October 26, 2024 • 11 mins
Honey Hireme-Smiler's made a name for herself in the world of Kiwi sports.
She was one of New Zealand's first professional women's rugby players, playing for the Black Ferns and the IRB Women's Sevens Circuit.
She's also played in four league world cups and helped the Kiwi Ferns achieve victory in the inaugural Nines World Cup in 2019.
She went on to win a New Zealand Order of Merit - and she's a commentator for Sky Sport.
She joined Piney to discuss her new memoir - Honey: My Story of Love, Loss and Victory.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from Newstalk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
So Honey, Hitter Me Smiler one of our absolute sporting greats.
She won the Silver Fern, rather War the Silver Fern
and rugby league, rugby seven's and nine's, winning four World
Cups and consistently being among the best players in the
world regardless of which sport she was playing. She's now
one of the best known and loved faces and voices
(00:33):
on Sky Sport with coverage of rugby and also rugby league.
She's a wife, a mum, and she's written the story
of her life, which is a brilliant read, a really
brilliant read with so many layers to it. Her autobiography
is called Honey, My Story of Love, Loss and Victory. Honey,
hitder Me Smiler is with us. Congratulations on the book, Honey.
(00:55):
Are you happy with the way that it's come out?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I am, to be honest, Jason Elsa paid so much,
really choice feedback from everybody and especially from my I
know like that they were probably you know, the main
lines that I really want to make sure that you
know that they received the book well. And set's all
I've really got and so I'm pretty stoked with it.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
How did you find the process of going back over
your life and telling your story? How did you find that?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh, pretty grueling to be honest, Yeah, it's not an
easy job. And I think like Susan obviously she was
my ghosth riad, and she just did an amazing job.
Like we kind of sort of mutted out like a
kind of basics in terms of chapters and what were
kind of highlights in my life and maybe I want
a chat about but she would ever draw out so
(01:47):
much more than that. And actually the way she's I
think shaped the book and you know, sort of told
the story of like I don't ever really thought I
was that interesting, but as we got talking and things,
you know when you're reading stuff on paper like far out,
like it was actually quite significant in my life. So
it was a rollercoaster. It brought up a lot of stuff,
(02:08):
and yeah, but healing in that sense. I think that
it needed to publicly be brought up. So and I
think it's the book really reflects that.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
One thing that constantly occurred to me as I was
reading it was how busy and full your life has
been right through it? Really but particularly during your playing days,
fitting in games, tours, trainings, work, fino, how did you
manage it?
Speaker 3 (02:34):
You know, I think that was just part of my era,
you know, like we didn't know any better, and we did,
you know, a lot of a lot of my years
playing you know, at top level where or manager, right,
So we did it for the love of the game.
So you managed life around it because you loved I
loved the footy field so much, so I just made
sure that I was always going to be out there
(02:56):
and adjusted life around there. And so I think I've
always been a fairly organized person. Some would say it's
ocd's you know, and I just made sure, like I've
always been a bit of a planner as well, Like I,
you know, religiously get you know, one year plans and
look at them and be like, right, this tournament's here,
(03:16):
I'm going to that. I'm going to that. Sometimes it
was difficult, right because we never got calendars very early
and we never knew what games were coming up and
things like that. But you know, so at the moment
I knew I'd chuck it up there and be like, right,
this is what I'm aiming for. So I know, I
think it was always gold driven. I always had to
have some sort of purpose that I wanted to work
towards in So obviously that came with, you know, a
(03:39):
lot of achievements, but also having to sacrifice a lot
as well, and sometimes whether that was family time or
work time or other things, I just yes, it didn't
met to me or made it happen.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
But the other part was, honey, it's not just one sport.
You were going between sports as well, and sometimes I
had to reread passages to say, right, are we in rugby?
Here are we rugby League? Are we seven? Where are we?
Where are we in this? Because you had tournaments that
basically buttered up against each other? How did you so
seamlessly move between the codes that you played? Yeah, a
lot of.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Back to back stuff, to be honest, And I think
at the time I never really got I never really
worried too much about transitioning in terms of the games.
You know, when I was on the field, I knew
what I was out there to do, and you know,
I knew what game was playing, what the rules were,
and what I what my strengths were. So I'm back
to that part of my playing ability. It was just
(04:32):
I suppose more so the logistics of getting around it.
And I mean, you know, the twenty thirteen was the Hector's
trying to play, you know, a World Cup sevens from
Russia and then get over to England, getting lost in
transition in terms of you know, the wrong airports and
all of that kind of stuff getting over there, being
the captain, pushing through a whole World Cup, getting to
(04:55):
the end and losing, you know. So again it was
just I think, just that determination to want to be there,
be involved. And I think for me it was always
about earning it. I always wanted to earn my right
to be there. I never wanted to be there our named.
(05:16):
So I played for so many years, you know, and
I played quite long until obviously in my late thirties,
and I always wanted to make sure that I was
earning it. So I don't know, I think I just
held had a very different, I suppose, set of standards
in terms of my own accountability.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, that story you alluded to their airports, trains, trams,
not speaking Russian. I was even getting anxious reading it.
But of course, I mean there were pannicle events, lots
of them. You won World Cups, in league in five,
in two thousand and eight, sevens and twenty thirteen you
won the Nines and twenty nineteen. Does any of your
World Cup wins stand out above the others?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Probably not the winds, to be honest, Jason, but more
so the losses. And I always refer back on that
twenty thirteen Rugby League World Cup. I won two, right,
so that was going into my third one as the captain,
and there was just so much I did in that
final game that I wasn't happy with that that I
was constantly regreat I think, and that just came down
(06:19):
to those you know, there's a little one percentage and
playing under pressure, and so I think it's the losses
that get me more than anything, uh, you know, and
then those of those are just the ones that I feel,
you know, I could have done better. The woms for
(06:39):
me are awesome that you know. Obviously I played ten sports,
so you know, I was putting everything down to a
collective where if I reflect back on the losses and
what I did individual as an individual, as an individual
player impact, that was what I probably hold onto.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
What's interesting because and amongst you know, many of the
defeats you were still individually brilliant and recognized as such,
but I can understand how that would be perhaps pailing
by comparison compared to the way the team had gone.
There are some harrowing parts to your life story as well.
You've experienced some tough times personal loss. Were you always
keen to include most things in this book?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah, I think I was. My intention for the book
was just to tell my truth and my version of events,
and I think I hadn't planned for maybe all the
I mean, there's a lot of books that I've experienced
in my life, and I don't know that that's tame
for all of that to come out, but when you
(07:41):
read it, there's a whole book, I think, well, that's
actually quite a lot. And that's really one of the
big things that I have gotten in terms of a
lot of those times that I have faced, And the
book is probably less about my sports and more about,
you know, some of those personal challenges that I've been through,
so and I thought those stories that would be because
it's really what shaped me in terms of there's been
(08:05):
an athlete and the mums, Mary and all of those
kinds of things.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Well, we see you on the screen now and I'm
sure many people will find it hard to correlate that
with you raising a bout of hell as a teenager.
On the back of the book it even says, you know,
you were the town bully, which maybe stretching things a bit,
but how do you reflect on your teenager is now?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I think you can shoot back and ask my hidical principle.
I think most of them would agree. Actually, I've had
lots of feedback from my old school texts, so just
you know, it's really interesting to hear from them, and
I suppose that's the growth that they saw on me.
But you know, also the honesty I think that I
gave him a book. But yeah, I think it's interesting.
(08:50):
You know, I suppose I wanted to you know, people
will see the athlete on the field, you know, the
honey build honey the presidenter and all of that. But
I think, you know, I wanted to see what's actually
in behind met it and how I've got there. I
think it goes back to I didn't want to be
(09:12):
that token person. You know, there's a lot of feedback
obviously you see in the book that I read, you know,
from just online bullying and things like that. You know,
where they're like, oh, you just got that job because
of this and because of that and started. But I
just I just wanted to Actually, yeah, I was. I
was given the role with Sky through my playing career
(09:36):
as I worked really, really harder as well. And I'm
not perfect and I've still got a lot of growing
to do and a lot of growth. I don't know
that just like I did when I was playing on
the foot of Field, I put a lot of weak
into it.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, I found that really interesting. You you're the bits
about your introduction into television and how that had its
own set of challenges, and the fact that you read
some of the stuff online, which can I recommend to
you don't ever do that. You've probably stopped doing it now,
But man, the keyboard worry is just just forget about them.
Do you feel in Do you feel comfortable in front
of the camera now?
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Yeah, I do. I feel a lot more confident. I
always get confidence out of my preparation that I do,
you know, whatever game long covering and whatever my role
is on that day. For me, I get confidence out
of my preparation and it's just like the same as
if I was taking a footfield, you know, and you know,
when you've played a good game, or when you've presented
well or commentated well, and when you haven't, and sometimes
(10:32):
you walk and I could have did that better. So
I think it's it's still that the whole sports preitor mentality,
and that you're constantly assessing yourself, you know, while you're
on camera, while you're off camera, during the game, after
the game, and when I get home and the drive
back to Hamilton. Just it's just consequence, and it's just
I think the way I'm made up in terms of
(10:53):
my DNA, I just constantly wanted to do better for myself.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Honey. It was I really enjoyed writing your book. It's
been great to get the chance to chat to you
about it. I hope you sell hopes. Thanks for taking
the time this afternoon. Thank you, no, thank you, Honey, Honey,
hitter me smiler.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
There.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Her book is out. It's called Honey, My Story of Love,
Loss and Victory. And as I've said a couple of
times at the top of the chat and during the chat,
I found it a really interesting read, multi layered and
painted a much bigger picture of Honey hitting me smiler
than I had any idea about I guess that's the
reason autobiographies are written, aren't they who to fill in
a lot of gaps. Not that I thought there were any,
(11:29):
but like I say, without wanting to labor the point,
I found it a really really good read. Honey, hitter me,
smile it Honey, My story of love, loss and victory.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk said B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Fine
from Newstalk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
So Honey, Hitter Me Smiler one of our absolute sporting greats.
She won the Silver Fern, rather War the Silver Fern
and rugby league, rugby seven's and nine's, winning four World
Cups and consistently being among the best players in the
world regardless of which sport she was playing. She's now
one of the best known and loved faces and voices
(00:33):
on Sky Sport with coverage of rugby and also rugby league.
She's a wife, a mum, and she's written the story
of her life, which is a brilliant read, a really
brilliant read with so many layers to it. Her autobiography
is called Honey, My Story of Love, Loss and Victory. Honey,
hitder Me Smiler is with us. Congratulations on the book, Honey.
(00:55):
Are you happy with the way that it's come out?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
I am, to be honest, Jason Elsa paid so much,
really choice feedback from everybody and especially from my I
know like that they were probably you know, the main
lines that I really want to make sure that you
know that they received the book well. And set's all
I've really got and so I'm pretty stoked with it.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
How did you find the process of going back over
your life and telling your story? How did you find that?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Oh, pretty grueling to be honest, Yeah, it's not an
easy job. And I think like Susan obviously she was
my ghosth riad, and she just did an amazing job.
Like we kind of sort of mutted out like a
kind of basics in terms of chapters and what were
kind of highlights in my life and maybe I want
a chat about but she would ever draw out so
(01:47):
much more than that. And actually the way she's I
think shaped the book and you know, sort of told
the story of like I don't ever really thought I
was that interesting, but as we got talking and things,
you know when you're reading stuff on paper like far out,
like it was actually quite significant in my life. So
it was a rollercoaster. It brought up a lot of stuff,
(02:08):
and yeah, but healing in that sense. I think that
it needed to publicly be brought up. So and I
think it's the book really reflects that.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
One thing that constantly occurred to me as I was
reading it was how busy and full your life has
been right through it? Really but particularly during your playing days,
fitting in games, tours, trainings, work, fino, how did you
manage it?
Speaker 3 (02:34):
You know, I think that was just part of my era,
you know, like we didn't know any better, and we did,
you know, a lot of a lot of my years
playing you know, at top level where or manager, right,
So we did it for the love of the game.
So you managed life around it because you loved I
loved the footy field so much, so I just made
sure that I was always going to be out there
(02:56):
and adjusted life around there. And so I think I've
always been a fairly organized person. Some would say it's
ocd's you know, and I just made sure, like I've
always been a bit of a planner as well, Like I,
you know, religiously get you know, one year plans and
look at them and be like, right, this tournament's here,
(03:16):
I'm going to that. I'm going to that. Sometimes it
was difficult, right because we never got calendars very early
and we never knew what games were coming up and
things like that. But you know, so at the moment
I knew I'd chuck it up there and be like, right,
this is what I'm aiming for. So I know, I
think it was always gold driven. I always had to
have some sort of purpose that I wanted to work
towards in So obviously that came with, you know, a
(03:39):
lot of achievements, but also having to sacrifice a lot
as well, and sometimes whether that was family time or
work time or other things, I just yes, it didn't
met to me or made it happen.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
But the other part was, honey, it's not just one sport.
You were going between sports as well, and sometimes I
had to reread passages to say, right, are we in rugby?
Here are we rugby League? Are we seven? Where are we?
Where are we in this? Because you had tournaments that
basically buttered up against each other? How did you so
seamlessly move between the codes that you played? Yeah, a
lot of.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Back to back stuff, to be honest, And I think
at the time I never really got I never really
worried too much about transitioning in terms of the games.
You know, when I was on the field, I knew
what I was out there to do, and you know,
I knew what game was playing, what the rules were,
and what I what my strengths were. So I'm back
to that part of my playing ability. It was just
(04:32):
I suppose more so the logistics of getting around it.
And I mean, you know, the twenty thirteen was the Hector's
trying to play, you know, a World Cup sevens from
Russia and then get over to England, getting lost in
transition in terms of you know, the wrong airports and
all of that kind of stuff getting over there, being
the captain, pushing through a whole World Cup, getting to
(04:55):
the end and losing, you know. So again it was
just I think, just that determination to want to be there,
be involved. And I think for me it was always
about earning it. I always wanted to earn my right
to be there. I never wanted to be there our named.
(05:16):
So I played for so many years, you know, and
I played quite long until obviously in my late thirties,
and I always wanted to make sure that I was
earning it. So I don't know, I think I just
held had a very different, I suppose, set of standards
in terms of my own accountability.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Yeah, that story you alluded to their airports, trains, trams,
not speaking Russian. I was even getting anxious reading it.
But of course, I mean there were pannicle events, lots
of them. You won World Cups, in league in five,
in two thousand and eight, sevens and twenty thirteen you
won the Nines and twenty nineteen. Does any of your
World Cup wins stand out above the others?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Probably not the winds, to be honest, Jason, but more
so the losses. And I always refer back on that
twenty thirteen Rugby League World Cup. I won two, right,
so that was going into my third one as the captain,
and there was just so much I did in that
final game that I wasn't happy with that that I
was constantly regreat I think, and that just came down
(06:19):
to those you know, there's a little one percentage and
playing under pressure, and so I think it's the losses
that get me more than anything, uh, you know, and
then those of those are just the ones that I feel,
you know, I could have done better. The woms for
(06:39):
me are awesome that you know. Obviously I played ten sports,
so you know, I was putting everything down to a
collective where if I reflect back on the losses and
what I did individual as an individual, as an individual
player impact, that was what I probably hold onto.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
What's interesting because and amongst you know, many of the
defeats you were still individually brilliant and recognized as such,
but I can understand how that would be perhaps pailing
by comparison compared to the way the team had gone.
There are some harrowing parts to your life story as well.
You've experienced some tough times personal loss. Were you always
keen to include most things in this book?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yeah, I think I was. My intention for the book
was just to tell my truth and my version of events,
and I think I hadn't planned for maybe all the
I mean, there's a lot of books that I've experienced
in my life, and I don't know that that's tame
for all of that to come out, but when you
(07:41):
read it, there's a whole book, I think, well, that's
actually quite a lot. And that's really one of the
big things that I have gotten in terms of a
lot of those times that I have faced, And the
book is probably less about my sports and more about,
you know, some of those personal challenges that I've been through,
so and I thought those stories that would be because
it's really what shaped me in terms of there's been
(08:05):
an athlete and the mums, Mary and all of those
kinds of things.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Well, we see you on the screen now and I'm
sure many people will find it hard to correlate that
with you raising a bout of hell as a teenager.
On the back of the book it even says, you know,
you were the town bully, which maybe stretching things a bit,
but how do you reflect on your teenager is now?
Speaker 3 (08:27):
I think you can shoot back and ask my hidical principle.
I think most of them would agree. Actually, I've had
lots of feedback from my old school texts, so just
you know, it's really interesting to hear from them, and
I suppose that's the growth that they saw on me.
But you know, also the honesty I think that I
gave him a book. But yeah, I think it's interesting.
(08:50):
You know, I suppose I wanted to you know, people
will see the athlete on the field, you know, the
honey build honey the presidenter and all of that. But
I think, you know, I wanted to see what's actually
in behind met it and how I've got there. I
think it goes back to I didn't want to be
(09:12):
that token person. You know, there's a lot of feedback
obviously you see in the book that I read, you know,
from just online bullying and things like that. You know,
where they're like, oh, you just got that job because
of this and because of that and started. But I
just I just wanted to Actually, yeah, I was. I
was given the role with Sky through my playing career
(09:36):
as I worked really, really harder as well. And I'm
not perfect and I've still got a lot of growing
to do and a lot of growth. I don't know
that just like I did when I was playing on
the foot of Field, I put a lot of weak
into it.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yeah, I found that really interesting. You you're the bits
about your introduction into television and how that had its
own set of challenges, and the fact that you read
some of the stuff online, which can I recommend to
you don't ever do that. You've probably stopped doing it now,
But man, the keyboard worry is just just forget about them.
Do you feel in Do you feel comfortable in front
of the camera now?
Speaker 3 (10:09):
Yeah, I do. I feel a lot more confident. I
always get confidence out of my preparation that I do,
you know, whatever game long covering and whatever my role
is on that day. For me, I get confidence out
of my preparation and it's just like the same as
if I was taking a footfield, you know, and you know,
when you've played a good game, or when you've presented
well or commentated well, and when you haven't, and sometimes
(10:32):
you walk and I could have did that better. So
I think it's it's still that the whole sports preitor mentality,
and that you're constantly assessing yourself, you know, while you're
on camera, while you're off camera, during the game, after
the game, and when I get home and the drive
back to Hamilton. Just it's just consequence, and it's just
I think the way I'm made up in terms of
(10:53):
my DNA, I just constantly wanted to do better for myself.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Honey. It was I really enjoyed writing your book. It's
been great to get the chance to chat to you
about it. I hope you sell hopes. Thanks for taking
the time this afternoon. Thank you, no, thank you, Honey, Honey,
hitter me smiler.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
There.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Her book is out. It's called Honey, My Story of Love,
Loss and Victory. And as I've said a couple of
times at the top of the chat and during the chat,
I found it a really interesting read, multi layered and
painted a much bigger picture of Honey hitting me smiler
than I had any idea about I guess that's the
reason autobiographies are written, aren't they who to fill in
a lot of gaps. Not that I thought there were any,
(11:29):
but like I say, without wanting to labor the point,
I found it a really really good read. Honey, hitter me,
smile it Honey, My story of love, loss and victory.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk said B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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