nationals Tournament in Rotorua. Too shy to approach Huriana, Derek sent her a Facebook message.
“We went for a coffee after she’d finished training and it was effortless talking to her,” recalls Derek. “She had me hook, line and sinker. If I could, I would have proposed to her that first day we met! I knew then she was the one for me.”
A few months into the relationship, Derek headed off to Japan to play rugby, but they maintained a long-distance relationship by flying back and forth whenever they could.
“I’d go see him in Japan for a couple of days,” explains Huriana. “It was never more than a week, but we made the effort. Not seeing each other every day has been hard for us, but we’ve made it work through Skype and other apps. We call each other every day and we stay up right until the morning or even fall asleep on the phone.”
Oohlala!
Six months in, Derek couldn’t hold off any longer. He popped the question in a romantic French restaurant in Japan.
After a two-year engagement, the lovebirds managed to plan a beautiful wedding despite the oceans between them.
“Derek and I are both sportspeople and you just have to make a decision on the spot, so that’s what we did when it came to planning the wedding,” tells Huriana. Their only hiccup was forgetting to apply for their marriage licence and having to sweet-talk their way to getting one in time for the wedding.
Other than that, the couple’s nuptials, held at the gorgeous Kourawhero Estate, are a dreamy, picturesque affair.
Seeing his bride walk down the aisle makes Derek tear up. “It was very emotional,” he tells us later. “She was glowing and looked flawless. We had a special moment after we said ‘I do’. She whispered to me, ‘Darling, you’re my husband now.’ That’s when it all sank in. I couldn’t picture it being more perfect. I love her to bits.”
The day after the wedding, Derek flew back to Japan to play for the Tokyo-based Sunwolves, with Huriana following him later that week.
“I’m taking this whole year off rugby so I can be in Japan and support him and his goals,” she explains. “We’re very excited to be together for more than a week. He’s been so supportive with me and my career. He’s taken time off when it’s been really hard for him – he came to Rio for the Olympics and all the way to Fiji just to watch me trial for the team. Now it’s time for me to do the same for him.”
Huriana may have missed out on a gold medal in the unforgettable Olympic final last year, but in Derek, she has the best prize of all.