Break out Bunting: Keeping ball rolling
Future of the Ferns: Take greatness and continue to build our women’s game Man steeped in mana right choice for role
Allan Bunting has his sights set on the future. Confirmed as Wayne Smith’s successor as Black Ferns director of rugby yesterday, Bunting takes over looking ahead to the next World Cup in three years.
A decorated coach with the Black Ferns Sevens team, Bunting said he embraced the opportunity to follow Smith in not only leading the national team, but also continuing the growth of the women’s game.
“He brought an absolute gift to our women’s game; just an empowering, attacking game that our ladies absolutely fell in love with,” Bunting said of Smith. “It captured the hearts of me, our ladies and the nation. He knows people really well, and it’s our responsibility as individuals, a team and a nation to continue and build off that.”
Bunting has had a long involvement with women’s rugby in New Zealand. While spending much of that time working in sevens, he led Chiefs Manawa to glory in the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season and was involved in the Black Ferns’ 2022 campaign as manager of culture and leadership.
With the Super Rugby Aupiki competition expanding to a slightly longer format this year and talk of some sort of crossover with Australia’s Super W competition in the near future, Bunting said he was excited about the opportunities to build the country’s depth.
“There’s plenty of opportunity to play now. For me, it’s about how we really build that depth. As Black Ferns, there’s nothing more that drives performance as when you’ve got someone snapping at your heels. That’ll really raise the standards in our group, which is really important.
“I get absolute joy and fulfilment when I see people grow, realise their potential and start reaching that on and off the field. That’s where I see myself focused.”
With a director of rugby in place, New Zealand Rugby will begin the process of building a team around him. Bunting said he hadn’t had the chance to touch base with 2022 Black Ferns assistants Wes Clarke and Whitney Hansen and confirmed he was not in a rush to fill his support roles, with a focus on finding the right people.
“[I want to] take the greatness out of what happened and keep that going,” Bunting said of his vision for the future.
“If there is different people, hearing what they think they’ve got to give to this team. We want to keep moving fast. As a national team, the country expects this team to do really well, so we need to make sure we can get to the intensity we got to at the end of the World Cup whenever we get on the field and make sure we’ve got the right people in support.
“The biggest thing with coaching is trust, and trust takes time. Showing general care, connecting with people, getting around when they’re not in our environments because that’s where most of our growth is going to be built,” he said.
Allan Bunting is the right choice to lead the Black Ferns into an era that must capitalise on the groundswell of support behind last year’s home World Cup success.
Bunting is a man steeped in mana, a figure who will immediately command respect from many established Black Ferns. In the context of the rocky road this team traversed last year, that is particularly poignant.
In the wake of last year’s rousing World Cup triumph, it’s easy to forget the miracle transformation Wayne Smith guided the Black Ferns through to achieve those iconic and emotive Eden Park scenes.
Smith didn’t just overhaul the Black Ferns’ playing style to the fast-paced, offload, ruck and run flamboyance that rejuvenated the stale playing group. He first pulled their culture apart, discarded significant baggage and put them back together again. Almost overnight, too.
That Bunting was on hand to witness the steps Smith took will only enhance his ability to continue those foundations.
From rock bottom — following the fallout from the Black Ferns’ infamous 2021 northern tour that featured record losses against England and France — to unlikely global supremacy inside five months was a remarkable redemption story.
What comes next is just as important. The wildfire that necessitated Smith parachuting into the Black Ferns was the damning cultural review that laid bare, among other things, poor communication, a lack of diversity, disconnect between players and management, and the need to dismantle systems and practices that reflect only a Pa¯keha¯ world view within the team.
Lessons are still being absorbed from that nadir.
The Black Ferns’ success since is proof of how all modern rugby environments must operate, particularly from a resource, coaching and support perspective.
No longer can, nor should, the elite female game live off scraps.
Bunting’s legacy, during his decade (2012-21) of success with the Black Ferns Sevens team that culminated gold at the Tokyo Olympics, was instilling an inclusive culture and off-field balance, with Tikanga Ma¯ori prominent.
That was evident, too, as he led Chiefs Manawa through their unbeaten run to the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki title last year — his only XVs head coaching experience since starting with the St Patrick’s Silverstream first XV.
Above all else, Bunting recognises the need to know and respect his athletes for them to play for him and, indeed, each other.
He is people first, rugby second. Assuming the mantle won’t be easy. Smith can’t be replaced by anyone.
By immediately restoring pride in the black jersey, Smith elevated the Black Ferns to their former realm, where demands, realistic or not, dictate they will now be expected to consistently maintain those standards.
Bunting may retain some of Smith’s coaching staff — the likes of forwards coach Whitney Hansen — but he’s expected to need a new defence coach.
After beating rival Wes Clarke to the director of rugby position, it’s understood the pair are highly unlikely to work together.
With at least seven tests on the agenda this year — and two-and-a-half years until the next World Cup — Bunting must swiftly assemble his coaching team and identify the core group that will lead the Black Ferns to the defence of their World Cup crown.
Bunting arrives at a critical juncture for women’s rugby.
Domestic pathways are gradually improving, with Super Rugby Aupiki set to expand to include matches against Australian opposition next year, while a genuine commitment exists to not waste momentum surrounding the international scene.
Placing Bunting at the heart of that revival was the only option for the Black Ferns.