Want to know why women's and secondary school girls' rugby is growing so fast? Values, says quadruple international Kristina Sue.
Participation in schoolgirls' rugby has increased by 84 per cent in the last five years and few need to be told about the influence of the world-beating exploits of the Black Ferns and the Black Ferns 7s. Sue, a former member of both those teams, plus a New Zealand representative at touch rugby and rugby league, mentions another factor: ethos.
"Better people make better players" is a refrain being heard up and down the land in schools and on rugby fields everywhere. It's part of a sea change in our schools where winning doesn't just mean on the field but also in the game of life, a move backed by Jaguar Land Rover NZ, sponsors of many school First XV teams around the country.
It's certainly a mainstay of rugby life at Manukura, a special character school in Palmerston North based around kaupapa Maori. It includes girls from around the country – including the East Coast, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Wellington and more – and rugby is not just a sport but an educational tool.
Sue, a teacher and head of the girls' rugby programme (as well as a specialist subject tutor for Massey University), came to Manukura with the girls' programme so much in its infancy that their first foray into the national 15-a-side rugby tournament involved just 18 players. Many had never played rugby before and were, she says, pretty much "making up the numbers".
That didn't stop them getting into the top four – and into the final against dominant Hamilton Girls' High School. Since then, Manukura rugby teams have scaled new heights with Black Ferns legend and World Rugby Hall of fame inductee Anna Richards describing them as: "Manukura is now considered a powerhouse school for girls' rugby in New Zealand".
It's all a long way from the 2015 inauguration of the girls' rugby programme when they had only 12 girls to play in a 10-a-side competition. Now, Sue says they are at capacity with 30 – and a waiting list, their sevens team ranked second in New Zealand and the 15-a-side team third.
More players are being selected for provincial rugby while still at school, with Sue having the unusual recent experience of being the starting halfback for the Manawatu Cyclones – replaced later in the game by one of her students, Lucy Brown. Meanwhile St Mary's College player Dhys Faleafaga earned a Black Ferns contract while still at school.
While such success is admirable, Sue says that is only one of the goals of the rugby programme at Manukura: "It really is about instilling values. Nathan [Durie] and Yvette [McCausland-Durie] started this school with a vision, basing it on certain values. It's about tikanga [moral judgements based on Maori practices and the right way of doing things].
"Humility is at the heart of it and, just as an example, we place a lot of importance on respect – for referees, administrators, opposition players. At the end of every match they run – it is just about a race to get there – to thank the ref. They collect the flags…it's all part of the ethos. "
The Duries' vision for the school and emphasis on the cultural side of life means that rugby is viewed as "more than a game", she says, breaking new ground by helping their young women develop a sense of belonging and confidence.
"It's values-driven; rugby is used as a way to underline that Manukura ethos – and our girls take it very seriously."
That's where "better people make better rugby players" comes in – with a strong emphasis on leadership and developing players with educational goals as well as rugby goals, especially as anyone who plays rugby knows careers can be brief.
"The other day, we were short of a full squad and someone asked why. It was because performance and behaviour at school hadn't been so good. Those involved hadn't met our standards – and they were stood down. It hurts; they love playing sport and being role models.
"That's the advantage of being a teacher as well as a coach – we can always check on them and make sure they are hitting their goals."
Sue is currently on maternity leave with three-month-old daughter Makereti, with fellow Black Ferns Janna Vaughn and Riharna Ferris helping to coach – and Sue says they too have put their stamp on Manukura's rugby programme.
She says her role in developing the girls' programme at Manukura involved bringing in specialist coaches in various aspects of the game and "marketing" – starting a Facebook page, posting team selections, printing flyers, game reviews and other methods of making the sport "a big production".
"That's why women's rugby has taken off," she says. "It's been exposure and gaining credibility."