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Rugby needs to be the winner at this World Cup, not necessarily New Zealand

(Photo by Greg Bowker/Getty Images)

To all intents and purposes this is the first female Rugby World Cup.

Yes, I know this tournament has been staged since 1991, but I’d argue this is the first time it’s been given this much prominence.

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Are we being force fed it a little? Are we being told that, like eating our greens, it’s good for us and we must like it? Probably.

As much as a celebration of rugby, this 2021 Rugby World Cup feels like a political rally.

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Points scoring is far from restricted to the playing field, with few media outlets missing the opportunity to tell us how tremendous everything is.

Let’s let the tournament breathe first. Let’s get a few more games under our belts, let’s get to the knockout rounds and then let’s evaluate the footy.

Sport needs context and this event doesn’t have any yet. That’s why this tournament is so important.

One of the better rugby series I’ve seen was the All Blacks against the Springboks in 1996.

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As a standalone spectacle, it was outstanding. But what makes it linger in the memory is the context.

New Zealand had never won a series in South Africa and that lent a critical, intangible element to the action.

Many fans don’t have a relationship with the women’s Rugby World Cup. For some, this will be their first exposure to it.

It’s not unlike 1987 in that sense.

That men’s world cup was something of a novelty. There were teams and players we hadn’t seen before. There was pressure on players, but not of an historical nature.

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That context was created in 1987 and has elevated every iteration of that tournament since.

I suspect many New Zealanders are following this women’s world cup in piecemeal fashion.

Not all of us subscribe to the streaming service that is televising the tournament and there’s plenty of us who don’t live anywhere near Auckland and Whangarei.

That doesn’t help sell the product, I’m afraid.

The 1987 Rugby World Cup worked because matches were played across the length and breadth of the country. Games were broadcast free-to-air and, wherever we lived, we were all able to engage with the teams and the tournament.

I’m not wed to this idea, either, that the Black Ferns need to win this world cup. In fact, it may help build bigger rivalries and more future interest, if they don’t.

Rugby needs to be the winner here, not necessarily New Zealand.

I’m hugely impressed by England, for instance, and look forward to this event becoming the springboard for annual series between themselves and the Black Ferns.

I’ve had my fill of watching the Wallaroos and want New Zealand Rugby to do more to diversify the Black Ferns’ schedule.

That’s what this tournament can do. It can create the public demand for England and France and Canada to tour these shores. It can make household names and heroines of players from multiple teams.

But let’s let the rugby itself do that. Let’s not tell New Zealanders they must watch and they must care.

That turns people off and it expresses a lack of confidence in the product to win hearts and minds.

The future of sport is female and I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds.

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Comments

3 Comments
R
Ric 750 days ago

I love it! It is rugby played at the ground level... run, pass, run again... get it in tight and then go wide... lots of small mistakes that make for excitement when the other team snaffles the pill and flings it inside to the chargers...

I want my mens rugby to get out of the habit of kicking anything that they get and hoping for the mistake at the other end... rugby is meant for running and the women are doing it in almost all the games I have watched...

Run, draw the defense and then pass the ball to the lady who is trailing... more please!

M
Mark 752 days ago

Another well thought through article. My anecdotal observations of my staunch rugby friends, ranging from younger and current club players through to pensioners have little or no real interest in this tournament, apart from maybe seeing some highlight replays or reading results if they can be bothered. That is just a fact in my wider circle, no matter how much effort is being put into promoting the competition. So what is the real cause of this lack of connection?

w
wiki 752 days ago

The Black Ferns will win this World Cup ! ! !

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Easy_Duzz-it 33 minutes ago
Are the All Blacks doomed to a 70% flatline?

The world never caught up the All Blacks just went backwards . After 2015 they had a plan to build the team around 2 players . Sam Cane and Beauden Barrett , Cane was hailed as the next Mccaw and Barrett the next carter . Unfortunately Cane sustained too many injures and Barrett despite being a great ball runner didn't have a high enough conversion rate or the game management skills to control the team and the game . Then to make matters worst , the selections were so bad year after year the forward pack became shockingly weak .

New Zealand had so much talent wasted betwen 2016 - 2023 . Laumape , elliot dixon , ben tamefuna , pita gus , ben lam , vaea fifita and so many other in form players that never got a look or the time to develop into great All Blacks .


Then you have the dual playmaker system that never worked , but they kept using it . why ? cause some men cant admit when they're wrong . thats the All Blacks between 2016-2023 . wrong coaches with the wrong vision , going in the wrong direction . now it appears the world caught up . but like I said the world never caught up . then you add the obvious flawed referee calls that happen to go against us more often then for us now . the worst of which that never gets called is when the opposition use rush defence but have players offside . this has been going for years , but who cares ? .


anyway its almost 10 and i need to get some shut eye .

Go the might All Blacks !!!!

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