Black Ferns made to wait . . .
The Black Ferns will go at least 20 months without playing a test match ahead of their defence of the Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2021.
New Zealand will host women’s rugby’s showpiece 15-a-side tournament in exactly 12 months from today, but the coronavirus pandemic has wiped out the Black Ferns’ calendar for 2020, one coach Glenn Moore said was the ‘‘best we’ve ever had’’.
Cate Sexton, New Zealand Rugby’s (NZR) head of women’s rugby, said they ran out of options once Australia’s Wallaroos chose not to assemble a team this year.
‘‘We did everything we could to make it happen,’’ Sexton told Stuff. ‘‘Our board and the Government were right behind it, but it’s not only about us, we need opposition to play.
‘‘A lack of rugby preparation and the uncertainties of quarantines have a massive impact on any opposition.’’
It means the Black Ferns will not play any tests in 2020. Their last was against the Wallaroos at Eden Park on August 17, 2019.
Sexton said NZR was hoping to stage tests for the world champions as soon as April or May next year, with too many logistical hurdles to overcome for a series against Australia before the end of the year.
Other scenarios considered were tests against the likes of Eng
land, France, Canada or the United States, Sexton said, but they were unlikely to get off the ground because of Covid-19 protocols complicating too many factors.
‘‘Playing the Wallaroos was on the table most recently,’’ she said, ‘‘but they’re only just finishing
club rugby, and they still need to quarantine between states, so they’ve chosen not to assemble a team this year.’’
Before Covid-19 struck in March, NZR announced an eighttest schedule in 2020 for the Black Ferns, who are still semi-profess
ional, including seven tests at home. Three were doubleheaders with All Blacks tests and it was a rare chance for the Black Ferns to get a taste of playing around the country before next year’s World Cup, starting on September 18.
However, the best the team has managed this season is joining up for training sessions, while returning to play in the Farah Palmer Cup with their provinces.
NZR has confirmed the All Blacks will hosts the Wallabies in two Bledisloe Cup tests next month, with a men’s Rugby Championship with Argentina, Australia and South Africa also tentatively scheduled to start in Australia in November, but the governing body couldn’t find any way of staging of tests for the Black Ferns, who will at least play three fixtures against teams comprised of players from the Farah Palmer Cup in November.
Black Ferns coach Moore was disappointed but said NZR had to get All Blacks matches confirmed to give the sport a financial boost because of the huge revenue those tests generate.
‘‘I know it’s disappointing we don’t have the opportunity to play Australia but the women’s game has some different layers of complexity,’’ he said.
‘‘Some countries are totally amateur and to operate in this environment would mean lengthy time in quarantine, both here and back in Australia, and that amount of time offwork to play fixtures is a big challenge.’’