Have the Black Ferns upstaged the All Blacks?
The All Blacks remain New Zealand sport’s calling card to the world. Go many places and people will know the name, the kit, the pedigree. When great sporting dynasties and brands are discussed, the All Blacks are rightly in the conversation.
They’ve won, and won well, for so long and in so many different circumstances they’ll forever be a byword for excellence.
The irony is, though, that they now face increasing competition to call themselves New Zealand’s finest rugby side.
On the back of their triumph at the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland, the Black Ferns’ 15 a-side squad were deserved winners of team of the year at the New Zealand Rugby Awards. The 2018 edition is held in Auckland next week, where the Black Ferns sevens side must be certainties to take the team of the year crown.
In both seasons the All Blacks were very good. This year they lost just two games, while in 2017 it was two defeats and a draw.
They still battle to win tight games, in which the opposition defend well, but it’s an enviable record just the same, only not enough to deny the claims of New Zealand’s fast-emerging female rugby programme.
If you’re talking about a dominant force, then look no further than the Black Ferns Sevens. Five world series titles this year have been bolstered by a Commonwealth Games gold medal and a World Cup. Along the way players such as Portia Woodman, Michaela Blyde, Gayle Broughton, Kelly Brazier and Sarah Goss have produced truly remarkable performances.
There’s no cynicism in their game, none of the professional fouls or aggro that can accompany men’s rugby. The Black Ferns Sevens simply play a beautiful brand of rugby, inspiring girls across the nation and the admiration of everyone else.
It’s hard not to feel we’re just at the start of what could be a huge, and maybe necessary, change in the culture and priorities of New Zealand Rugby.
The All Blacks will always matter but the Black Ferns – particularly the seven-a-side team – are rapidly becoming critical to the game’s health too.
Winning the Lonsdale Cup on Monday night is ample evidence of that. No rugby team had won the cup before.
Yes, only Olympic or Commonwealth Games athletes are eligible for the award, but there have been some fine male sides since sevens rugby became part of the Commonwealth Games programme 20 years ago.
Just none that impressed, or caught the imagination, quite like these Black Ferns Sevens.