Portia Woodman on her way to scoring one of 13 tries in 4 games at the World Cup (Photo by Charles McQuillan – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
Portia Woodman on her way to scoring one of 13 tries in 4 games at the World Cup (Photo by Charles McQuillan – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

SportsDecember 16, 2017

Why 2017 was a watershed for women’s rugby

Contributing writer
Portia Woodman on her way to scoring one of 13 tries in 4 games at the World Cup (Photo by Charles McQuillan – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
Portia Woodman on her way to scoring one of 13 tries in 4 games at the World Cup (Photo by Charles McQuillan – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

NZ rugby needs to act, and act fast. While it is financially the most dominant code in New Zealand, it could lose the attention of potential athletes fast if they can see that there’s money to be made elsewhere.

What will 2017 be remembered for by rugby fans? There’s a couple of strong narratives, neither of which involve the usual All Black or Super Rugby news – and thankfully, unlike the scandal-filled year that preceded this one, they’re both pretty positive.

One is the ongoing discussion about Pacific Island eligibility rules, which won’t be resolved any time soon. But the growing voices from Charles Piutau and other former All Blacks, plus the defection of Jason Taumalolo from New Zealand to the hugely successful Tongan rugby league side feels like the start of something.

However, the other storyline has definitely cleared the first chapter phase – in fact you could say it’s moved through a massive plot point. Women’s rugby has seen an unprecedented boost over the past season, and it’s in no small part to the role that other football codes have played as well. While it might not seem like it right now, 2017 may well end up being the watershed moment for the women’s game here.

The Black Ferns during the ASB Rugby Awards 2018 at Sky City. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images for NZR)

But first, credit where credit is due: the World Cup final in July between the Black Ferns and England will probably go down as the most important women’s fixture in the history of the game to date. Played at Ravenhill in Belfast in front of a sold out crowd of 18,000, the teams put on a sensational display of rugby that ended in a 41-32 win to the New Zealanders.

No massive surprise in the result, even though the English had comfortably won the previous test between the two sides in Rotorua. But for the casual observer, the display of both sides in the final was breathtaking, and capped off a memorable tournament for the Black Ferns. Over the previous three weeks Portia Woodman sprinted, stepped and flat out smashed her way to a number of World Cup try-scoring records – including a stunning eight in one game.

It kicked the issue of parity between the men’s and women’s games back into the spotlight. Much like the Pacific Island wage disparity in the recent test between England and Manu Samoa, it even had a cause célèbre – that the English women’s side that went down in the decider were going to have their full time contracts end at the completion of the season.

In New Zealand, the pressure was put on NZ Rugby to at least increase the match payments that the women were getting after it became common knowledge just how much sacrifice was put in. It was a good discussion, but really, the actual serious signs that action needs to be taken in investing in the women’s game bookended the Rugby World Cup, through the the success of a couple of rival codes in Australia.

Earlier in the year the inaugural AFL Women’s competition took place before big crowds, proving that a female team sport competition could draw interest. That clearly raised the eyebrows of the NRL, who have announced plans for a women’s competition starting next year. This decision came hard on the heels of a successful Women’s Rugby League World Cup of their own – which again featured a highly entertaining final, this time between Australia and New Zealand.

Here’s why rugby needs to act, and act fast. While it is financially the most dominant code in New Zealand, it could lose the attention of potential athletes fast if they can see that there’s money to be made elsewhere. Sound familiar? It’s because that’s what rugby league used to do back when men’s rugby was amateur.

Honey Hireme of the Ferns is tackled during the 2017 Rugby League Women’s World Cup Final between Australia and New Zealand. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

After Woodman, the next highest profile player in either code in New Zealand would have to be veteran winger Honey Hireme – often referred to by the undeniably catchy nickname ‘Honey Bill Williams’. She’s spent her entire career switching between league and union, representing both the Black Ferns and Kiwi Ferns. Her prodigious talent has helped both win World Cups, but like anyone in her position, the choice of a paid contract in one or the other would be a no-brainer.

Already this year we’ve seen the effects not getting a decent remuneration can have on woman athletes from yet another code: Football Ferns skipper Abby Erceg was forced to retire from the national team, despite being regarded as one of the best players in the world. She cited financial pressure as the reason, with the time freed up by not being involved in international football now spent playing for her professional team in the US.

However, the positive signs after the World Cup have kept coming. The Black Ferns recently received the unprecedented honour of World Rugby’s Team of the Year – the first time the award has gone to a women’s side. Former Bulldogs CEO Raelene Castle has been announced as the head of Rugby Australia, which makes her the first female in charge of a test rugby union in history.

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Admittedly, there is a long way to go. There has been no firm commitment by NZ Rugby to fully contract the Black Ferns, with the presumed reasoning being that there simply aren’t enough international women’s fixtures to make it viable. But, this year more than ever is a sign that things are changing – with the national union joining World Rugby in acknowledging the Black Ferns as team of the year as well.

For now though, it seems like any female footballer who wants to make some money will head across the ditch. Given rugby league’s highly flexible eligibility laws, for some of our best women players it might be a one way trip.

This story originally ran on RugbyPass.com – the premier destination for rugby fans in Asia, streaming International Test Matches including The Rugby Championship, Super Rugby and more to your device wherever you are in Asia.

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World Rugby Awards 2017

SportsNovember 29, 2017

A group of amateur women are undeniably the best rugby team in the world

Senior sports writer
World Rugby Awards 2017

The Black Ferns recognition as the World Rugby Team of the Year is a big deal for women athletes around the world.

Let’s just say it out loud for those in the back of the room: World Rugby, the body charged with running the game of rugby union around the globe, just handed its Team of the Year honour to the Black Ferns. That’s the amateur New Zealand women’s team comprised of, among other things, students, teachers and police officers, who used the story of a white mouse to inspire a World Cup triumph.

Holy shit, there is a lot to get your head around there. So, let’s just start at the top and work our way through it. First up, this is the first time in history that a women’s team has won this award. For those who don’t think that’s much of a big deal, remember this: they weren’t crowned the Women’s Team of the Year; they are THE team of the year. In other words, a global sport that is predominated by men just asserted that women are not only their equal but are in this instance superior in terms of the merits of their performance.

The assertion is accurate. The Black Ferns lost just once this season, against England on the same cold, wet June night the Maori All Blacks played the British and Irish Lions at Rotorua’s International Stadium. They avenged that loss with a dramatic 41-32 victory in the women’s world cup final in Belfast in August – a match watched by an estimated 2.65 million viewers on Britain’s ITV network – then came home and spent the next several months appearing at everything their work commitments allowed them to, inspiring the next generation to put on the boots.

During that World Cup tournament, the Black Ferns scored more than 20 per cent of the total number of tries, almost 20 per cent of the total number of points, maintained a life-long perfect record against England (the only team at this year’s event that boasted a full-time professional roster) in World Cup play and showcased the skills of the eventual Women’s World Player of the Year – Portia Woodman, who scored the most tries, ran the most metres, made the most clean breaks and beat the most defenders.

To understand what drives the Black Ferns one must remember all that is good about the game (which is to put to one side the recent men’s World Cup hosting rights voting debacle and everything that is wrong with it) and think about fundamentals: spirit, fair play, camaraderie, passion, pride, and the notion that the team is always bigger than the individual. The Black Ferns never once complained publicly about resources, allowances, pay parity, or the delicate balancing act of combining sport and work. They sure could have, but they did not.

Instead, they and their management team fostered a team-first ethos that was equal parts hard work – this correspondent had to watch the team warm up before the Canadian test in Wellington through his fingers, such was the intensity of the contact drills – and hard case, as anyone who has spent 30 seconds around Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali would attest to. They delighted in their place as the last of the amateurs, as they surely must now be considered.

The story of their inspiration says so much about their own sense of selflessness. It was none other than Nancy Wake, the New Zealand-born resistance heroine of the Second World War, in whom the Black Ferns found their touchstone. The same Nancy Wake who, at the tender age of 89, was quoted as saying “I’ve never been scared in my life.” The same Nancy Wake who once cycled 500 kilometres through German checkpoints to replace secret codes. The Black Ferns were rugby’s guerrilla fighters in the professional age, and now you know why they call the World Cup “Nancy”.

And the world now knows that rugby can claim to be a leader in world sport’s quest to ensure women are afforded the same respect as the boys when it comes to their performance. As CSM CEO Simon Porter wrote for The Spinoff, this is the start – investment must follow respect and the returns will then be there for all.

For today though, we celebrate the Black Ferns and we celebrate this historic victory on rugby’s biggest night. It is win for this wonderful team, but it is also a win for women athletes in team sports the world over. It is a wake-up call to every other game that marketing dollars and merit are not the same thing.

It is probably fitting that the last word on this should go to the woman who inspired the Black Ferns campaign. Wake greatly lamented her portrayal in a 1987 mini-series about her life, but one of her many criticisms says it all. In a conversation about the TV show she said:

“At one stage they had me cooking bacon and eggs to feed the men. For goodness sake, did the Allies parachute me into France to fry eggs and bacon for the men? There wasn’t an egg to be had for love nor money, and even if there had been, why would I be frying it?

“I had men to do that sort of thing.”

This story originally ran on RugbyPass.com – the premier destination for rugby fans in Asia, streaming International Test Matches including The Rugby Championship, Super Rugby and more to your device wherever you are in Asia.