Eti Haungatau limped off the field at the D1 Elite final having done enough.
She had helped set up her Lindenwood side for a lead, and had done everything possible to contain Life playmaker (and fellow MA Sorensen Award finalist Saher Hamdan) and make sure she didn't do too much damage. The effort had left her with debilitating cramps, but her Lions had a lead and would eventually win 21-0.
That Haungatau wasn't on the field at the end didn't bother her. The team had won.
"Everyone on the team is very selfless; we've been working very hard to build this team culture that is more selfless and everyone genuinely supports one another," Haungatau told Goff Rugby Report. "So it doesn't matter who from our team gets an award or gets nominated for an award, it's just that it's somebody we know and we care about."
Haungatau has been playing more than half her life, picking up a rugby ball for the first time when she was nine years old. She developed her game with the Amazons HS team, although she joined when she was only 12.
"I was playing against high school opposition. They really pushed me and they also just really took me in and taught me everything I know," she said. "It was a really important part of my development."
Not being the big start sits just fine with her, but she had managed to be the star anyway.
