Black Ferns Chelsea Bremner and Joanah Ngan-Woo alongside assistant coach Whitney Hansen reflect on the lessons learnt after a tough battle with Australia. Video / NZ Herald / Photosport
OPINION:
World Rugby did exactly the right thing in 2020 when it renamed all its global tournaments to make them gender neutral.
But perhaps, after the first weekend of the 2021 World Cup, women everywhere should be looking for a means by which they can distance their tournament from themale equivalent.
The gender definition was removed to create brand equality across tournaments, to ensure that women's tournaments were not promoted as an inferior version of the longer established men's competitions.
But while the intent of this rebranding to put women on an equal footing was right, in actuality, it may have sold them short, lumped them in with established male tournaments with which they share little in terms of ethos, culture and attitudes.
In just one weekend, all 12 participating nations have established that unlike the male tournament, their core values have not been corrupted and that they have not been infected with the cynicism pervades in the male game.
Across the opening games, there was the odd individual indiscretion – the occasional needlessly dumb act – but none of the systematic desire to push each and every boundary the way there is in the male game.
No one appeared to have this somewhat tedious attitude of seeing what they could get away with, and it's amazing the difference when both teams consistently defend legally and with a wider desire to play within the rules.
Black Ferns winger Ruby Tui in action against Australia. Photo / Photosport
This doesn't happen much in the men's game. In fact, it doesn't really happen at all as its considered good strategic sense for teams to take the attitude of seeing what they can get away with.
How many All Blacks tests are dominated by the referee because both teams bring him into the game by deliberately defending in front of the offside line, coming in at the side of a ruck or blocking a kick chaser just to see what the officials will and won't pick up?
The Black Ferns and Wallaroos had no interest in forcing the referee to interpret rather than apply the law and what we got as a result was space to exploit and a flowing contest.
What we also got without that pervading cynicism, were athletes with a defined and overt gratitude to be where they were, and a sense they respected the game too much to sully it with petty acts of cheating.
No one wanted to indulge in this new business of belittling opponents, tapping them on the head whenever they make a mistake, which is now commonplace the men's game.
The games were played in a spirit rugby should be played, maybe how it used to be played by men before they became so obsessed by winning any way, rather than the right way.
And what this first weekend of World Cup action has done, is blow apart this myth that women's rugby is not a sellable product and is destined to forever sit as a cost on the balance sheet.
Fans celebrate a try during the Rugby World Cup match between New Zealand and Australia at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
This is an untruth peddled by ultra conservative administrators who seemingly have zero imagination or vision and are fixed on this idea that women's rugby of today will be women's rugby of tomorrow.
It's as wrong as it is frustrating as the 2021 World Cup is unrecognisable to the first two tournaments in 1991 and 1994 which didn't even have World Rugby sanction or support.
The quality of rugby back then reflected the fact the athletes were mostly funding themselves.
But since the tournament has been owned and operated by World Rugby and more teams have fallen under the auspices of their respective national unions and won greater financial support, the quality of the rugby has exponentially grown, and the evidence is irrefutable that every dollar invested in the women's game has provided a significant return.
The more money that has been pumped in, the more entertaining the product has become, and administrators need to lose their risk-aversion when it comes to women's rugby and be brave enough to trust the evidence to date and believe that if they invest more, the game will return more.
More money will lead to fitter, better conditioned athletes, higher skill-sets, improved coaching and officiating and a greater number of competitive teams.
Women's rugby is a loss maker now, but it won't be forever. There is audience appetite for rugby which still has soul and character.
The way the games are played and the way the athletes conduct themselves is a combination that will attract broadcast and sponsorship investment.
In time the real challenge for women's rugby will be keeping its current identity, its own culture and ethos where the athletes play with respect for the game.
