Maiakawanakaulani Roos

BIOGRAPHY

Black Fern #231

Maiakawanakaulani Ross is an explosive young lock whose superior athleticism, heart and work ethic saw her picked for the Black Ferns 2021 Northern Tour just two years after leaving Tamaki College.

Born in Utah, she migrated to New Zealand in 2009 when she was seven years old. Her mother Tia, from the Cook Islands, is a senior lecturer at MIT and her father Kevin a biomedical engineer. Roos first played rugby in a mixed team at Glen Taylor intermediate school but it wasn’t until she arrived at Tāmaki College that rugby became serious. She came under the tutelage of former Black Ferns prop Doris Taufateau, then in Year 12 she played for College Rifles and in 2019 was picked by another Black Fern Anna Richards to represent Auckland.

“I got an email in science class saying I’d been picked for the Storm. I put my hand up and said ‘Oh sir can I go to the toilet?’ I ran to see Doris and thank her. Doris was my coach, teacher and dean at school. She taught me how to love the game, grow the game in the community and to always have fun on the field.”

In her last two years Roos was captain of the Tāmaki College First XV, then debuted for Auckland in a memorable 41-23 slaying of Waikato. Together with veteran Black Ferns lock Eloise Blackwell, she played every game in the season as Auckland stormed into the final where they were narrowly beaten by Canterbury.

The disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t stall her momentum. In 2020 Roos was part of the inaugural Blues women's team and helped Auckland make the semi-finals of the Farah Palmer Cup. She then played herself into the Barbarians starting line-up for the second match of the November internal series against the Black Ferns. After a 34-15 loss in the first game, the Barbarians almost caused a boil over. Joseph Pearson reported on Stuff:

“The Baabaas thrived when the match was more frenetic and unstructured, in true Barbarians fashion, and they flustered the Black Ferns with dazzling attacks from the training ground, as well as plenty of spontaneous plays.”

The Black Ferns Northern Tour in 2021 was their first international rugby for over two years, but the results were disappointing with all four tests lost. However, the tour was a personal triumph for Roos, who earned starts in both French tests after her debut off the bench in Northampton against England.

“Even though we lost to England, I felt more ready to play that game than any other I’ve played before. I was able to express myself in the small opportunity I got. France was a very challenging side, but I felt we got better as the tour went on. We need to do better defending mauls, stop them with one fluid motion and good timing.”

Alongside fellow Black Fern, Liana Mikaele-Tu’u, Ross still spends a lot of time at Tamaki College as a ‘community angel’ assisting troubled kids.

“Connecting with others was the point of difference I offered when I was head girl at Tāmaki College. I wasn’t the best academic or sportswoman, but I was involved in a lot of things. Liana and I go back to school to help out and provide a non-judgmental space for those who might be struggling.”

Profile by Adam Julian