Shiray's baby joy 'IT WAS A HAPPY SHOCK!'

For Olympic gold medallist and Black Fern Shiray Kaka, the pull between motherhood and the rugby pitch has been a constant tug-of-war.

- Rebekah Hebenton

After years of weighing up the right moment to start a family, it turns out life had its own timeline.

"Following the Tokyo Olympics, I thought maybe it was time," says Shiray.

"Then I decided I wanted to keep playing. Last year, we were trying for a bit, but again, I wanted to keep playing. Two weeks later, baby changed that!" Shiray missed out on the chance to be part of the sevens team at the 2024 Paris Olympics after tearing her ACL for the fourth time.

She was in the early stages of recovery from surgery and had only just returned to training when she noticed her period was late.

She decided to pick up a pregnancy test on her way home from rugby training, but couldn't wait for the long drive home to find out the result. So she popped into a public toilet for the lifechanging moment.

"It was a bit of a shock - but a happy shock!" Shiray shares of seeing the positive test.

When she arrived home, she was bursting with the news. But her husband, fellow sevens player Gillies, had other things on his mind.