NZR president: We’ll see a gay All Black

‘‘I think we’ve realised that over the last decade in particular, and we’re moving with the times. Otherwise, we separate ourselves out from the rest of society.’’

NZ Rugby announced yesterday that it has signed up to the Pride Pledge, a commitment by employers to welcome rainbow communities, and used its social media channels to promote that initiative.

Spence said he was proud of the progress NZ Rugby had made, but acknowledged the lack of openly gay players.

‘‘The only thing we haven’t had is an All Black or former All Black coming out and saying, ‘I’m the Ian Roberts of rugby’,’’ Spence said, referring to the Australian rugby league player who came out in the mid-1990s.

‘‘We haven’t had that yet. That’s probably the next thing to come. I do think [it will happen]. I don’t think there’s any reason for people to be afraid any more.

‘‘I see it in the workplace. I sit in an environment where people talk about their children, and they talk openly about them. There’s a realisation, ‘Why should you not talk about the people that are dear to you because they have a male or female same-sex partner?’

‘‘It’s at the point now where people say, No I’m not prepared to step back and not join these conversations and share my great stories’.’’

Sportsmen who come out still walk a lonely path, and when Adelaide United midfielder Josh Cavallo took that step last year, he was still considered a rarity – 26 years after Roberts went public.

However, Spence said he wanted people to be in no doubt about where NZ Rugby stood on the issue.

‘‘We talked about unifying, and the best way to do that is to make people feel welcome, and celebrate what they’re doing as much as we can so that they love the game, and support the game,’’ he said.

‘‘In my role as president, if we can’t be seen to be supportive of that message, then we’re losing a trick here.’’