Alice Soper: How the Black Ferns could be overtaken by rival nations – New Zealand Herald

Black Ferns players celebrate during their match against Australia last weekend. Photo / Photosport

Progress rarely runs in a straight line. It happens in fits and bursts with long periods of stagnation followed by flurries of activity. Such is the case in women's rugby; 31 years after the New Zealand team fundraised their way to the first World Cup, we are now only a month or so away from hosting our own.

We have had an increase in the number of contracts, the introduction of the Super Rugby Aupiki competition and fully televised Farah Palmer Cup. But if we think that is enough movement for now, we will be left behind as rival nations continue to march forward.

The rapid rate of change is most evident when we look across at our Pacific neighbours. In 2018, Tonga had banned schoolgirls from playing rugby and then just last month their women's side finished third in the Oceania Championship. Fiji has created both a 15s and sevens programme which has seen them qualify for the World Cup for the first time, the Drua win the Australian Super W and the Fijiana take bronze at the Olympics and then silver at the Commonwealth Games.

Manusina Samoa ran Fiji right to the wire at the Oceania champs, intent on securing their place in the new WXV competition next year after Covid spoiled their chances at World Cup qualification.

The sleeping giant of women's rugby has awoken from her slumber and what these sides do next will have a huge impact on New Zealand's fortunes.

The most logical step will be for the formation of a women's Moana Pasifika side - pooling the talent of Samoa, Tonga and any Fijians not yet in the national programme, to further strengthen the pathway for international players. The formation of this side, and the decision of what league they will end up playing in, will be the queenmaker of the domestic leagues here in the Southern Hemisphere.

The natural home is Super Rugby Aupiki. They can play alongside their brothers and base themselves out of Mount Smart. A number of the prospective players are already based here in Aotearoa so they will be kept close to their family and wider support network. Another team would add another round and offer more legitimacy to this truncated league.

This would also have positive effects on the feeder competition, the Farah Palmer Cup. Players not having to relocate across the ditch, means they will happily slot back into their provincial sides and lift the quality of performance. We have already seen glimpses of this potential in the Manusina representatives' impact on the Tasman side this season, giving them their first ever back-to-back wins.

However, at the announcement for the introduction of this new tournament, New Zealand Rugby was emphatic about not making any changes to Aupiki in the first two seasons. And so the door is open for Australia to poach this side to bolster their own Super Rugby competition.

This should be ringing alarm bells at New Zealand Rugby. If we lose this potential franchise to our Australian counterparts, we will be left knocking on the door to get an invite in future seasons. The potential of having both the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika on the books for Super W would position this competition as the Southern Hemisphere equivalent of the English Premier 15s. This domestic league is so strong, they hold a large part of the rosters for USA, Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Having this calibre of talent playing across the 10 clubs has a profound impact on the standard of English rugby, which is why they are now entering the World Cup as firm favourites. And this relationship is reciprocal, with international players' skills improving with regular high-quality game time.

Ultimately, I would love to see the establishment of a stronger Irish, American, Welsh and Scottish league but in the meantime, the pooling of this talent provides the bridging step on the pathway to professionalism.

The results post-Covid lockdown shows New Zealand can't beat the best by simply playing each other. They need talented opposition, ideally in their own backyard, if they are to thrive. So New Zealand Rugby, do not fight progress. Lay down the mat and invite our Pasifika sisters in.

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Alice Soper: How the Black Ferns could be overtaken by rival nations - New Zealand Herald