A new Black Fern rugby player has an extra challenge to keep her going hard in top matches, Adam Julian discovers
Layla Sae, one of six newly contracted Black Ferns, relishes tackling as much as the glory of scoring tries.
The energetic, abrasive and athletic loose forward, a standout for Hurricanes Poua in Super Rugby Aupiki, isn’t always naturally conditioned to produce high-octane performances. The 21-year-old has type 1 diabetes, an ailment she’s suffered since she was four.
"Some people think I’m getting special treatment when the trainer runs on the field with Powerade and lollies. It’s because I’m gassed," she says.
“I stay on top of my blood sugar levels by achieving the right balance in my diet. I inject insulin when I’m low and increase sugar when needed."
It is just something that is there in her life, sporting and beyond.
“Every person has challenges. I see diabetes as my challenge, but I don’t think about it as a burden. I don’t remember what it was like not to have it. It's basically my normal which seems a bit hectic to others.
“I’d like to do more stuff around diabetes, show younger kids and older people what they can do,” Sae said.
Rod Kafer (Australia), James Lowe (Ireland), and Henry Slade (England) are rugby internationals who suffer from type 1 diabetes. White Ferns cricketer Sophie Devine has managed the ailment successfully. Perhaps the most famous sufferer is five-times Olympic rowing champion, Sir Steve Redgrave.
Raised in Palmerston North, Sae initially played football, but it was in volleyball she made the biggest impression. Her mum is her biggest supporter and her dad is into all sports, "so I didn’t have much choice to do anything else.”
She was a New Zealand age group volleyball representative and achieved a significant slice of history at the secondary schools’ nationals in 2018.
“I was named in the tournament team at Nationals, the first player in something like 50 years from the lower North Island to be named in that team. I play left-hand opposite which is quite unusual. I’m a confident attacking player and was good at seeing opportunities to score before they happened.”
Opportunities to play rugby at St Peter’s College were limited but Sae was attracted by the camaraderie of the code.
“We played Tens. If you had a mouthguard, you were in the team. I had no idea to start with but as I grew more confident, I grew to love the contact, the outlet of aggression, tackling, leg drive, rucks, the whole physical aspect was awesome.”
Sae in a Black Ferns training camp in 2022.
Sae withdrew from sports when she left high school in 2018 and worked in a factory packing frozen meat. It was gruelling, tedious work with a means-to-an-end the only purpose. She was persuaded to start playing rugby again by Manawatū Cyclones halfback Sarah Swinbanks in 2019.
Strong displays for Old Boys Marist earned her a place in the Cyclones for the Farah Palmer Cup (FPC). It was a baptism of fire, with Manawatū losing all six matches that season.
Only Covid spared Manawatū relegation in 2020; the competition divided into a North and South division.
That season, the Cyclones were exceptional demolishing Tasman by a record 88-0 and shocking Wellington, who had a heavier forward pack than their men, at Sky Stadium.
Better was to come in 2021. Manawatū won the re-conceived Championship scoring more points (328) and tries (48) than any team in the FPC. Sae scored two tries in a 67-12 slaughter of Hawkes Bay but missed the final against the Tui nursing an ankle injury.
“Winning the championship is the highlight of my Manawatū career so far. We had such a relaxed environment where we shared openly and were encouraged to express ourselves,” Sae says.
And then it was onto Super Rugby Aupiki.
The lingering menace of Covid severely disrupted that competition in 2022 - the inaugural edition was incomplete and inferior when contrasted with the vibrant and tight 2023 offering.
Twice her Hurricanes Poua were no match for Chiefs Manawa but in Christchurch, they dramatically rallied from a hefty halftime deficit to topple eventual champions Matatū 25-24. A loss in Wellington, leading a majority of the match, against the Blues was a disappointment but in a playoff, the Blues were afforded no mercy, beaten 29-24 closing a large gap by scoring a late try.
“I really enjoyed Aupiki with no Covid. It meant we got to travel together as a team where you see different sides of people and develop deeper relationships.
“It was so cool rooming with Jonah Ngan-Woo. I watched the World Cup Final at a Black Ferns Sevens training camp and oh my god that lineout steal. We went nuts. The hand, it’s too precious to touch.
“The last game against the Blues was our best. Oh man, we didn’t want to finish last. We wanted to show what we could do for 80 minutes. If we played like we did in that game, I’m sure we would have made the final.”
While the Poua were frustratingly inconsistent, Sae was a source of strength and stability. She was the seventh-highest tackler with 51, and carried combatively to capture the attention of the Black Ferns selectors. On April 18, Sae was awarded her first professional contact.
“I found out at Nanna's house on Dad’s side. It was perfect timing as the whole family was together, about 15 of us, which is rare. The phone rang and I was crying in front of everyone. Nan came over to comfort me and then I announced the news and we all started jumping up and down.
“I had a celebration cider, one, just one.”
The Black Ferns' first test in 2023 is against Australia on June 29 followed by the Pac4 series in Canada and the newly announced World Rugby top6 WXV1 competition here in October. Sae will face stiff competition for a place in the starting roster from experienced campaigners like Alana Bremner, Charmaine McMenamin, and co-captain Kennedy Simon.
However, she is hoping to be a hit like her name. Sae is named after the classic Eric Clapton ballad Layla. Clapton wrote the Tour de Force for model and photographer Pattie Boyd, who would later become his wife.
“I wasn’t named for like a week after I was born. Dad heard Layla on the radio and that became my name. I’m told it means Angel which is cool but to be honest I prefer hip hop,” she laughed.
