Sarah Hirini's loyalty is beyond question and she's thrilled to don her own Hurricanes jersey for the first time for the inaugural season of Super Rugby Aupiki.
"Getting back home and playing for a Super club is exciting in itself, but to be the one I grew up watching as a kid and still have the jersey, it's pretty massive," she says.
But the Black Ferns Sevens captain is one of the few players from the Olympic gold-medallists squad to reject former coach Allan Bunting, who tried desperately to lure her to the Chiefs.
She admits the offer was tempting, but she knew the ramifications if she didn't play for the Hurricanes.
"I got a few comments after the team was named that was, like, 'If you weren't coming to the Hurricanes, we probably wouldn't have supported you playing'," chuckles Hirini, who was also a member of the 2017 World Cup-winning Black Ferns 15s squad.
Even without her, Bunting has little hesitation rolling out several of her teammates, with 16 current or former Ferns included in the Chiefs squad.
"We're certainly blessed with all the talent and, really, that's one of the main reasons why I wanted to come and coach the Chiefs."
And the timing of next year's competition is important, with a heavy defeat to England last weekend showing the Black Ferns have plenty of ground to make up before next year's home World Cup.
Black Ferns legend Honey Hireme-Smiler feels Super Rugby Aupiki will play a vital role in the defence.
"This is exactly what this is going to add to that next level of women's professional rugby," she says.
Hirini echoes: "This could potentially be one of the biggest years for women's rugby and I want to succeed in everything."
For her, that starts with a return home.
Join us at 3:45am Sunday for live updates of the Black Ferns v England second test
