The Black Ferns Sevens players are in celebration mode after securing New Zealand’s first medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
The team won gold this morning after overcoming a resilient Canadian side — winning 19-12 after trailing 12-7 at the halftime break.
They are now back-to-back Olympic champions, having also claimed silver in 2016.
Breakfast spoke to Jorja Miller after the game, who was celebrating a gold medal at her first Olympic tournament.
She said it felt “surreal” to have the medal around her neck.
“To be alongside those girls, they’re absolute legends who have paved the way for players like me, for younger players.
“For us, it was just playing rugby. We just wanted to have fun and play a simple game, work to our strengths, and know that would get the job done.”
The result also caps the end of the Black Fern Sevens careers of Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Tyla King.
Miller said she felt “very lucky to be able to play alongside them".
Stacey Waaka, who scored the final try of the game, said: “You couldn’t ask for more in teammates."
“They do the damage on the field and have fun off the field, and that’s what we want.
“It was tough out there, and we didn’t make it easy on ourselves, but that’s what rugby is about.”
“I don’t think it’s going to sink in for a few days.”
Tyla King's family 'speechless'
Her mother said it was "surreal" to see the now three-time Olympic medallist retire "on top". (Source: Breakfast)
Breakfast also caught up with the family of Tyla King, who ended her sevens career with a second Olympic gold medal and third overall.
Her mother, Deanne Nathan-Wong, said: “Honestly, I’m kind of speechless in some ways because it still seems really surreal that we’ve been in Paris, watched our daughter just win the gold, and she’s retiring, and she’s gone out on top.
“It’s just really beautiful.”
Her father, Russell, said: “I think you know, any professional athlete who does 13 years as a career, it’s pretty good, and it’s longstanding, and now she hands the jersey over to the next group of girls who will continue the legacy of the Black Ferns sevens."
Her sister, Shee, said she was “so proud” of the team.
“I get sick, like physically sick, every time she’s about to play. I feel like I get more nervous than her sometimes,”
“I was just so excited for them, honestly; I think, you know, they’ve put in the work, we know how good they are, they’ve backed themselves, and they get the result that they really deserved."
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