Fiao'o Faamausili

Fiao'o Faamausili is a former Black Ferns hooker and captain who won four Women's Rugby World Cup titles across her career.

Four Rugby World Cup winner's medals, a record 57 Test caps as New Zealand's most-capped player until 2022, and 34 appearances as Black Ferns captain: Fiao'o Fa'amausili's career is the definitive argument for the women's game in New Zealand, a standard of sustained excellence across five World Cups that no hooker in the history of the sport, male or female, has approached. Her mother's family comes from Fogapoa in Savai'i and her father's from the villages of Faleula and Aleisa in Apia, and she has returned to Samoa every year throughout her life to maintain those family ties. Fa'amausili made her Black Ferns debut in May 2002 against Australia in Barcelona, and developed into one of the most formidable hookers in the history of women's rugby, combining exceptional strength with reliable set-piece work over a remarkable international career spanning five Rugby World Cups. She played over 100 games for Auckland, winning multiple provincial titles. Fa'amausili won World Cup titles with New Zealand in 2002, 2006, and 2010, becoming the first Black Fern to reach 50 Test caps, and was appointed captain in 2012, leading the team on 34 occasions including to a fourth World Cup title in 2017 on home soil in Ireland. Fa'amausili retired from international rugby in 2018 with a try-scoring farewell performance, having held the record as New Zealand's most-capped player with 57 Tests until surpassed by Kendra Cocksedge in 2022. She was named to the World Rugby Women's 15s Team of the Decade in 2020, elected the first woman president of Auckland Rugby in 2021, and inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2022. She also works as a police detective in south Auckland, alongside her rugby commitments.

• Women's Rugby World Cup winner (2002/06 era to 2017, 4 titles)
• ONZM
• World Rugby Hall of Fame