All Blacks Brodie Retallick (left) and Liam Squire (right) in the Bledisloe Cup match between the Wallabies and the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium on August 18, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photos by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

SportsAugust 22, 2018

All hail the return of the Rugby Mullet

Tony Lyall

Guest writer

As sported by Brodie Retallick and Liam Squire, the classic All Blacks mullet hairstyle is making a comeback. And not before time, writes Tony Lyall.

So here we are, one game into the 2018 Rugby Championship and already a beautiful trend is emerging. During the All Blacks impressive outing against the Wallabies on Saturday, amongst the tries, the fends and the concussions, one thing was clear and obvious: the mullet is back. Gorgeously adorning the heads of All Blacks Liam Squire, Sam Cane and man of the match Brodie Retallick were the hearty beginnings of something beautiful. Long hair on the back and short hair on the rest of the head.

Even Australian standout Kurtley Beale wasn’t immune to the intoxicating lure of the party out the back brigade, proving that even though the Wallabies weren’t up to scratch on the field they know fashion when they see it. Unfortunately for Beale he was unable to control the power of the mullet; while it did help him to stand out in a beaten team, it ultimately wasn’t enough to drag his side to victory. Seeing those mullets fly on Saturday warmed my heart. It reminded me of a time not too long ago when you couldn’t look at a rugby field without seeing a luscious Larry David esque mop flying about. So where did all that hair go?

All Black Sam Cane paints a wall at the Pirates Rugby Club during a community activity on June 18, 2018 in Dunedin. (Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)

In an seemingly bygone era, the mullet was the go-to haircut for rugby union’s no-nonsense workhorses. Blokes sporting a mullet were the type to poke you in the eye on the field, then later in the clubrooms play fingers around a pint with the same finger they eye gouged you with. Notorious hardmen like James Eaton, Jamie Mackintosh and Carl Hayman sported flowing locks on the back collar, striking a mix of fear and jealousy in all who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse. It seemed almost as if these hard men were wanting to give the public a glimpse underneath their tough-as-nails facade, to show that they had a bit of a larrikin character underneath it all. A bit of heart.

Ali Williams leads the haka during the Tri-Nations Bledisloe Cup match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park on August 6, 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Getty Images)

Then the mullet got fancy. With the increase in popularity of the mullet came people wanting to stand out from the crowd. Sometime around 2007, when white boots were still worth a hefty fine at the end of year court session, the hairstylists were called in and the ends of the mullet started getting blond tipped. Notorious town shoe wearers like Victor Vito, Ali Williams and Dan Carter started sporting them, bringing the Fancy Mullet to previously unheard of heights. Soon, everyone from the bouncer at your local sifty nightclub to the guy working at Video Ezy were sporting a trendy mullet. Then we reached peak saturation and the allure started to wane. As quickly as it ascended, the mullet seemingly disappeared from popular consciousness.

A classic of the genre: Victor Vito at an All Blacks announcement on August 29, 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Getty Images)

Since then All Black styles have come and gone, but under Richie McCaw’s sensible short back and sides reign flashy fashion choices were shunned. It seemed that McCaw had a real bangers and mash attitude to male grooming: he even went as far as enforcing a ‘no coloured boots’ policy for forwards in the team. This environment was obviously less than ideal for people wanting to wear their hearts on the back of their heads. The All Blacks started to resemble an accounting office, haircut-wise. Personally, I think Richie McCaw really missed an opportunity by not growing his hair out for his final World Cup and hoisting the trophy looking like some sort of rugby Fabio, but that is beside the point.

Since Richie’s retirement, the apparent rules around what the ABs can wear seems to have relaxed, with new captain Kieran Read setting the tone by donning a pair of very impressive pink boots. This ripple may have led to the wave of beautiful haircuts we saw in Sydney on Saturday night. The mullet was back on display and it was a thing of beauty. Admittedly, most of them still had some growing in to do, but the beautiful thing about the mullet is that it can grow. That’s its whole appeal: the mullet takes root in a place on the head not affected by male pattern baldness. Anyone can grow it. The mullet really is the haircut of the people, and the All Blacks, and long may that remain.

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SportsAugust 22, 2018

Stop treating the Black Ferns like the support act

Madeleine Chapman

Editor

Advertising a double header rugby event means you have to treat all four teams equally, which Rugby Australia failed to do, says Madeleine Chapman.

On Saturday afternoon, before playing an international test match at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, the World Champion Black Ferns warmed up on a small patch of astroturf by the road. Warming up on that same turf, close enough for a stray line-out throw to hit them, were their opponents the Wallaroos. Separating the two teams was a line of small cones.

The test would be the Wallaroos’ first home test in ten years, a ridiculous fun fact, and the first match in a much-anticipated trans-Tasman double header alongside the All Blacks and Wallabies. But it’s hard to call it a real double header when two of the teams are allowed to warm up on the field as expected, and the other two are required to warm up out by the parking lot.

Ross Karl from Newshub was there and watched both teams warm up, confused. “I was a bit surprised by it,” he said. “A general rule is all rugby teams warm up on the field they’re going to play on.”

The unequal treatment of the supposedly equal teams playing that day is disappointing but not surprising. Because while the double-header format has been applauded for its inclusivity, it hasn’t been universally welcomed.

One of the many battles female athletes must engage in, both with their teammates and alone, is debating whether or not they need the help of men. There’s no right answer. It took until this decade for women to be paid any sort of decent salary to play sport. Yes, Serena Williams has been rich for a long time but there’s only one Serena Williams. So while women weren’t being paid to play sport, there was plenty of time to discuss how to go about changing that. The easy and immediate answer was, and still is, men.

People watch men play. Not as many people watch women play. But what about both? Even just a few years ago the thought of the Black Ferns and All Blacks playing in a joint event would’ve sounded farfetched. Playing as a curtain raiser would’ve been more realistic. But now that the Black Ferns have shown over and over again how impressive and dominant they are, curtain raiser status would be insulting. Which brings us back to the downside of double headers: if they’re not conducted properly, they go from being two equal matches to being a curtain raiser and a main event. And by being relegated to the turf outside the stadium to warm up, Rugby Australia all but confirmed that the first international test of the night was a curtain raiser.

It was a poor effort from Rugby Australia, who still insist the double header was nothing short of a huge success. The reason for not allowing the women to warm up on the field? When put to them, a spokesperson for Rugby Australia said it was out of their hands. “It’s ANZ Stadium policy that if there’s two matches on game day, the first match doesn’t have warm up on-field. That’s the same for NRL, AFL, and cricket,” he said.

That didn’t sound right. I have never seen a professional sporting event where teams were required to complete their full warm up outside the stadium. ANZ Stadium were unable to be reached for comment but I spoke to someone at the Manly Sea Eagles, who’d played in the first match of an NRL double header there in March. They confirmed that the Sea Eagles warmed up on the field before their match.

However, in looking for other double headers held at ANZ Stadium, I noticed a strange omission. The Black Ferns v Wallaroos fixture wasn’t listed. The schedule for August 18 had one match: All Blacks v Wallabies. Almost as if the women’s game was merely a curtain raiser.

Rugby Australia’s spokesperson disputed such a suggestion, drawing upon the crowd numbers to show the success of a night he described as “an awesome event for the fans who got there significantly earlier to watch the two matches.” Significantly earlier. There it is again. Fans going out to see a match might show up significantly early to see the curtain raiser. Fans going to a double header would show up on time to see both matches. But this event was only a double header in that it sounded good for Rugby Australia to be hosting one. Nothing they did suggested it was anything but a single Bledisloe Cup match between the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

Where the Black Ferns played (the big white thing) and where they warmed up (the little green thing)

Even the gates were apparently not opened until minutes before the women’s game kicked off. Again, Rugby Australia’s spokesperson disputed this claim. “Well I would severely doubt that because gates opened half an hour before kick off.” Standard practice for NRL games at ANZ Stadium is for gates to open at least 90 minutes before kick off.

Playing alongside the men only works if the women are offered the same treatment in all areas. Otherwise they’d be better off hosting their own games where they’re rightfully the main act. The Black Ferns are far too impressive to be anyone’s supporting act, even the All Blacks.

If these sound like small things to be complaining about, it’s because they are. These are courtesies. Little things that shouldn’t even be thought about, just done. And yet, time and time again, international female athletes are forced to think about them because sporting bodies don’t show women the courtesy they’ve shown men for decades.

This Saturday, New Zealand Rugby and Eden Park will host the Black Ferns, Wallaroos, All Blacks, and Wallabies in a sold out double header. Here’s hoping it’s a proper one this time.

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