October 5, 2024 • 15 mins
Rugby player Honey Hireme-Smiler talks to Francesca Rudkin about her new book, and the life-experiences she details within. She reflects on growing up quite mischievous yet humble, and having a great cast of friends and family with her.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
And I imagine some thought has to go into how
you tell stories involve other people as well, don't you,
and how that's going to be received.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Absolutely, I mean most importantly in my family and how
you know they're perceived. And the story was really important
to me. I mean it wasn't you know, about exposing anyone.
And I suppose there's no you know, bad bad people
in my story, I feel like, but there was definitely
hard times that we all experienced as a pharo and
(00:44):
so ensuring that my paro were okay with me telling
those stories and probably forced us to have the conversations
that we hadn't had. But yeah, it was a good
healing journey for us all.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
It might come as a bit of a surprise to
those who have followed your career but maybe don't know
you personally that you're a little bit of a rascal
as a kid. Tell me about growing up through to do.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Yeah, I mean a small small town, not a whole
lot to do. So I tend to lean towards looking
always look getting up to some sort of mischief and
funny enough. I'm actually just down at the Hamilton Lake.
I've been running around there and called into the Farmer's
market and the guy in the coffee shop said, honey,
you remember me from school.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
And I said, oh, hey, how are you? And he goes,
you're only a skateboard. He goes, you both my skateboard
at school, and I just had to laugh.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I thought, oh my gosh, it's like exactly what I'm
talking about in the book.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So, you know, I was a pretty angry kid, I think,
growing up.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
And so when when about I suppose my my younger days,
it's a bit of a bully and so when I
eat comments like that. But he laughed about it, and
it was kind of cool. And I suppose it's just
seeing the growth. But you know, I love my upbringing.
I don't suppose any regrets anymore. And I just I
(02:05):
just wouldn't change up for the world.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I had the best community wrapped around me.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Did you enjoy school?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I did.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I was a typical kid that went to school to
run around and play sports.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
El MARII I enjoyed cup of hakka, I enjoyed practical
the practical side of things, So you know, even things
like wouldwork and sewing in all of those kind of
things I really enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
But I think sitting down reading.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Books and those kind of those kind of class environments
I didn't enjoy.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
I struggled to learn. I struggled to I suppose, you.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Know, have long I didn't have much of an attention
span when anything like that.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I just want to be out and active energy.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Then, so what role did sport play in your life?
As you say, especially sort of when you hit that
angry teenager stage you.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Sport was myself For me, Sports just gave me an outlet.
It gave me a bit of purpose and something to
keep me busy, to keep me out of trouble.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
It taught me about you know, teamwork.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
And friendships, and I think it was always very competitive,
so it gave me something to constantly work towards. So
I threw myself into anything everything that was going. Like
there was never a day that I wasn't running around
with the ball in hand or looking for you know,
the next touch game, or you know, i'd even haven't
(03:33):
had a cracket squash now and again just just whatever
it was to just kind of keep me moving.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, I just loved today.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
When did you realize you were good at sport?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah, that's an interesting one.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
I think when I was younger, because I you know,
I knew I started to make reputinams, and because me
and my brothers we grew up playing in the same
league teams together, and I was making rap teams and
they weren't.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
And then you know, and then I'd make the next level.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Up again and then kind of think, actually, you know,
I'm competing alongside a lot of these boys here, and
I'm doing and undoing all right.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
So I think for me there it kind of.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Was a bit of a realization that actually, I'm going okay.
And then I started to kind of get you know,
when your kids in your lining up and they picked
to captains and then everyone's sort of fighting over you
be in my team and you be in my team.
And I was always kind of that kid that was
like people wanted to be in their team. So for me,
I think I understood there was well, I must be
pretty good of kids want to keep putting me in
(04:32):
their team.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What impacted it hair when when you start down in league,
because you say you were playing in the boys teams.
Was that good for your league?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Yeah? It was absolutely.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
I mean just to play alongside the boys, and I
think I kind of, you know, shove off quite quickly
in terms of understanding.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
The game and being able to play. And it wasn't ntil.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
I probably got to my teenage years and the boys,
I supposed physically started to catch up to me. So
I had to, you know, I suppose be a bit
more crafty with the way I played because I couldn't
match them in size and strength. You know, I was
probably a little bit cunning in the sense that, you know,
I was lying about my age to stay in these boys,
in these boys teams so that I could keep playing,
(05:15):
because it was no girls team for me to go to.
So if I wasn't allowed to be in these teams,
I knew that was the end of my of my
league days. So yeah, I suppose I had to adapt
as I worked through those age groups.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Honey, tell me about your mum and your dad's influence
on you and your sport.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Dad was a massive influence on me and my sport.
You know, he was a real roadby league fanatic. You know,
we constantly had it playing on our and Itali at home.
You know, he could have did every jersey possible, which
he'd having a special draw and when he wasn't when
he had left for work, me and my brother would
punch one out of his draw and work to a
muffy day for school and then quickly rush it back
(06:00):
into his draw and put it away. And Mum was
probably she was sporting in herself, but she was probably
more a stay at home that kind of you cooked
and did everything at else. In the background for us,
you know, they both worked really hard. They had sort
of labor and labor kind of jobs, and you know,
we probably worked. I loved I suppose paycheck by paycheck
(06:24):
back home in grew up and sort of state housing.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
But you know, we didn't know any better. We loved
it and really cherished up bringing.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And your mom was so important to you as well,
when at twenty three you became a mum, and you
say in the book that you were kind of old
for your family to be your first time mother, but
motherhood's a bit of a shock, a and you know
you were very fortunate to have your mom helping out.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, I was.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
I don't think I was prepared for motherhood and I
kind of ignored my whole pregnancy because again, it was
a barrier to me playing sport, and quite ignorantly, I
just assumed it would go away and then I might lady,
you know, baby, a baby's shows up. And Mum was
massive in terms of supporting me through that period because
(07:11):
I just kind of haven't didn't really having I suppose
any poor thinking as to how was actually, you know,
what kind of mum was actually.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Going to be.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
But I think the moment, you know, my son was
put on my arm, so it was huge and I
just knew, you know, he was probably going to be
a savor for me. I was already going through quite
a rough time during that age. During that time, I'd
recently lost my best friend and my cousin the journey,
and so he really helped for me out of that
(07:42):
in terms of having my son. But Mum was significant
for me in terms of helping me to raise my boy.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And that wasn't just in those early days.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
I mean she typically helped me raise him, her and dad,
you know, all the way throughout. Because I kind of
went straight back literally five days, five to ten days later,
I was back playing on the field, and then you know,
making making reptims again and traveling the world. So they
were very much helping me support look after my son.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Honey, what was it like to lose your mother? I
really appreciated the way you've spoke in the Book of
of of dealing with her illness and being with her
during those final months. I'm sure that a lot of
people will relate to that experience.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, it was. It was heart wrenching at the time.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
It was really hard to let her go because I
think when you take on a caring role when you
when you're when you're living with someone who is, you know,
in their last days of life, you don't really when
you're when you're a care you don't really, I suppose
fully grab the concept of actually you're caring for them to.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Die, and I don't think I did that.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I always sort of held on to the fact that
I was going to care for her and at some
point she might just actually get better, right down to
the day, you know, her last days of life, when
she'd fallen into a coma as such, and you still
kind of hold on. So letting go was was something
i'd done.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Really really late. Literally the night before.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Mom passed was probably the brust time actually said to her,
I was okay for her to go now, and she
and she obviously died the very next day. So it
was a significant, I think, turning point in my life.
And just you know, being now I suppose, you know,
not the head of our family, but you know, being
(09:33):
wanting to make sure that I still make my mom proud,
but also that I am able to, you know, make
sure that our whole family is well looked after. Mum
was a real nurturing one and I just want to
make sure that my brothers and their families are well
looked after, my dad's looked after, and our wider final
as well.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
And that's something that you have also done your whole life.
People probably don't realize that while you were, you know,
being a sportswoman's a little bit different to maybe being
a sportsman. And the one thing that strikes you when
you're reading this book is you are you are playing
sport at a very high level, You're working full time,
sometimes you were studying, You're raising your son, you were
helping set up new rugby clubs. I mean it was
(10:12):
just endless what you fitted into your life, you know,
around sport and a lot of those jobs you had
were actually with organizations helping other people.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Yeah, that's yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
When I school, I kind of I was really drawn
to education and I wanted to work in education, and
initially I think I applied for teachers College and got in,
but then I never followed through with it, and I
ended up falling into I suppose a lot of those
kind of roles, and then that kind of morphed into
me working with people and sort of a support role,
(10:46):
whether that was sort of from mental health to disability
through to youth's work, as well as sort of now
obviously now i'm impalliative care, And yeah, I think that's
just just a part of me is just wanting to
walk alongside people to support them in their journeys. And
I suppose learning from my own experience answers and being
(11:07):
able to relate to a lot of the different things
that I've worked with and other people's challenges, I think
I'm just drawn to serving people and helping them see
their own growth and their own pathway.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
So was it a really big step in twenty fourteen
when you were given semi professional contracts that was with
New Zealand Rugby. You were still working but it was
great that women were finally seemed to be semi professional.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
It was huge, actually because we just kind of had
just gotten by all those years just on the bear essentials,
and so to now be a fully contracted, paid player,
it was just really it just seemed unreal because I've
paid so many of those years just paying for my
(11:54):
sport and playing because I loved it, And now this
was actually a job and I was.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Getting paid for it.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
So I was so grateful for those moments to be
a part of that. I suppose call twenty that got
the first contract through New Zealand Rugby, but it definitely
gave you a different perspective now because now you had
a lot more responsibility. Obviously with a professional contract comes
a lot more responsibility. But more than that was actually
the resourcing that we had access to and things like
(12:21):
mental skills coaches, you know, sports psychologists. I mean, I
was lucky enough to have David Gale break with me
for a few years, and you know, I think that's
really where my game changed, was just that mental edge
and being able to I suppose emotionally regulate yourself when
you're paying under so much pressure, and those are things
(12:41):
that we just we didn't know about and so we
just kind of did what we did out on the
field and the heat of the moment, but actually being
able to work through those processes and having plans in
place when you're under the pump, you know, it might
be the last try, last minute of the game, those
kind of moments. Actually you've already practiced those in your head,
(13:01):
so you're able to handle pressure a lot better. And
things like sports cologists that they definitely can take any
efforts to just a completely different level.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
And finally, honey, how did you manage to keep your
body together for so long?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
You were thirty nine, am I right when you retired?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah? I was. I was pretty unique.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
And the fact that I mean, I'm pretty proud that
actually I only had one surgery in my whole career
and I held that off right till the end of
my career, and it was on my shoulder.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
I was probably I loved by a whole lot of cortisons.
Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
I suffered a fair amount of injuries in my time,
but managed to avoid surgery for a big long chunk
of it. But yeah, I think the longevity just comes
down to, you know, continuing to I always reassessed every
year or every time I stepped down to the field,
why am I here? And why am I doing this?
Do I still love this? Do I still want to
keep doing this? Am I still good enough to be
(14:02):
wearing this Josey like I always kept myself you know, reality,
have I earned the right to put on this jersey
kind of thing? And so for me, that meant ensuring
that I was doing the work before I got out
onto that build. And so I think, you know, just
the me physically ensuring that I looked after my body
(14:22):
and I looked after myself I suppose, you know, physically,
but also emotionally and mentally was really important to me
and it just kept me in the game for a
really long time.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
I'm so grateful for Honey.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Thank you so much for your time this morning and
for sharing your story. Thanks for the book.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Thank Franjisica, thanks for having me Honey.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
My story of Love, Loss in Victory is in stores now.
It is a great yarn. I mean, there's so much
that I could have touched on with Honey, there just
wasn't time. So there's lots of It's a roller coaster
ride this story folks, and don't forget that Chelsea Winter's
Winter is in the studio with me after eleven this morning,
it's twenty three past ten.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks at B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
And I imagine some thought has to go into how
you tell stories involve other people as well, don't you,
and how that's going to be received.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
Absolutely, I mean most importantly in my family and how
you know they're perceived. And the story was really important
to me. I mean it wasn't you know, about exposing anyone.
And I suppose there's no you know, bad bad people
in my story, I feel like, but there was definitely
hard times that we all experienced as a pharo and
(00:44):
so ensuring that my paro were okay with me telling
those stories and probably forced us to have the conversations
that we hadn't had. But yeah, it was a good
healing journey for us all.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
It might come as a bit of a surprise to
those who have followed your career but maybe don't know
you personally that you're a little bit of a rascal
as a kid. Tell me about growing up through to do.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
Yeah, I mean a small small town, not a whole
lot to do. So I tend to lean towards looking
always look getting up to some sort of mischief and
funny enough. I'm actually just down at the Hamilton Lake.
I've been running around there and called into the Farmer's
market and the guy in the coffee shop said, honey,
you remember me from school.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
And I said, oh, hey, how are you? And he goes,
you're only a skateboard. He goes, you both my skateboard
at school, and I just had to laugh.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
I thought, oh my gosh, it's like exactly what I'm
talking about in the book.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So, you know, I was a pretty angry kid, I think,
growing up.
Speaker 4 (01:45):
And so when when about I suppose my my younger days,
it's a bit of a bully and so when I
eat comments like that. But he laughed about it, and
it was kind of cool. And I suppose it's just
seeing the growth. But you know, I love my upbringing.
I don't suppose any regrets anymore. And I just I
(02:05):
just wouldn't change up for the world.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
I had the best community wrapped around me.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Did you enjoy school?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
I did.
Speaker 4 (02:14):
I was a typical kid that went to school to
run around and play sports.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
I enjoyed it.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
El MARII I enjoyed cup of hakka, I enjoyed practical
the practical side of things, So you know, even things
like wouldwork and sewing in all of those kind of
things I really enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (02:32):
But I think sitting down reading.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Books and those kind of those kind of class environments
I didn't enjoy.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
I struggled to learn. I struggled to I suppose, you.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Know, have long I didn't have much of an attention
span when anything like that.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I just want to be out and active energy.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Then, so what role did sport play in your life?
As you say, especially sort of when you hit that
angry teenager stage you.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Sport was myself For me, Sports just gave me an outlet.
It gave me a bit of purpose and something to
keep me busy, to keep me out of trouble.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
It taught me about you know, teamwork.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
And friendships, and I think it was always very competitive,
so it gave me something to constantly work towards. So
I threw myself into anything everything that was going. Like
there was never a day that I wasn't running around
with the ball in hand or looking for you know,
the next touch game, or you know, i'd even haven't
(03:33):
had a cracket squash now and again just just whatever
it was to just kind of keep me moving.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, I just loved today.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
When did you realize you were good at sport?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
Yeah, that's an interesting one.
Speaker 4 (03:47):
I think when I was younger, because I you know,
I knew I started to make reputinams, and because me
and my brothers we grew up playing in the same
league teams together, and I was making rap teams and
they weren't.
Speaker 3 (03:58):
And then you know, and then I'd make the next level.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
Up again and then kind of think, actually, you know,
I'm competing alongside a lot of these boys here, and
I'm doing and undoing all right.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
So I think for me there it kind of.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Was a bit of a realization that actually, I'm going okay.
And then I started to kind of get you know,
when your kids in your lining up and they picked
to captains and then everyone's sort of fighting over you
be in my team and you be in my team.
And I was always kind of that kid that was
like people wanted to be in their team. So for me,
I think I understood there was well, I must be
pretty good of kids want to keep putting me in
(04:32):
their team.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
What impacted it hair when when you start down in league,
because you say you were playing in the boys teams.
Was that good for your league?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Yeah? It was absolutely.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
I mean just to play alongside the boys, and I
think I kind of, you know, shove off quite quickly
in terms of understanding.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
The game and being able to play. And it wasn't ntil.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
I probably got to my teenage years and the boys,
I supposed physically started to catch up to me. So
I had to, you know, I suppose be a bit
more crafty with the way I played because I couldn't
match them in size and strength. You know, I was
probably a little bit cunning in the sense that, you know,
I was lying about my age to stay in these boys,
in these boys teams so that I could keep playing,
(05:15):
because it was no girls team for me to go to.
So if I wasn't allowed to be in these teams,
I knew that was the end of my of my
league days. So yeah, I suppose I had to adapt
as I worked through those age groups.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Honey, tell me about your mum and your dad's influence
on you and your sport.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
Dad was a massive influence on me and my sport.
You know, he was a real roadby league fanatic. You know,
we constantly had it playing on our and Itali at home.
You know, he could have did every jersey possible, which
he'd having a special draw and when he wasn't when
he had left for work, me and my brother would
punch one out of his draw and work to a
muffy day for school and then quickly rush it back
(06:00):
into his draw and put it away. And Mum was
probably she was sporting in herself, but she was probably
more a stay at home that kind of you cooked
and did everything at else. In the background for us,
you know, they both worked really hard. They had sort
of labor and labor kind of jobs, and you know,
we probably worked. I loved I suppose paycheck by paycheck
(06:24):
back home in grew up and sort of state housing.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
But you know, we didn't know any better. We loved
it and really cherished up bringing.
Speaker 2 (06:33):
And your mom was so important to you as well,
when at twenty three you became a mum, and you
say in the book that you were kind of old
for your family to be your first time mother, but
motherhood's a bit of a shock, a and you know
you were very fortunate to have your mom helping out.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
Yeah, I was.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
I don't think I was prepared for motherhood and I
kind of ignored my whole pregnancy because again, it was
a barrier to me playing sport, and quite ignorantly, I
just assumed it would go away and then I might lady,
you know, baby, a baby's shows up. And Mum was
massive in terms of supporting me through that period because
(07:11):
I just kind of haven't didn't really having I suppose
any poor thinking as to how was actually, you know,
what kind of mum was actually.
Speaker 3 (07:19):
Going to be.
Speaker 4 (07:21):
But I think the moment, you know, my son was
put on my arm, so it was huge and I
just knew, you know, he was probably going to be
a savor for me. I was already going through quite
a rough time during that age. During that time, I'd
recently lost my best friend and my cousin the journey,
and so he really helped for me out of that
(07:42):
in terms of having my son. But Mum was significant
for me in terms of helping me to raise my boy.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
And that wasn't just in those early days.
Speaker 4 (07:50):
I mean she typically helped me raise him, her and dad,
you know, all the way throughout. Because I kind of
went straight back literally five days, five to ten days later,
I was back playing on the field, and then you know,
making making reptims again and traveling the world. So they
were very much helping me support look after my son.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Honey, what was it like to lose your mother? I
really appreciated the way you've spoke in the Book of
of of dealing with her illness and being with her
during those final months. I'm sure that a lot of
people will relate to that experience.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, it was. It was heart wrenching at the time.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
It was really hard to let her go because I
think when you take on a caring role when you
when you're when you're living with someone who is, you know,
in their last days of life, you don't really when
you're when you're a care you don't really, I suppose
fully grab the concept of actually you're caring for them to.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Die, and I don't think I did that.
Speaker 4 (08:51):
I always sort of held on to the fact that
I was going to care for her and at some
point she might just actually get better, right down to
the day, you know, her last days of life, when
she'd fallen into a coma as such, and you still
kind of hold on. So letting go was was something
i'd done.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Really really late. Literally the night before.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Mom passed was probably the brust time actually said to her,
I was okay for her to go now, and she
and she obviously died the very next day. So it
was a significant, I think, turning point in my life.
And just you know, being now I suppose, you know,
not the head of our family, but you know, being
(09:33):
wanting to make sure that I still make my mom proud,
but also that I am able to, you know, make
sure that our whole family is well looked after. Mum
was a real nurturing one and I just want to
make sure that my brothers and their families are well
looked after, my dad's looked after, and our wider final
as well.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
And that's something that you have also done your whole life.
People probably don't realize that while you were, you know,
being a sportswoman's a little bit different to maybe being
a sportsman. And the one thing that strikes you when
you're reading this book is you are you are playing
sport at a very high level, You're working full time,
sometimes you were studying, You're raising your son, you were
helping set up new rugby clubs. I mean it was
(10:12):
just endless what you fitted into your life, you know,
around sport and a lot of those jobs you had
were actually with organizations helping other people.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Yeah, that's yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:25):
When I school, I kind of I was really drawn
to education and I wanted to work in education, and
initially I think I applied for teachers College and got in,
but then I never followed through with it, and I
ended up falling into I suppose a lot of those
kind of roles, and then that kind of morphed into
me working with people and sort of a support role,
(10:46):
whether that was sort of from mental health to disability
through to youth's work, as well as sort of now
obviously now i'm impalliative care, And yeah, I think that's
just just a part of me is just wanting to
walk alongside people to support them in their journeys. And
I suppose learning from my own experience answers and being
(11:07):
able to relate to a lot of the different things
that I've worked with and other people's challenges, I think
I'm just drawn to serving people and helping them see
their own growth and their own pathway.
Speaker 2 (11:20):
So was it a really big step in twenty fourteen
when you were given semi professional contracts that was with
New Zealand Rugby. You were still working but it was
great that women were finally seemed to be semi professional.
Speaker 4 (11:31):
It was huge, actually because we just kind of had
just gotten by all those years just on the bear essentials,
and so to now be a fully contracted, paid player,
it was just really it just seemed unreal because I've
paid so many of those years just paying for my
(11:54):
sport and playing because I loved it, And now this
was actually a job and I was.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
Getting paid for it.
Speaker 4 (12:00):
So I was so grateful for those moments to be
a part of that. I suppose call twenty that got
the first contract through New Zealand Rugby, but it definitely
gave you a different perspective now because now you had
a lot more responsibility. Obviously with a professional contract comes
a lot more responsibility. But more than that was actually
the resourcing that we had access to and things like
(12:21):
mental skills coaches, you know, sports psychologists. I mean, I
was lucky enough to have David Gale break with me
for a few years, and you know, I think that's
really where my game changed, was just that mental edge
and being able to I suppose emotionally regulate yourself when
you're paying under so much pressure, and those are things
(12:41):
that we just we didn't know about and so we
just kind of did what we did out on the
field and the heat of the moment, but actually being
able to work through those processes and having plans in
place when you're under the pump, you know, it might
be the last try, last minute of the game, those
kind of moments. Actually you've already practiced those in your head,
(13:01):
so you're able to handle pressure a lot better. And
things like sports cologists that they definitely can take any
efforts to just a completely different level.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
And finally, honey, how did you manage to keep your
body together for so long?
Speaker 3 (13:15):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
You were thirty nine, am I right when you retired?
Speaker 3 (13:19):
Yeah? I was. I was pretty unique.
Speaker 4 (13:24):
And the fact that I mean, I'm pretty proud that
actually I only had one surgery in my whole career
and I held that off right till the end of
my career, and it was on my shoulder.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
I was probably I loved by a whole lot of cortisons.
Don't get me wrong.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
I suffered a fair amount of injuries in my time,
but managed to avoid surgery for a big long chunk
of it. But yeah, I think the longevity just comes
down to, you know, continuing to I always reassessed every
year or every time I stepped down to the field,
why am I here? And why am I doing this?
Do I still love this? Do I still want to
keep doing this? Am I still good enough to be
(14:02):
wearing this Josey like I always kept myself you know, reality,
have I earned the right to put on this jersey
kind of thing? And so for me, that meant ensuring
that I was doing the work before I got out
onto that build. And so I think, you know, just
the me physically ensuring that I looked after my body
(14:22):
and I looked after myself I suppose, you know, physically,
but also emotionally and mentally was really important to me
and it just kept me in the game for a
really long time.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
I'm so grateful for Honey.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Thank you so much for your time this morning and
for sharing your story. Thanks for the book.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
Thank Franjisica, thanks for having me Honey.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
My story of Love, Loss in Victory is in stores now.
It is a great yarn. I mean, there's so much
that I could have touched on with Honey, there just
wasn't time. So there's lots of It's a roller coaster
ride this story folks, and don't forget that Chelsea Winter's
Winter is in the studio with me after eleven this morning,
it's twenty three past ten.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks at B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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