‘Boys club’ culture hurts Cycling NZ
With the euphoria of the upset win over Australia well behind them, the Kiwis are ready to get back to business when they kick off the three-test tour against England.
While much of the buildup in this part of the world has been overshadowed by news around the respective club futures of opposing coaches Michael Maguire and Wayne Bennett, tomorrow’s first test in Hull shapes as an intriguing battle.
Kiwis boss Maguire has had the luxury of selecting the same 17 players who stunned the Kangaroos two weeks ago, a significant boost as his new-look squad continues to gel.
Injury has robbed England of key trio Sam Burgess, Gareth Widdop and Ryan Hall. But with the likes of James Graham, Sean O’Loughlin, Josh Hodgson and Jermaine McGillvary, to name a few, they have no shortage of experience and strike power.
England have developed into a formidable unit since Bennett took charge in 2016. They were unlucky to lose last year’s World Cup final to Australia and will be desperate to take another step up.
The Kiwis expect nothing less. ‘‘They’ve got great experience through their forward pack and have people like Sean O’Loughlin and James Graham, who have played 50 test matches individually,’’ New Zealand assistant coach Ben Gardiner said.
‘‘They’re a side that has played a lot of footy together, so we’ve worked on looking at their combinations in the team we expect to come out on the paddock.’’
The Kiwis last toured England in 2015, when they suffered a 2-1 series defeat. And while they did win the 2005 Tri-Nations in the UK, the last time they tasted a series victory over England or Great Britain on foreign soil was in 1998.
With the chilly conditions and vocal home crowds, it is a difficult place to play but the coaching staff has been impressed with the squad’s focus since arriving via a short stopover in Dubai.
England won the last meeting between the sides during the controversial Denver test in June, when they eased to a 36-18 win in Maguire’s first test in charge.
But this is a different Kiwis side, boosted by the return of Shaun Johnson, Jesse Bromwich, Adam Blair and Jordan Rapana, as well as the emergence of boom rookies Joseph Manu and Brandon Smith.
And while the Denver experience would have provided a handy insight into England’s style of play, much like they did against Australia, the Kiwis are focusing on themselves.
‘‘They’re a side that will have a lot of cohesion, but there are areas where we can target,’’ Gardiner said.
‘‘We think we do know what they’ll bring and how they’ll play. It will be a simple style like us, but at the end of the day it’s about what we bring and what we build on from the test against Australia.’’
England are also well aware that what happened in Denver will count for nothing at KC Stadium.
Johnson’s return in particular will have them on red alert given his impressive record against the Lions.
The star playmaker has a history of breaking English hearts, famously converting his last-gasp try to win the 2013 World Cup semifinal, while he also kicked the winning field goal in the 2016 Four Nations clash.
He may also have a point to prove after it emerged that the Warriors were in no rush to re-sign the former Golden Boot winner, who is off-contract at the end of 2019, when the transfer market opens next week.
‘‘He’s a special player but they’ve got threats all over the field and we’ll have to be switched on to that,’’ England fullback Jonny Lomax told the Press Association.
‘‘They looked fantastic in that performance [against Australia] and we’ll have to raise to that.’’ Cycling New Zealand (CNZ) high performance director Martin Barras says its ‘blokey’ culture has held cycling back, but there is some way to go in curbing it
An independent review of cycling found incidents of bullying, gender imbalances and an inappropriate relationship between high performance sprint coach Anthony Peden and a female cyclist.
The lack of women in high performance roles is a weakness that has been identified, Barras says.
Alexandra Greenfield is the only woman on the coaching panel in high performance at CNZ – she shares the women’s endurance coaching duties with a male coach.
Peden resigned in May after athlete interviews detailing personal information from riders were leaked to the media.
The documents were sent to Peden by High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ) staff member, Hamish Carter, who resigned on Thursday.
Barras had no comment to make on the resignations.
Since being appointed high performance director last year, he has been aware of the lack of female influence at Cycling NZ.
Barras oversees the high performance programme, which includes hiring coaching staff.
‘‘I don’t think there is any doubt that we have had a bit of that [boys’ club] and it is something I was conscious of when I first stepped into the organisation. The high performance side was and still is male dominated and it is far from ideal.’’
‘‘It’s about what we bring and what we build on from the test against Australia.’’ New Zealand assistant coach Ben Gardiner
However, Barras is not driving female recruitment.
‘‘I don’t have an agenda on that front, but I kind of
know after nine Anthony Peden years of working
in women’s cycling, so I am probably a little more sensitive than other people to it.
‘‘Hopefully the proof will be in the pudding and over time you will see more and more women getting in to high performance. Female coaches are not getting a look in at the moment, I don’t think we can deny that.
‘‘That is a problem with cycling, sport at large and society at large, to be perfectly honest.’’
Former high performance cyclist Stephanie McKenzie this month spoke to Stuff about the ‘‘boys club’’ environment she witnessed while on the high performance programme.
She had concerns over CNZ culture, saying Peden’s behaviour was at times ‘‘embarrassing’’, and not one of a role model.
Peden drank freely in front of the team and often encouraged others to join in, McKenzie says.
This made her and many of the other cyclists uncomfortable.
Barras said there was not and never was a drinking culture at Cycling New Zealand, and said the HPSNZ review proved this.
Since Peden’s resignation, there had been no reported incidents of bullying, drinking or sexism, he said.
‘‘I don’t know. All I can say really is I’ve got this degree of confidence in the group that we have here.’’