Ferns flanker sets the standard
You probably haven’t heard of Lesley Elder, but you should have. She’s a world champion Black Ferns rugby player, flying the flag for small-town New Zealand, perseverance, toughness and the new wave of professionalism enveloping the sport.
Elder (nee Ketu), a hard-nosed openside flanker, is part of Glenn Moore’s Black Ferns squad in Sydney this week preparing for back-to-back tests against the Wallaroos in which they will share the Bledisloe stage with the All Blacks and Wallabies.
The world is watching and the protagonists are acutely aware of the importance of this juncture.
It is an important time, not just for the Ferns who continue to set the standard in the global Xva-side game, but also for women’s rugby in general as it rides this new wave of semi-professional contracting that Elder believes will change the face of the game forever.
‘‘Gone are the days where women’s rugby is a curtain-raiser for the men’s – we’re now doubleheaders and we’re as entertaining,’’ Elder told Stuff after team training in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. ‘‘It’s a privilege to be able to double-head with the All Blacks, a dream, and it’s very exciting.’’
And you don’t need to tell the Tauranga-based Elder, who works developing aspiring young female players for the Bay of Plenty union and is also part of the first group of contracted Black Ferns, about what a pivotal time this is.
‘‘I’ve played the game when it wasn’t professional and when it was quite tough and I’m getting to play it now as it’s becoming professional,’’ she said. ‘‘It won’t be long before this team becomes fully professional. I probably won’t get to live that, but I can’t wait to see it for the young girls coming through.’’
Elder sets a pretty decent example for all of New Zealand’s young players. The 31-year-old played 10 games for Waikato as a teenager in 2004-05, but rededicated herself to the sport after a nine-year gap pursuing other opportunities in life, such as travel and study.
That saw her break into the Black Ferns in 2015, see that challenged by a broken leg in 2016, and then shrug off all the reasons she couldn’t, and grit her teeth to make it back for the 2017 World Cup campaign that ended in such memorable fashion in Ireland.
Elder is proud of where she has come from, both literally and figuratively. There aren’t many elite level athletes who hail from Taumarunui, and there is also a metal rod in her left leg now that threw up further challenges.
‘‘I’m very proud to be from Taumarunui. I’m a small-town girl, my family still live there, and if I had my way I’d still live there. I guess they do look to me as a role model and I take that in my stride. I go back all the time because it’s the one place I truly feel grounded.’’
At a time when the Ferns are regenerating with fresh young talent (there are eight new caps in
this squad), coach Moore says a player of Elder’s standing is like gold.
‘‘She’s a critical member of this group, an exceptional athlete and a real, real competitor. She forms part of our leadership group as well, and is good at that. People want to follow her.’’
Little wonder. She talks about the Ferns needing to avoid any complacency this week and to continue to set a standard the next generation can aspire to.
‘‘We did really well last year but we’ve got to get better. When you come into this environment the standards are high and we never drop those. So it’s about these new girls meeting those standards.
‘‘There has been a pathway created by Black Ferns who have gone before us, and now we’re just getting the exposure. We’re experiencing it at the right time, but the standards have been set.
‘‘And now these young girls are here chomping at the bit, pushing us to get better. No one can be complacent because you look around and see these new girls just scratching the surface of this team.’’