Gisborne has two in Black Ferns, one in Barbarians

Proud daughter, proud father: Renee Holmes and her father Laurie Holmes. Picture supplied

Gisborne women Charmaine McMenamin and Renee Holmes have been named in the Black Ferns squad to play the Barbarians.

Kaipo Oslen-Baker was named in the Barbarians side to face the Black Ferns in a two-game series played over the next two weeks in Waitakere and Nelson.

Less than a year out from the Women's Rugby World Cup, these are the only two games scheduled for the Black Ferns for 2020.

It's been a rollercoaster year for Holmes, whose season in Japan was cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic.

She was excited to be in the starting 15 for Waikato in New Zealand's Farah Palmer Cup competition. After a stellar season, she's now one of nine uncapped players to be named in the Black Ferns team.

Holmes said she hadn't expected to be selected. She couldn't believe she could call herself a Black Fern.

Regardless of whether she got game time in the next two weeks, she was thrilled to be there “soaking up all the knowledge”.

She was still processing her presence among the best players, coaches and management in New Zealand.

“The coolest part so far has been training and being alongside some absolute legends,” she said.

“Never would I have ever thought I would be in the same team as them.”

She said the phone call to her father after she found out she'd been selected was incredibly emotional. She was crying before she even picked up the phone.

“This has all happened so fast,” Holmes said.

“I think that's why it still hasn't sunk in yet and I'm still overwhelmed.”

McMenamin will return to play in the black jersey, having had 14 caps over the past seven years.

She has started to take a leadership role in the team, as vice-captain of the winning Possibles side in the Black Ferns trial over the weekend.

Despite being a seasoned campaigner, she hadn't changed her approach to training and playing rugby, she said.

“I pretty much just do the same things that I normally do; nothing else really changes.”

She said she was grateful for the opportunity to put on the black jersey again. She believed she'd had a mediocre Farah Palmer Cup season.

“Even though this year is a little bit different, we still get the opportunity to play as a team,” McMenamin said.

Against the New Zealand Barbarians, it would, in effect, be the top 50 contenders for Black Ferns places playing against each other.

“Those girls down there want our spot; we just have to remember that. We can be friends after the game.”