Parents behind her road to glory

Charmaine arriving in support as Aroha Savage tackles Mahalia Murphy of the Wallaroos in a test match at Eden Park last year. Picture by AAP

Truck driver Bernard McMenamin is used to travelling long distances but this week’s haul is for pleasure, not business.

He and wife Rochelle hit the road from Gisborne to Auckland yesterday to see daughter Charmaine McMenamin, who is preparing for another test for the Black Ferns against Australia’s Wallaroos tomorrow.

The blockbusting No.8 scored two tries for New Zealand in Perth last week when they outclassed Australia 47-10.

Tomorrow’s game at Eden Park, a curtain-raiser for the All Blacks against the Wallabies, will be the 25th for McMenamin in the black jersey.

Her parents have watched with pride while she has developed into one of the Black Ferns’ senior players, now aged 29.

As a teenager, the Gisborne Girls’ High School student played rugby union and rugby league.

Bernard said his daughter loved to get out on the park back then and she tended to make an impression.

“It snowballed from there,” he said.

Charmaine McMenamin played for the Kiwi Ferns rugby league team in 2012 and made her debut for the Black Ferns against England the following year.

In 2016, she was among a group of 28 to become the first 15s players to be offered Black Ferns contracts.

In 2017, she was part of the squad who won the Women’s Rugby World Cup and, this year, the Women’s Rugby Super Series hosted by the United States.

She is comfortable in any of the loose forward positions but her father believes she is best suited to No.8.

She made her first-class debut for Hawke’s Bay in 2009 before shifting to Auckland and winning several national titles there.

Bernard said taking on the captaincy in Auckland had helped his daughter become a better player.

She would train before and after work, five days a week, he said.

Charmaine’s younger sister Bronya is also a talented sportswoman.

Bronya helped Ngati Porou win a basketball in the Gisborne women’s club competition on Tuesday night.

She then played netball on Wednesday for YMP, who lost their Premier Grade semifinal to High School Old Girls by one goal.

Bernard said he was pleased to be able to support both his daughters in their sporting pursuits.

The Wallaroos have never beaten the Black Ferns and if McMenamin plays like she did last week, the Australians could be in for a rough time at Eden Park.

She got the first try in Perth when she crashed over from the back of a rolling maul in the eighth minute.

Wing Renee Wickliffe scored the next try and then set up McMenamin for her second.

Tomorrow’s game between the Black Ferns and Wallaroos kicks off at 5pm.