Portia Woodman-Wickliffe celebrates during the Blues Women v Matatu, Super Rugby Aupiki Final, Eden Park. Photo: Blake Armstrong/ActionPress
Blues Women v NSW Waratahs
Kick-off: 7:05pm Thursday 17 April
North Harbour Stadium, Albany
Live blog coverage on RNZ Sport
Are we getting there with women's rugby? There are certainly some good signs this week, particularly tonight with a first ever meeting between the champions of New Zealand and Australia's Super Rugby competitions. The Blues Women got there off the back of an entertaining victory over Matatu at Eden Park over the weekend, then arguably the bigger win came a couple of days later when Sky TV announced a record viewership of the game.
The match tonight at what will be a rain-lashed North Harbour Stadium is potentially a step towards the elusive goal of having a full trans-Tasman women's competition, something that Blues assistant coach and former Black Fern Charmaine McMenamin had thoughts on.
"Everybody's feedback around this competition (Super Rugby Aupiki) is it's too short. We'd like to play other teams (Australian sides) because then it gives you the chance to rotate your squad," she said.
"At the moment through Aupiki, you have no choice but to play your best team because it's such a short, condensed competition. I don't know what's happening in the future but hopefully New Zealand Rugby (NZR) get on board and try and make something happen."
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe of the Blues makes a hard tackle on Kaea Nepia of Matatū, nib Blues Women v Matatu, Super Rugby Aupiki Grand Final. Photo: Photosport
While McMenamin's passion is laudable, there are a couple of things to be ironed out first. There are still only four teams in Super Rugby Aupiki, which means that even if we could wave a magic wand and make it happen, it's not at a position to match the men's competition just yet.
Then there's the not so insignificant issue that while Aupiki and Black Ferns players are paid, the Australians are not. The game tonight, despite the awful weather providing a levelling factor, will probably display the gap that disparity means. McMenamin can call NZR to get on board all she likes, but really the onus is on Rugby Australia and their navigation of an extremely competitive marketplace for where young female athletes end up.
Which is something that is resonating on this side of the ditch too. NZR announced last week their intention to start the Next Ferns programme, which in their words is "a nationwide search for new rugby talent in a bid to uncover future Black Ferns and Black Ferns Sevens".
If it sounds familiar, it's that it's not the first time it's happened. The Go For Gold initiative from 2012 stands as one of the most successful things NZR have ever done, as it launched the careers of players like Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Michaela Brake (nee Blyde) and played a part in the Black Ferns Sevens winning medals at the last three Olympic Games.
"There's absolutely some amazingly talented females out there playing other sports," said NZR Head of Women's High Performance Hannah Porter.
Next Ferns will run as a combine, which is a way of evaluating young potential players through a series of physical tests rather than just jumping straight into rugby training.
NZR Head of Women's High Performance Hannah Porter. Photo: Lynne Cameron/ActionPress
"We want to give them the opportunity to come in and try rugby if they haven't already. Then there's the other part of it…which is sometimes it's a bit intimidating coming into rugby later in life, and you have to walk into a senior women's rugby team."
Porter said that while netball, basketball and football have large player bases, women's rugby is "an awesome product". In fact, it's one that provides one of the fastest ways to become a professional athlete.
"(Next Ferns) takes a pretty holistic view to how we work with our athletes when they're in their environment. So, we've obviously got Super Rugby Aupiki, while it's semi-professional at this stage, it is one of the highest paid domestic rugby competitions in the world."
Aupiki should benefit from the Next Ferns programme, as the players that are identified will likely be fast tracked upwards to the professional environment. It's a step towards filling out the player pool and eventually creating another team, which will provide another big pathway to a black jersey.
The narrative around the current Black Ferns side is a separate one entirely, which will get some airtime in the lead up to what is shaping to be a very interesting World Cup later this year. But, for now, the plans are in place to build a sustainable player base for the next editions going forward.
