Contracts necessary to stave off competition

It’s not about the money for 18-year-old Black Fern Grace Brooker, but it certainly helps. Fresh out of high school, the Canterbury rugby representative has landed a contract with the world champion Black Ferns – a dream come true for the farm girl from Oxford.

When she got the news Brooker was ‘‘over the moon’’, her parents Mel and Dave cried with joy, her grandparents were proud of their New Zealand Rugby employee and her mates plain jealous of her anticipated bank balance.

‘‘I have been wanting to be a rugby player my whole life so it was literally that dream-come-true moment. It was so surreal, it still is very surreal, I can’t believe it really. I told my parents straight away and they started crying. It means so much to us.’’

There were plenty of emotions yesterday afternoon when the 28 contracted players were announced. The players will be paid between $12,000 and $20,000, with about half a dozen players on the higher amount.

‘‘Money has never been the predominant thing – it’s been more about the passion and everything – but it definitely helps. My friends are a bit jealous because I don’t actually have a student loan.

‘‘It tops the cake. ‘‘Hopefully I just get that opportunity to put on the black jersey to New Zealand could have lost many of its top Black Ferns if NZ Rugby didn’t make the move to pay players.

It is a watershed moment for the sport in New Zealand, but if it didn’t happen the chances of further World Cup success for the Black Ferns would have been remote.

The Warriors are starting a women’s team to compete in a new NRL-backed competition, the AFL in Australia has been a momentous success and in other places around the world professional competitions have started up. represent my country. I just can’t even comprehend how happy that will make me feel.’’

Brooker turns 19 in June and has never left New Zealand. A test match against the Wallaroos in Sydney and a match against the USA in Chicago is enough to motivate her to make the cut when coach Glenn Moore picks his squad.

Brooker is taking nothing for granted, though, and still doesn’t feel like she measures up to her more established Black Ferns team-mates.

‘‘Pretty much the whole team are my idols, so I still don’t really see myself on a par with them, but they make me feel so welcome and show me the expectations of where I need to be at.’’

The young winger hasn’t come to terms with being a role model for the younger generation of young female rugby players; after all, she grew up dreaming of wearing

‘‘We absolutely had to do this because of the other codes and what’s happening around the world with rugby itself,’’ Black Ferns campaign manager and former player Hannah Porter said. ‘‘Japan has got a professional league, England has got a semiprofessional league and France has too.

‘‘So over the next couple of years, if we hadn’t done this then we would have found more players going overseas to play rugby.’’

The money doesn’t compare to what men’s players get from rugby, but it is a start and it does mean that there will be less of a financial burden on players representing New Zealand.

‘‘It’s to support the hours that they’re training,’’ Porter said. ‘‘It’s 10 to 14 hours that we’re supporting them with, but then putting the resource around them within the provincial unions to make sure they have good strength and conditioning coaches, good skills coaches, physios and nutritionists.

‘‘On top of that, there are match payments for the 28 that make the team.

‘‘That hasn’t changed the last couple of years and will be $2000 a week. Within the contract there are other ways to bolster those payments, with saving schemes and legacy funds, plus the ability to do some commercial work.’’

Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore believes the money will make a difference to how these players develop and progress, but it will also inspire the next wave of potential Black Ferns.

‘‘Having players contracted will help more players aspire to want to play at a high level, Moore said.