USA rugby star and internet sensation Ilona Maher joined forces with Black Ferns veteran Portia Woodman-Wickliffe on Auckland's waterfront yesterday, and as the resident office intern and a huge sports fan, I got to go along.
Safe to say the duo were everything I could’ve asked for - Ilona even had some wise words of advice for me at tackling my first ever press conference.
Saturday will see these two become fierce opposition, but they were a united front up there together, with empowering women’s rugby as their shared goal.
Ilona, who sports a healthy 5 million followers on Instagram, has been posting a lot about her time so far in New Zealand.
Between meeting Ardie Savea and dining out at flash restaurants, it seems she’s indulged in a fair bit of Kiwi culture.
So there was one question I had to ask - what Kiwi slang have you learnt?
“Oohhh!” replied Ilona, adding: “KV (Katelyn Vaha'akolo) just taught me 'chur'."
When I asked her what she thought it meant, she clearly understood the assignment: “Chur… chur… it’s just chur you know.”
Portia gave her a nod of agreement, and of course, threw in a "chur" herself.
When I confessed to the pair it was my first time reporting, Ilona immediately hit me with an inspirational message: “Don’t mess it up”.
What do you do when you’re an intern and the world’s most famous women’s rugby player tells you that? You stumble over your words.
Luckily, Ilona and Portia didn't stutter when it came to articulating "the power of rugby" for women.
"We know what rugby has done for both of our lives and how much it can change other girls’ lives," Ilona said.
The 'Dancing With The Stars' alumni also touched on how fans are still discovering female athletes on social media.
“I don’t think people realise it yet… how funny, how cool we are," she said.
"Not only are they the best players in the world, but they’re also some of the funniest people you’ll meet.”
Portia, who has returned from retirement to attend one last World Cup in the Black jersey, has seen firsthand how much the women’s game has grown through the years, and is excited about the state of the game in New Zealand.
“I think we’ve created stories, we’ve started the impact of what social media and big characters can do to draw people in.
"Having people like Ilona, who have platforms, come into New Zealand to bring in different aspects for people all around the world watching the game, it’s just beautiful for women’s sports.”
Possibly the most painfully accurate representation of NZ vs American culture, was when they were asked, “Who’s gonna win on Saturday?”
Portia wasted no time in blurting out “Black Ferns”, which definitely caught Ilona off guard.
Ilona pointed out that while “Portia is very quick with her answers”, that she tries to “give politically correct statements.”
Black Ferns are ranked third in the world, while USA are ranked ninth, so Ilona understands that winning “is going to take a lot”.
Ilona believes that to beat Black Ferns they’re going to have to “be top of the world” and “raise it to that level”.
I have to be real with it, we have to be at our best to beat the Black Ferns and I think we can.
While both Portia and Ilona arm in arm in their efforts to empower the game off the field, no doubt we'll see the dynamic shift as they battle it out tomorrow afternoon at North Harbour stadium.
Chur.
