Ferns get moment in the sun

It was an only-in-New Zealand moment. Near the end of a long post-Cabinet press conference during which she spoke passionately about bank profits and other cost-of-living issues, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was asked if she would be able to make it to the rugby tonight.

To be fair, the final of the Women’s Rugby World Cup is no ordinary game. The tournament was delayed for a year and the final will be played before a capacity crowd at Eden Park. The top two teams in the tournament – New Zealand’s Black Ferns and England’s Red Roses – have a lot of history to settle. And beyond that, the final is a milestone in a rapidly growing game.

Are we ready for the black wave? Or fearful of a red wave? There may still be a few people who will admit to once scoffing about the likelihood of the women’s game selling out the temple of New Zealand rugby, but the rest of us are not surprised. The Black Ferns have caught the public imagination just as the women’s game itself has done.

Women’s rugby is free of the baggage of the men’s game, whether you see that baggage as political, cultural, commercial or all of the above. The Black Ferns play with a sense of fun and exuberance that is not always visible in the All Blacks’ recent presentations of the game. In the process, players such as Kendra Cocksedge, Portia Woodman and especially Ruby Tui are becoming household names and inspirations for a new generation.

The Eden Park final could even feel like the culmination of a long period of grassroots growth. A 2019 NZ Rugby report on secondary schools rugby contrasted the boys’ game and the girls’ game. ‘‘The numbers of boys playing the game at secondary school is trending downwards at an alarming rate, especially considering that the overall secondary school roll has been steadily increasing in recent years,’’ the report said. There was also a concern that the game was being dominated by a small number of schools that promoted high performance with programmes that create ‘‘disquiet and questionable outcomes’’.

By contrast, the girls’ game was experiencing strong growth, creating entirely different challenges around ‘‘resourcing, coaching and acceptance within schools’’. A 2021 report said participation in schoolgirls’ rugby rose by 84% in the past five years.

If there was ever a moment when New Zealand women’s rugby had reached widespread acceptance and support, that moment is now.

But NZ Rugby is still capable of dropping the ball on occasion. A classic example came when the All Blacks were scheduled to play Japan only an hour before the Black Ferns played Wales. NZ Rugby was widely criticised for putting the women’s game in the shade. Former Labour MP and ex-Black Fern Louisa Wall spoke for many when she said it was an indication that ‘‘NZ Rugby puts the All Blacks above anything’’. The perception was that ‘‘a game for the All Blacks is more important than a [Black Ferns] quarterfinal in the Rugby World Cup’’.

In its defence, NZ Rugby said it didn’t take into account the quarterfinal schedule when setting up the All Blacks game. That is not much of a defence.

That was a couple of weeks ago. Another clanger is the absence of World Cup fan zones, in stark contrast to the fan zones created for the 2011 men’s Rugby World Cup. Veteran players and supporters, such as former Black Fern Natasha Wong, see it as an unsurprising illustration of the lack of support offered to the women’s game.

Some might even see it as an oversight that reeks of either complacency or arrogance but, like the scheduling clash, it is unlikely to happen again, such has been the massive popular response to a genuinely gripping and enjoyable tournament.

Let’s focus on the positive. This is women’s rugby’s moment. Whether the wave is red or black, the next stop is England, 2025.

Women’s rugby is free of the baggage of the men’s game ...