There is still very little Black Ferns merchandise available through New Zealand Rugby. Luckily, fans have gotten creative.
Necessity breeds invention. Not being able to buy basically any Black Ferns merch at all (shout out to New Zealand Rugby for making kids t-shirts available just as the World Cup is ending) has meant longtime fans have had to get creative to show their love for the team. Or, more specifically, their favourite players.
With the World Cup grand final tonight, there’ll likely be a lot of old All Blacks jerseys and generic New Zealand merchandise, but there’ll also be some truly wonderful DIY merch, made by the friends and families of individual players. Here’s what I’ve seen and loved so far.
Ayesha Leti-Iiga
No one has their face on more t-shirts than the pocket machine on the wing that is Ayesha Leti-Iiga. Her proliferation in the stands and on cotton can be explained by two factors. 1) She is Sāmoan. Sāmoans love to put a face on a tee, though typically when someone dies. 2) She is from Porirua. Porirua Sāmoans are next level when it comes to homegrown support so it should come as no surprise that there are at least three Leti-Iiga t-shirts making the rounds.
Designed and printed locally, I love that the tee on the right includes a family photo alongside her action shots. A perfect embodiment of the Black Ferns’ off-pitch energy.
Note: The double “I” in Iiga can be confusing, I know. But please, commentators, the “I” is pronounced “ee” every time. So it’s “Let-ee Ee-eenga”. Have been hearing “Eye-eenga” a lot, which is accidentally sweet because “aiga” means family but is unfortunately not her name.
Joanah Ngan-Woo
In a lovely regional alliance, the Oriental-Rongotai (Ories) club had t-shirts made to celebrate their teammates Ngan-Woo and, you guessed it, Leti-Iiga. Once again adopting the “Sāmoan funeral” design aesthetic, this tee goes hard.
And another killer look from Ngan-Woo’s supporters. Wellington fans know how to put a face on a piece of cloth.
Ruby Tui
This is the only t-shirt publicly available to purchase. It’s designed and hand printed by the lovely Sāmoan family business Positive Tees in Avondale. There’s no relation to Tui that I know of, making this the only t-shirt designed and printed simply for fans to purchase. Again, there are no (zero, zilch) non-replica-playing-jersey merch tees available through New Zealand Rugby.
The team at Positive Tees has hinted that, should the Black Ferns win, there may just be a champions tee on the way.
Tui also has this crack-up number from her publishing team at Allen & Unwin. I appreciate a clever marketing run but this tee is a testament to the non-islandness of its makers.
Krystal Murray
Krystal Murray should be one of the most famous people in New Zealand. She’s a reserve prop who can offload like a midfield back and is coach Wayne Smith’s pick to take the championship-deciding drop goal if it came to that. And this t-shirt honours her well. Unconventional use of a nickname rather than a full name, a nod to her place in history and a stunning collage.
Renee Wickliffe
I was unable to contact Wickliffe’s family to use the original image so instead you get this terribly cropped, zoomed in image of a terrific player tee. Wickliffe is a Black Ferns veteran and, while she hasn’t played much this World Cup, you’ll certainly be seeing her face around the Eden Park concourse tonight.
This legend
If you’re not related to a player or play at their club, sometimes further steps need to be taken to show support. High school teacher Victoria Gaskell found an old rugby top at the op shop and “had a terrible time on my sewing machine” to produce this masterpiece. Again, the aesthetic feels perfect for the rugged persistence that the Black Ferns have shown to get to this point.
If you have a DIY Black Ferns top, please send to madeleine@thespinoff.co.nz