Charmaine McMenamin was in a hospital bed recovering from major back surgery when the Black Ferns played their 100th Test against England in October last year. She wondered whether she would play again. Now she’s preparing for a World Cup on home soil.
Her story is one of resilience and spirit, setbacks and dreams achieved.
McMenamin lost feeling in her legs after playing for her Ponsonby club in the final in May last year.
Fortunately for her, surgery – two fused vertebrae, eight pins inserted, and the removal of two bone spurs on her spinal cord - set her on the road to recovery, but it wasn’t a short or smooth one.
Her breathing had been affected by the injuries and that became apparent once she started training again.
“It was a learning curve for everyone involved, including the medical staff,” McMenamin says in reflection before Saturday’s Black Ferns’ opener against Australia at Eden Park.
And yet another issue revealed itself when she began to lift weights – an undiagnosed broken elbow suffered, she thinks, in the previous World Cup in 2017.
“I wanted to be at the World Cup,” she says of her ultimate dream.
“In my head that was my goal but I didn’t want to put too much expectation on it because going from not ever being able to play again to just being back on the field, that’s a massive achievement in itself.”
There’s no doubt about that. And yet, she kept making progress. “From there I just ticked boxes and I must have ticked the right ones because I’m here.”
There are inspirational stories throughout this team in terms of women battling against the odds but McMenamin’s may rate as one of the greatest. Only 12 months ago she was bed-ridden for four days and was struggling to walk.
The 2019 Black Ferns player of the year, one of the more experienced members of the squad, will clearly provide an important leadership role as her side take the field against the Wallaroos in front of what will be the biggest crowd any of them have played in front of.
More than 35,000 spectators are expected in what will be the largest crowd to watch a women’s rugby game.
McMenamin says she isn’t particularly fazed by the potential pressure or expectation such a crowd will bring. She's just looking forward to the chance of playing in front of her family.
It’s probably not surprising given what she’s been through to get here.
And she says even the legacy for this side of the country hosting the first women’s World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere should be put into proper perspective.
“Performing on the world stage is going to be massive and especially at home but I think it’s the smaller community things the Black Ferns do which makes the Black Ferns what they are.”
The Black Ferns appear ready and they could do worse than look for McMenamin's journey for inspiration as they attempt to defend their World Cup crown.
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