Black Ferns cash in on Cup success
THE world champion Black Ferns stand to be back paid for the 2017 season as part of a landmark pay deal with NZ Rugby.
The deal will see the 2017 Black Ferns squad receive a one-off payment, likely to be in the vicinity off $10,000, when the new collective agreement for the elite women’s XVs players is finalised.
Under the agreement, which is expected to be signed off by the end of the month, contracted players will be placed on modest retainers thought to range from $15,000-$30,000.
The move to retroactively compensate the 2017 team comes after landmark year for the women’s game.
The Black Ferns World Cup victory in Belfast last year proved a watershed moment for the sport, kicking off a national conversation about the status and investment in the women’s programme.
This groundswell of support proved a handy bargaining chip for the NZ Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) as it entered into contract negotiations with the national body late last year.
Both NZ Rugby and the NZRPA declined to discuss any aspects of collective bargaining while negotiations are on-going, but Sunday News understands the issue of whether the Black Ferns would be rewarded for their efforts last season has been agreed to in principle.
This means those players that retired after helping the Black Ferns secure an unprecedented fifth world title such as inspirational captain Fiao’o Fa’amausili and Carla Hohepa will still benefit from the new deal. The pay deal is expected to be just one of several significant breakthroughs for country’s elite female players contained in the 2018 memorandum of understanding.
Other key details will be around the establishment of regular international fixtures for the Black Ferns and a set calendar for training and development camps to give players, many of whom have children and careers outside rugby to consider, greater certainty and the ability to better plan their lives.
One of the biggest frustrations for the Black Ferns has been the lack of competitive opportunities, with test matches organised on ad-hoc basis.
It is not known when the deal will be announced. NZRPA chief executive Rob Nichol was unable to put a timeframe on when the agreement would be signed off, while a NZ Rugby spokesperson said there was no update on how GETTY IMAGES negotiations were progressing.
But with the year well under way and a new programme to be established for the Black Ferns, neither party will be wanting the process to drag on into March.Rugby bosses will also want to take advantage of the momentum in the women’s game
While the two parties hammer out a deal for the Black Ferns, work is still being done on the viability of a women’s Super Rugby competition.
NZ Rugby has formed a working group to look at options for a new franchise competition for the elite women, with the early vision being an eight-week league played over the summer months. The biggest challenges appear to be logistical and player welfare related, rather than commercial.
Most franchises do not have a ready pool of 25-30 elite players based in one centre and the NZRPA is understood to have concerns about forcing players to uproot their lives for an eightweek competition.