A tale of three coaches and their Black Ferns
There's been a whole lot of change in just 12 months.
If you have followed women’s rugby in New Zealand for the past few years one of the most confounding questions has been, how are they making these selections? We have lamented with each other about players being overlooked and the persistence with combinations that don’t appear to be working.
When the “full-time” contracts were brought in for the Black Ferns at the beginning of last year, they were still being coached by Glenn Moore. This was while the side were in the midst of the Culture and Environment Review, sparked by the experiences of Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (for which, New Zealand Rugby would eventually apologise). So naturally, questions were asked of the appropriateness of Moore’s involvement in this process.
Nevertheless, New Zealand Rugby persisted. As a result, comparing the 2022 contracted list, RWC Squad and 2023 contracted list, tells a story of three coaches and the potential they see in our players.
Part One: Glenn Moore’s Pick
It’s February 2022 and reportedly the introduction of the Black Ferns full-time contracts but I will always challenge that headline. The way our contract systems works is that there were 8 tiers of retainers. This includes some suppression for the earning potential for younger players with certain ages not being able to earn above certain tiers. The total earnings equation roughly goes:
RETAINER + ASSEMBLY FEE + APPEARANCE FEES + % OF LEGACY FUND
= Your Black Ferns wage
The tier you’re on, determiners your retainer. That is the money you can bank on when signing your contract because the rest could be dependent on your injury status, selection and length of service when divvying up the $150,000 Legacy Fund. At the point these contracts were signed, working a minimum wage in New Zealand would take home around $44,000. Tier 7 & 8’s retainers aka guaranteed income, were below this. So hardly a full-time professional wage.
But anyway, when you look at this squad they offered the RWC year contracts to you can already see all the names of players that wouldn’t make it through to October. You can also see the glaring omissions such as 2022’s Aupiki Player of Year, Luka Connor, Joanah “The Hand” Ngan-Woo and Kendra Reynolds, who has since become such a part of the fabric of the Black Ferns it seems bizarre that she wasn’t on the list.
Most unlucky under Moore:
Joanah Ngan-Woo and Iritana Hohaia were both players I can recall that Moore took on tour but didn’t play. Ngan-Woo watched from the sidelines in Europe in 2018 and Hohaia did the same on the infamous Northern Tour of 2021. This meant time off work for these women, to trail around the world carrying tackle bags.
Hohaia’s star had been on the rise but she was involved in tackle which resulted in kidney damage (big yikes!). This may have been the reason why she was missing from this 2022 contract list. Ngan-Woo meanwhile, just couldn’t seem to catch a break under Moore.
Part Two: Wayne Smith Resets
When Wayne Smith announces the Black Ferns squad for the Pacific Four Series it is now May and everything has changed.
Initially, New Zealand Rugby had thrown their support in behind beleaguered coach Moore, opting to bring in Smith as a ‘Technical Advisor’. However, within a five days of the release of the findings into the Black Ferns Culture and Environment Review, Moore had resigned.
Smith takes over and with six months until the kick off of the Rugby World Cup, he treats the Pacific Four Series (PAC4) as an open casting call.
Two things to note about this PAC4 list:
Les Elder loses captaincy
Of all the non-selections, this was perhaps the most poorly handled during Smith’s tenure. When the squad was published, much was made of Smith’s decision to drop Elder alongside Eloise Blackwell and Renee Woodman-Wickliffe. Woodman-Wickliffe was shortly recalled as injury cover and then the official comms were updated to say Les Elder was in fact injured so ineligible for selection.
So which was it? Did Smith drop her or was Elder ineligible?
By this point, it didn’t matter. The story was embedded and Elder wasn’t given an opportunity to fight her way back. Rugby is lucky to have a leader of such grace that stepped back with more dignity than she was afforded at that moment.Caps for everyone!
Just look at that list of uncapped players that were brought in. This was something that, to be honest, didn’t sit well with everyone. There had been a history of a Black Ferns starting jersey being something you had to earn after a long apprenticeship.
When a player is presented a starting jersey, they see the list of players that have worn it before them. In our game, it is a very short list with some very big names. I remember players disclosing how odd it felt, during this series, to see how quickly the list grew.
Things had to change though and quickly. So this experimentation with the PAC4 series, led to the confirmation of Smith’s RWC Squad.
This team welcomed their sevens sisters and took a chance on props Awhina Tangen-Wainohu and Santo Taumata, each with only one cap ahead of the World Cup. Brunt was also a bolter, with her 4 caps earned in the lead up to the big show.
The grand experiment paid off and we all got to celebrate after a tumultuous year in New Zealand women’s rugby.
Most unlucky under Wayne Smith:
Les Elder and Chelsea Semple were likely the heaviest casualties of the return of the Black Ferns Sevens contingent to 15s. The addition of Sarah Hirini, Theresa Fitzpatrick and Stacey Fluhler stacking the deck against their selection.
The injury to Elder early in the year, gave Smith the opportunity to reset his leadership team which didn’t leave room in his plans for her. Whereas Semple’s hammy and nasty concussion just limited her time on the paddock to make her case.
Part Three: Allan Bunting Looks Forward
Which brings us to now and our third head coach, Allan Bunting. Look, I know everything I’m writing at the moment makes me seem like this is now an Allan Bunting Stan account. I promise you, I will continue to pay just as close attention to his tenure as I have the others. But this is genuinely one of the first time I’ve looked at the new picks and thought, yeah that tracks with the performances I’ve seen.
Everyone on the ‘In' list were inform during Aupiki. Lucy Jenkins, Rosie Kelly and Layla Sae have all been stars for their provinces and have levelled up with their Aupiki experience. Katelyn Vaha’akolo has made the confident transition from Kiwi Ferns to Black Ferns.
Aside from her talent on the field, Vaha’akolo is likely to quickly become a fan favourite off it. She already has a strong social media following because she is a natural entertainer. I look forward to seeing her charisma channelled into content this season.
Mererangi Paul was strong on the wing for Manawa but also played minutes at first five for Counties-Manukau. She will be an interesting player to watch as she develops and I know her aunty, Black Fern #41 Geri Paul, will be keeping a close eye. Grace Gago was part of the young Blues front row that held their own in this year’s competition. She is the bolter in this pack alongside Kate Henwood.
Not since Karl Tu'inukuafe have we seen such a rapid ascension for a prop. Henwood is a long serving and respected member the Bay of Plenty rugby scene. She is also a mum of three. Called up last minute as injury cover, Henwood beat off other Black Fern capped front rowers to make the Manawa’s loosehead jersey her own. The fairytale continues with this contract and serves as a reminder that it’s never too late to take advantage of the opportunities life throws your way.
It’s 57 days until the Black Ferns travel to Brisbane to play their first test of the year. So these new players have 57 chances to make their Black Ferns debut.
Most unlucky under Allan Bunting:
Cheyelle Robins-Reti to my mind is the most surprising name not to feature on a list. She was outstanding for Matatū and can cover a number of positions in the backline. Her rhythm with Renee Holmes was built in the provinces and plays out any time they take the field together. Keep an eye on her in the Farah Palmer Cup, she may yet get a call up.
With you,
Alice