Kennedy Tukuafu

BIOGRAPHY

Black Fern #210

Kennedy Simon (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Māhanga) can play all three loose forward positions and her versatility, bravery and skill was rewarded in 2019 when she was capped by the Black Ferns for the first time. By 2021 she was named Black Ferns player of the year (on the same day she was engaged). However, she was nearly lost to New Zealand after she was offered a chance to play for the Japanese National Sevens team.

A three-year stint in Sapporo with the Hokkaido Barbarians (2015-2017) saw her mature considerably as a person and a player:

“I took up a contract when Sevens was in its infancy in Japan. We played big tournaments around the country and, though our team wasn’t the strongest, we were paid to train all year round. In summer you could hardly breath when it was 40 degrees every day. In winter the temperature would drop to minus 15. It was really extreme.

“I played everywhere from prop to first receiver. As I gained more experience I had more of a say in how the team was run and I got to invite friends over to play with me. When I was offered the chance to play for Japan I thought ‘if I can crack it here, surely I can in New Zealand’ so I came home.”

One of three siblings Simon was born and raised in Hamilton where she attended Hamilton Girls’ High School (HGHS). By her own confession she was a timid teenager, dropping rugby in her last year at intermediate.

HGHS would infuse necessary ruthlessness as, at the persuasion of a friend, she joined an imperious First XV program. Remarkably, between 2013 and 2014, HGHS played 94 games in both sevens and fifteens, winning 92 times and scoring 4292 points against only 208. They won the National Top Four First XV championship in 2014 and the National Condor Sevens title in each of those seasons.

Coach Crystal Kaua, a flanker who won a National championship with Auckland in 2009 and represented Waikato, was a crucial mentor.

“Crystal taught me everything I know. She really believed in me and pushed me to the edge. Our training was ruthless. Sometimes I felt sick, but she treated us like grown women and we showed our opponents no mercy. “It was cool when I got to play Waikato with her and I could see first-hand how hard she worked.”

Kaua is on record as saying she overcame drugs, alcohol, suspension and a mother with serious bipolar to achieve her goals.

The same resilience was installed in Simon, who upon return from her Japanese stint featured in every game of Waikato’s run to the 2018 Farah Palmer Cup semi-finals, which included a record 45-14 win over Auckland. Waikato only won a solitary match in 2019 but Simon lifted her game to the next level and was selected for the Black Ferns for the Super Series in San Diego. Her debut was in a 33-0 win against the USA.

“My debut is right up there with my best moments ever. The legacy of the jersey is huge. Everybody wants to wear it, even the opposition, so they rise up when they play us. I got nine minutes at the end and I was like, ‘OK where’s the ball,’ running around like a headless chicken.”

Unpredictable France got inside the Black Ferns head - a loss in Simon’s second test “rare and painful for the senior girls.”

Australia would cause no such headaches dispatched in a two-test Laurie O'Reilly series in August that year, with Simon appearing in front of family in the 37-8 win at Eden Park.

Despite the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Simon continued to grow in stature, taking Waikato within a whisker of winning the Farah Palmer Cup title. Waikato topped the highly competitive Northern section with six wins but lost the final to Canterbury, 8-7 on the last play of the game, despite Simon scoring their try. The match had former All Black coach Wayne Smith declaring it as “one of the most exciting” he has seen.

“It was awesome to see Sevu Reece watching the game on Instagram and Duane Monkley expressing the pride he had in our performance. We want to produce something people want to watch, but to be honest I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.”

Solace for Simon happened quickly though as she excelled in the Black Ferns internal series victory over the New Zealand Barbarians and was named the New Zealand Players Association international and Farah Palmer Cup player of the year. Simon got the nod ahead of halfback Kendra Cocksedge, prop Pip Love and loosies Charmain McMenamin and Aroha Savage for the Black Ferns award, while she nudged out Alana Bremner, Stacey Fluhler, Hazel Tubic and Portia Woodman to claim the Farah Palmer Cup gong.

In 2021 Waikato won the Farah Palmer Cup when they upset Canterbury 22-20 in the final. Simon didn't play the decider but played four matches in the successful campaign to take her tally of matches for the province to 29.

The Black Ferns 2021 Northern Tour wasn’t a success with all four tests lost. However Simon was consistently effective off the bench and earned her first start in the 29-7 setback to France, scoring a try and impressing with her hustle. Stuff’s Joseph Pearson noted.

“First start in eighth test and was the pick of a well-beaten forward pack. Several strong charges burrowed over for NZ’s only try and became a lineout target later.”

*Hamilton’s rugby program was run by dynamic husband and wife duo Crystal and Brent Kaua as well as fitness trainer Zarah Henderson. Crystal provided an insight into what makes Hamilton unique. “We wanted to change the perception of how girls rugby was perceived. We wanted to play a style of rugby that we were proud of and people were in awe of. We didn’t talk much about winning championships, it was about working hard daily so when we got to game time it was fun and free. The mindset shift is one of the proudest things I've achieved as a coach."

Profile by Adam Julian