Yes. They’ve earned it and this is 2017
at the moment, but he is a great player, and he is a lad who works extremely hard, and he will work hard to get back here, and he will be back here, because he will put in the right attitude.’’
Ingham arrived in camp at the start of the week, but after failing fitness tests, he was sent home to Brisbane and the Roar.
A report in The Courier Mail said the Roar’s football director, Craig Moore, had met the 18-year-old on Wednesday. ‘‘I don’t think it was good the way the situation was handled,’’ Moore told TheCourier Mail.
‘‘We were never given any guidelines by the New Zealand Football Association about the level of fitness Dane was expected to be at.’’
Moore’s comments were put to All Whites coach Anthony Hudson.
‘‘I don’t manage Brisbane Roar,’’ he said.
‘‘Everyone in the squad was clear on the expectations of where they needed to be at. Everyone’s responsible and Dane falls into the same category as everyone else.
‘‘It’s not my business what other clubs do, and I’ve got nothing to say on that.’’ Oceania World Cup Qualifying, final stage New Zealand v Solomon Islands Leg one: QBE Stadium, Auckland, tonight 7.35pm. Leg two: Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara, Tuesday 3pm (NZ time) NZ $1.12, draw $8.20, SI $14.50
The Black Ferns have won five out of eight Women’s Rugby World Cups since the tournament began in 1991 – what more does a team have to do to be taken seriously?
The All Blacks have won three of their equivalent in 30 years. Apples with oranges? Not necessarily.
Of course there is a lot more to this debate than just winning trophies. There are strong external factors come into the argument such as viewership, sponsorship and popularity of the women’s game versus the men’s.
But if it’s purely black and white, the Black Ferns should have some share of the honey pot, in this case the giant New Zealand Rugby money pot.
The argument is not should they be paid as full-time rugby players, it is when. NZR can afford it, no question there. They have the money and spend a chunk of it, rightly or wrongly, on retaining All Blacks who would otherwise leave for a bigger pay packet in Europe.
What if they let those players leave? Would the All Blacks suffer or would those players on the rise who never get the chance to wear the black jersey step up and replace those ‘‘irreplaceable’’ big names we hold on to and still beat the Wallabies last Saturday night?
Figures show women’s rugby is a stronger growing demographic than boys in 2017 and evidently New Zealand has taken better notice of the Black Ferns this tournament.
If this popularity continues in New Zealand and abroad, such as it has in England where the women’s team are paid to play, then could NZR justify paying the Black Ferns?
I had the pleasure of speaking with some remarkable Black Ferns players before, during and after this tournament and asked each of them – if they could, would they play rugby full-time and quit their day jobs. They each said yes, without a doubt.
The task of balancing rugby and their full-time work, be it teaching, fire fighting, the police force or being a mother must be a tough one – impossible for most. I work full-time and find fitting in a daily exercise routine is tricky enough and come Friday I amtoo exhausted to lift a glass. Imagine working eight-nine hours, driving one and a half hours for a two-hour training session and doing that three times time a week.
That’s the life of graphic designer and Black Ferns’ RWC final hat-trick tryscorer Toka Natua.
The 25-year-old seems a relaxed character and someone who wouldn’t complain a lot as she is ‘‘just happy to be a Black Fern’’ – a dream of hers since she started playing. But when posed with the question of being paid for essentially bringing the gold back to NZR’s office? She liked that idea, very much so.
She admitted balancing work and rugby was a challenge.
‘‘I used to find it difficult in the first two years, but I guess you become stronger and learn to manage your time. [Getting paid to play] would make things easier on us – some of the girls have been working from here during the tournament.’’
If you dare ask why pay the women when they are already winning? Because it’s 2017 and time for a change, don’t you think?