Glenn wants Moore time with Ferns side

Glenn Moore hopes senior Black Ferns players will join him in wanting to stick around for the 2022 World Cup in New Zealand.

Prior to World Rugby announcing it would recommend the postponement of the global tournament, which was originally slated to be held in Auckland and Whangarei later this year, Black Ferns coach Moore was thinking about how the team would defend its title instead of how to keep it intact for another season.

Everything changed on Wednesday when World Rugby declared it would recommend to the executive committee the tournament be delayed due to issues created by Covid-19.

Everyone knows this is a done deal. Now the senior Black Ferns have to decide whether they want to push on and remain committed to their gruelling training schedules.

Captain Eloise Blackwell and her deputy Kendra Cocksedge have already indicated they want to play in 2022, and Moore, whose deal with NZ Rugby expires at the end of this year, is also keen to remain in charge.

‘‘All of us have different contracts, different time frames,’’ Moore said. ‘‘Mine is no different. Mine went through to the World Cup.

‘‘At some point all those things get re-evaluated. I have certainly made a big commitment to this group since 2015, and I really want to see things through to that pinnacle event.’’

NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson publicly apologised to the Black Ferns players, promising NZ Rugby would attempt to arrange replacement tests this year.

Moore wants any senior players who planned to retire after the World Cup to keep an open mind. Future conversations will providemore clarity.

‘‘It’s really devastating for the ones that have got plans in place, possibly, around when they want to finish. And how they wanted to finish, potentially.

‘‘I am not saying any of them have categorically come out and said that, but that is just the reality of being in a team that is very diverse in age groups and all those sorts of things.’’

Moore said it was paramount the team played at least five matches this year, with some against tier-1 nations.

‘‘There is a desperate need for that level of competition if you want to be successful at a World Cup. There will need to be a lot of thought into how the staff of 2022 looks, too, as we start progressing towards those World Cup games.’’

Some players had produced personal bests in fitness tests at a national camp in January. That, said Moore, reflected their commitment.

And he could understand why they were shattered to learn the tournament had been delayed by at least 12 months.

‘‘I feel for them immensely. That was my first reaction when I got the news, at a similar time that they got it. I really felt for them.’’

Moore and his management team should learn more about their players’ aspirations for 2022 when a 45-strong squad attends a camp in Wellington next week.

Like Blackwell and Cocksedge, Moore was loath to criticise World Rugby or NZ Rugby for pulling the trigger so early, given the tournament wasn’t scheduled to start until September 18.

While he admitted he knew there was potential for the tournament to be put back a year, as was the case with the women’s Cricket World Cup, he tried to stay positive.

‘‘If I was saying anything, I would say it has happened very quickly,’’ Moore stated. ‘‘Probably, I had a little bit of concern about how quickly that decision has been made.

‘‘But, once again, I haven’t been party to evaluating all the detail.’’

‘‘I had a little bit of concern about how quickly that decision has been made.’’

Glenn Moore

Black Ferns coach