Monday Sport Blast From The Past
Trish Hina could be the greatest sportswoman you have never heard of.
A product of Naenae College, she later settled in Gisborne, where she was a social worker.
Her sporting CV includes representing New Zealand in touch, softball, rugby and rugby league.
Initially, her sporting success came in softball, playing for New Zealand and helping her club and Hutt Valley win numerous titles.
League was however her first love and in 2000 Hina was named MVP at the first women’s World Cup, where New Zealand beat Great Britain 26-4.
She was prominent in the Kiwi Ferns retaining the World Cup in 2005 and 2008.
In the 2008 defence, Hina was named MVP for a second time. In the final, New Zealand thrashed Australia 34-0, with Hina scoring two tries and kicking three conversions.
In 2010, she achieved arguably her greatest achievement by being selected to play for the Black Ferns at the World Cup.
She became the first female to win rugby and league World Cups.
Towards the end of her career, Hina was diagnosed with kidney disease and she was unable to fulfill her dream of playing Sevens at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
In 2015, she was inducted as a Hutt Valley Sports Awards legend.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
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