New Zealand Rugby has locked in its brightest young star, with Jorja Miller re-signing through to the end of 2029 and declaring she has barely begun to scratch the surface of what she can achieve.
Still only 22, the Timaru-born flanker is already an Olympic gold medallist, a two-time SVNS Series champion and the back-to-back World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year. Speaking to reporters in Auckland on Thursday, she made clear the deal was never in doubt despite interest from rival codes and overseas.
"I'm pretty certain that this is where I want to be for now," Miller said. "Obviously, there's a lot of exciting opportunities in women's rugby and rugby league and everything, but for me, this is where I want to be and where I want to leave my legacy. So it was pretty much just the one option."
Her immediate focus is defending the Black Ferns Sevens' Olympic title in Los Angeles in 2028. "For me, my main commitment is to Black Ferns Sevens and doing everything I can to win this next Olympic gold medal," she said. "Every day I wake up knowing what I want to do. I want to be able to inspire and influence our team to do what hasn't been done before."
For all the medals, Miller insists she is only getting started. "I feel like I'm still just scraping the surface, and I don't feel like I've reached my potential of the best I can be," she said. "I've always said I want to change the game and I know that in four years in the jersey I haven't achieved that yet."
She has the numbers to back the ambition: 118 appearances and 111 tries for the Black Ferns Sevens, plus seven Tests for the fifteen-a-side Black Ferns. Asked how long she wants to keep playing, she reached for a familiar benchmark. "I want to play rugby for as long as I can, and hopefully beat Portia [Woodman-Wickliffe] — how old's she? Probably 40-odd; Kelly Brazier, they're getting on," she joked. "So hopefully a few Olympic gold medals and a few Rugby World Cups in there."
Miller name-checked Super Rugby Aupiki and the FPC among the trophies she still wants, adding: "I really want to tick off everything. But at the same time, what's keeping me in the game is trying to be the best version of myself as a person, as a leader, as a teammate."
She left the door open to a fifteens future — including next year's inaugural British and Irish Lions women's tour to New Zealand — without committing to it. "I don't know what that could look like for me at this stage, but having an exciting Lions tour coming to New Zealand and to play at home, that's really exciting," she said.
Black Ferns Sevens head coach Cory Sweeney called the re-signing a significant boost. "Jorja has grown immensely through her career and although she's still only 22, she has grown a lot as a leader," he said. "Her value to the group is both on and off the field, not just the tries she's scoring and creating. It's exciting to think she is just entering her prime and we're thrilled she's committed for another two years."
Miller, a former highland dancer, said she hoped her rise from a small South Island town would resonate. "It shows you don't need to be from a big city to make it to the big time," she said. "You've got to work hard to get where you want to be."
