WXV year one
Dare I say it was good start?
One of my most hated sporting phrases is “It’s a good start”. It’s wielded all too frequently to cover shortcomings in planning and delivery of key moments for women’s sport. Tied to this phrase is the part left unsaid, that any investment or attention given to us needs to be met with unending gratitude.
I’ve heard it a lot in the last couple of weeks in relation to the launch of WXV. But for the first time in my life I am inclined to agree with the sentiment.
It is true that the tournament has a confusing format. So much so that I am still trying to confirm what the results mean for the distribution of teams next year. WXV also had to fight for airtime in a shallow pool of rugby punditry all focused on the well established audience of the men’s World Cup. The marketing on the ground here in New Zealand was overly reliant on traditional channels which have failed in recent years to even turn out men to men’s rugby and so struggled with this assignment.
But despite all that, it was a good start.
It was a good start because at its heart, this tournament was about development. And WXV is already delivering for the nations involved. What WXV has given us is the one thing which is the most important, most obvious and until now, seemingly the most impossible - more games of international women’s rugby.
Each year, we now have a qualifier tournament (PAC Four, Six Nations, Oceania Championship etc) and then the WXV tournament to look forward to. This has meant suddenly 18 nations can forget hustling for fixtures and can instead expend their resources preparing for them. This has also put a rocket up the planning in the domestic rugby scene. Each country required to build depth to cover this extended international schedule.
Numbered are the days of open trials to assemble a throw together team, in the hope of pulling off World Cup qualification. WXV now lays a clear pathway for proper programming, allowing us to move beyond talent identification into development.
It is a longtime I have felt this much hope in women’s rugby. But such feeling is not unfounded and could be seen all over the tiers during the last month.
One of the best examples of this hope was the tournament Australia just played. For a long time, our sisters over the ditch had a guaranteed international schedule of losses each year to New Zealand. Tough going for any side to build off or show off what they can do.
Covid prevented them from playing any international rugby in 2020 and 2021. Not the case for the Wallabies though, the men played 20 games over this period. So it was a case of allocation of resources as much as it was a global pandemic that stopped them from taking the pitch. Finally in 2022, the Pacific Four series arrived and the Aussies fought to three close loses ahead of the World Cup.
There we determined the Wallaroos like a card more than anything else. Collecting seven in their four games, they played themselves off the paddock. Again, we were left wondering just what Aussie was truly capable of.
Enter WXV and that famous night down in Dunedin. Not since 2010 has Australia beaten France. That being in the third and fourth play off at the World Cup. But something finally clicked for the Wallaroos and as much as we could speculate as to all the moving parts, I truly believe it was as simple as having had just enough time together to get their process right.
And that, right there is what makes WXV a success. It’s the gift of time we are finally giving our players. In camp, in competition and on the pitch, to get their rugby right.
So let’s hold on to that purpose, that good start. And then figure out how to make the next chapter even better!
With you,
Alice
PS. Once I have my head clear on who is moving where for WXV next year, I’ll let you know.
I believe now no Six Nation team will play in WXV3 but I need to confirm whether a playoff will still happen between the European Championship team and a Six Nations team or no.
That was lots of words so I promise to give my explanation alongside visuals next time.