Has England become our arch nemesis on the rugby field and have we come to accept its dominance?
The Baby Blacks, despite a valiant comeback in the second half, were dominated by young men built like brick outhouses dressed in white with pretty roses on their chest.
The Black Ferns will be faced with a similar vision when they face England in a three-test series in July. The Black Ferns have not beaten the England women's rugby team in the past six tests and, despite finishing on top in the World Cup final in 2010, they will have a tough time winning because the English women, too, are built like brick outhouses dressed in white with pretty roses on their chest. The last time the Black Ferns lost on home soil was in 2001 against none other than England, so history and current form are against us.
I'd like to stop this whitewash and get back that mentality that we are the best in the world at this game and we can become world-beaters not by visiting our neighbours but by getting our own backyard in order. In the past, our rugby-dominated culture put our women's team on the front foot, but that is no longer the case. Women's club rugby is struggling and, although the New Zealand Rugby Union's strategic plan calls for all 14 NPC provinces to have a women's team, that is a hard sell.
Hawkes Bay has decided to put its contribution to women's rugby into the sevens basket, leaving the 15s team high and dry. As someone who has access to the decision-making processes in rugby, I hear a lot of grumbles about women's 15s being too expensive, too much of a nuisance, and too draining with very little benefit to the province. The NZRU's push for women's sevens gives provincial unions an easy out and, if all unions decide to promote the less costly sevens option, our Black Ferns will suffer. As Black Ferns coach Brian Evans suggested, promoting the sevens game will eventually raise the bar for both versions of the game but this optimism needs to be critiqued.
Sevens doesn't tend to produce elite props, hookers and locks. There is no doubt the Black Ferns backline will be firing on all cylinders with players such as Kelly Brazier, Selica Winiata, Renee Wickliffe and Portia Woodman making their national sides in both sevens and 15s. But what is the point of all that speed and fitness if the Black Ferns can't secure ball from their set pieces and phase play? What are we relying on to develop our tight five? None of the five rookies named is a front-rower. It is worrying the coaches believe no new blood is coming through New Zealand's rugby system to keep the front-row incumbents honest.
The double internationals may be fatigued with only a two-day turnaround between contesting the sevens World Cup in Moscow and joining the Black Ferns, but they will, at least, keep the experienced players such as Emma Jensen, Amiria Rule, Claire Richardson, Victoria Grant and Kendra Cocksedge honest. Who is keeping the management honest?
I'm tired of hearing that the reason the Black Ferns have struggled to beat England lately is because their players are well-resourced. They've always had more investment in their women's rugby programme than we have. The Black Ferns have never been the biggest, ugliest and most ripped at the World Cup. They have, however, relied on being the most talented, game-fit, rugby-savvy, and innovative to beat a whole lot of fridges with heads on top. The reason the Black Ferns have struggled lately is because no-one is pushing provincial unions to develop their women's 15-a-side teams.
No-one has given the Black Ferns a reason to push themselves to be better than before. We should play each other in meaningful provincial games, in regional competitions and tournaments, and in several trial games throughout the year. We should keep ourselves honest with promising player clinics, a national secondary school team, numerous pathways and decent coaches to raise the bar.
We don't need to play internationals to beat England, especially when most of these tests against teams such as Australia and Canada are easy wins. Tests are a privilege not a right. We will be better than we have been in the past couple of years by playing against the best in the world, and the best in the world are right here in New Zealand. Invest in that, and the whitewash will stop.
