'If that’s the last, what a way to finish’: Foran on Kiwis future

Kiwis veteran Kieran Foran says he won’t be retiring from international duties next year, but accepts last Saturday’s 30-0 victory over Australia will likely still be his last appearance for New Zealand.  

The 33-year-old played his 31st Test in the Pacific Championships final, starting at hooker and chewing through 28 tackles in what was the Kiwis’ biggest ever victory over the Kangaroos.

Off contract with the Titans at the end of next season, Foran told NRL.com that despite a desire to keep representing his country, the player pool available to New Zealand right now means he probably won’t get called up again.  

“I absolutely love playing for my country and I’d do it at the drop of a hat,” Foran said.

“But New Zealand rugby league is in a really great place at the moment. We have got some tremendous depth.

I was probably only here through injuries to other guys and I am sure those guys will be fit and firing in future years.

Kieran Foran

“I’m grateful to be part of it this time around, but if that is the last one then jeez, what a way to finish.

“It [international footy] is some of the most special memories I have created in my rugby league journey."

Having made his Test debut as a centre in the 2009 Four Nations tournament, Foran is the longest-serving current Kiwi player by seven years and has been part of some of the best New Zealand performances of the last two decades, including a golden run between 2014 and 2015 which saw them claim three-straight wins over Australia.

While he hasn’t been a first-choice halves option for coach Michael Maguire since 2021, the Auckland-born playmaker has enjoyed success in the black jersey as a makeshift utility in more recent times.

He became a key player in the Pacific Championships with frontline hookers Brandon Smith and Jeremy Marshall-King unavailable, forming a dummy-half combination with first-time Kiwi Fa'amanu Brown. 

After inheriting the Kiwis No.6 jersey from Foran last year, Eels star Dylan Brown said it’s been a privilege to play alongside his childhood idol in all eight of his Tests to date.  

“When I first signed at Parra when I was 15 he had just signed the big deal with the club and he was the star,” Brown said.  

“Now I know why. I know why he’s stuck around so long; I know why he’s still playing rep footy. You look at him on the field and he’s gone physically, but he finds another level every time.

“His legacy? It’s unmatched. He might not have played the most matches for the Kiwis, but he’s played them with all his heart.”