When Black Ferns Sevens rugby captain Sarah Goss pulls out a handful of medals in the middle of Room 14 at Gate Pa School there are gasps of ‘ooh' and ‘aah'.

One of them is her silver medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics ­– a medal she admits to the children she initially didn't want.

'It sounds pretty selfish. We went there to win a gold medal but at the end of the day it wasn't supposed to happen. Australia beat us and were the better team on the day but at that very moment we had just lost and were expected to get changed and do a medal ceremony.

'We were really disappointed. It was pretty tough and I didn't sleep that night because when I lose I start overthinking and worrying about things.”

It wasn't until the next day when she saw fellow New Zealand Olympic competitors come away with no medals that she truly appreciated how special it was to win an Olympic medal.

Sarah, who originally hails from the Manawatu but now lives in Papamoa, also showed the children her favourite on-field photo. It was after a match win at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast earlier this year­ and the women were acknowledging their families in the crowd.

'It's pretty hard for our parents to come and watch us when we play overseas because it's so expensive. But to have them there at the pinnacle of our career, to thank them and be able to go over and speak to them after a game was amazing. It's something I will never forget.”

Sarah, 25, is one of 34 New Zealand Olympians who travel the country sharing their personal achievements and inspiring stories with young New Zealanders, and stressing the importance of living the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.

Sarah tells the children her job is to 'make the big tackles, and I'm pretty hungry to do that”.

'I'm pretty excited because I've got the likes of Portia Woodman and Kelly Brazier on either side of me so they make my job easy.”

Her hardest game in recent times, she says, was the Commonwealth Games final in April.

'We normally play for 14 minutes. We were up 12-0 at half time but the Australians came back and it was 12 all. We had to play an extra five minutes each way and ended up playing nine minutes in the first half of extra time. I remember being absolutely exhausted. The game could have gone either way.”

The Black Ferns Sevens are currently on a break until training resumes later this month after taking out the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, three IRB World Series tournaments and the World Cup in San Francisco earlier in the year.

Until then Sarah says she is enjoying spending time with friends and family, and commentating the current Black Ferns test series against Australia for Sky TV.

'My current goal is to make the team for Tokyo 2020 and bring home a medal for New Zealand. Hopefully after that I won't be too old and I can carry on.”