Black Ferns midfielder Sylvia Brunt is taking her newfound stardom in her stride, following a breakout performance against Australia last week.
In fact, those in the rugby know will tell you Brunt's strength and skill have long had her pegged for stardom.
But that doesn't mean the teenager isn't having her eyes opened by new experiences along the way — just take the Black Ferns' flight to Ottawa in Canada.
"It's been crazy — I've never been on plane for so long," Brunt told 1News.
In a metaphorical sense, the lengthy flight was similar to the high she hasn't come down from since tearing apart Australia last week.
The headlines soon followed and with it, a new status.
"It was kind of a buzz, I still can't believe it," she said, reflecting on the match.
"And I was honestly just having so much fun playing on the field with my sisters in black."
And at 19 years old, with eight Tests and a World Cup title under her belt already, Brunt is now determined to keep stepping and scoring her way into a more permanent role in the Black Ferns midfield.
Part of that is the team's philosophy about what they call sharpening their superpowers.
"We're really big on sharpening our taonga which is our superpowers, and we're really encouraged to be able to express ourselves and play free which is something I really felt that night," she said.
If last week was anything to go by, it's not hard to guess what Brunt's powers are.
"I guess for me I love to run with the ball, I love to be able to put some footwork on in the line.
"Something I do want to do though is being able to create for other people into holes as well to keep the defence guessing."
And even though she's still a teenager herself, the Aucklander already has the next generation in mind.
"Any support we get, I'm real grateful for especially when I see some young kid aspiring to be a Black Fern — that isn't something I could say I wanted to be because it wasn't as well-known as it is right now so that's something really cool."
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