Sevens sisters doing it for themselves
Five or six years ago, girls rugby wasn’t really a thing.
Sure, there was the occasional first XV game here and there, but it wasn’t a sport that was taken seriously by anyone other than those who were involved. How times have changed. A whole generation of young women have a group of rugby stars to look up to in the New Zealand women’s sevens team, and a genuine career path to pursue.
With sevens now part of the Olympic Games, the sport is soaring to new heights and the national players themselves have noticed it more than anyone.
They’d been under the radar on the World Rugby sevens series over the past four years, but being on television during the Olympics has seen the sport given a huge boost.
‘‘I’ve had so many people messaging me that I don’t even know saying congratulations and we loved seeing you guys on TV, the way you performed in Rio,’’ New Zealand captain Sarah Goss said.
‘‘We don’t get to play on TV very often, but the more we get out there, the more people are going to turn their heads.’’
New Zealand prop Ruby Tui said her family used to get up at all hours of the night, looking for a live stream to watch her games around the world.
She said the game is going to new levels, and it’s well deserved.
‘‘Now we’re starting to get the coverage that I think our games have a right to,’’ Tui said.
‘‘We play some good footy and everyone is surprised when they watched it at the Olympics. It’s like, we’ve been building this for a really, really long time, so it’s nice.
‘‘The whole of New Zealand were such a huge support at the Olympics. I hope it keeps growing.’’ The growth of late has been huge. In 2014, there were 17,825 women, from primary age through to adults, registered to play rugby in New Zealand. That increased to 19,792 in 2015, and is expected to top 22,000 this year.
When the current crop of New Zealand players were growing up there were no good options to play women’s rugby.
It led flying winger Portia Woodman to playing netball professionally, signing up for the Northern Mystics, until rugby became a viable career option.
‘‘The Olympics was a big draw card for me. I played netball because I loved it and it was a career path for us,’’ Woodman said.
‘‘Rugby was always a dream to play, but it wasn’t a career path and it was only three games a year with the Black Ferns.
‘‘Once the Olympics came around and their was an opportunity to earn money, that was a game changer for me.’’
Kelly Brazier said at secondary school there were few playing options in rugby.
The New Zealand women visited an under-15s tournament in Wellington on Tuesday, the kind of tournament they never had the chance to take part in.
‘‘Growing up, we’d be out there with a bunch of boys, so it’s pretty cool to go into places like this,’’ Brazier said.
‘‘It used to be just first XV for girls, but to even have under-15s now, it’s unreal that this is happening now. It’s wicked for the women’s game.
‘‘When I went to school we had one team, a first XV, and I think there was maybe one tournament a year. That was it. I was 13 and you had to front it with the big girls who were 17, 18, so yeah, it’s definitely gone a long way since then.’’
Even the national squad has come a long way.
Four years ago it was essentially an amateur programme, but now the team is fully professional, able to focus on the sevens world series and Olympic build-up.
‘‘The biggest difference has probably been in our pockets,’’ Tui said.
‘‘When it started you couldn’t really survive on just doing sevens alone. A lot of us were working, studying, but now, today, these girls can leave high school and go straight into a rugby sevens full time job.
‘‘We wake up and we just get better at rugby every day. That’s our goal, every day, and we have the freedom and we’re blessed to have the opportunity to do that.’’
Woodman said the attitude of parents and adults towards women’s rugby is changing as a result of their success.
It also means girls have female role models in rugby.
‘‘Having adults and parents knowing that it’s not a boys sport, girls can play it and play it well, it’s awesome for the sport and it’s growing the game.
‘‘I think coming to these environments, you notice [the fandom]. Until then, you’re just thinking, I’m doing my thing. I still have my idols, Jonah Lomu, so to think that someone is thinking of me like that is awesome and that’s the main mission of our team, is to inspire the younger girls."