The Black Ferns Sevens are celebrating an historic achievement by being the first rugby team to be awarded the Lonsdale Cup at the 2018 Olympic Gala Dinner.
It was a night of celebration for the victorious Black Ferns Sevens who made history at SkyCity last night.
The Ferns added another accolade to add to their already extensive list of successes from the playing season by being awarded the prestigious Lonsdale Cup by the Olympic Committee to acknowledge their outstanding performance over the year.
The Black Ferns Sevens capped off a ground-breaking 2018 campaign by winning their fifth World Series tournament in Dubai last weekend, along with a historic Commonwealth Games Gold in April, and a World Cup Sevens title in July.
Sevens Ferns hooker, Tyla Nathan-Wong was elated by the accolade, commenting on their 2018 season and looking into the future.
"It's been an incredible, incredible year for us and one that we hopefully can continue into the next year," she says.
Centre Niall Williams shed some light on one of the key points to the teams success.
"We're sisters on the field but we're actually really good mates of the field too and I think that bond, that mutual respect for each other and for our management too- we're just so tight-knit that we don't stand for any rubbish to come in our circle," she says.
The Lonsdale Cup was first awarded in 1961, with Sir Murray Halberg the inaugural recipient. Since then it has been won by a host of New Zealand's top athletes, including Dame Valerie Adams and Lisa Carrington.
"We get a lot of trophies from around the world but there's none quite like one that is your own people recognising you for your achievements," says Williams.