BACK TO THE DARK AGES
Just when it felt like some of the worst ingrained attitudes were leaving the game, news filtered through of an incident straight out of the Dark Ages.
The ANZ Stadium in Sydney was hosting a double header on Bleidsloe Cup night a few days after there had been an NRL game at the same ground with another due the next day.
So the ground-sta were worried about the ability of the field to hold up. So the decision was made – archaically – to allow the men to warm up on the main field before the Bledisloe but not the Black Ferns and Wallaroos before their game. The two female teams were sent o to a netball court to warm up. “The warm up area was not ideal and we did provide that feedback to the operations team at the time, but to be honest our focus at the time was on preparing as best we could for the job ahead,” said Black Ferns manager Hannah Porter with a hint of bubbling frustration that she was doing her best to contain.