I interviewed a couple of the Black Ferns on telly when they returned last year from the world cup. They had arrived that afternoon on an Emirates flight and had stayed up for us that night. They were shattered.
I, perhaps foolishly and certainly naively, asked if they hadn't managed to get any sleep on the plane. They replied how hard it was down the back, and they had come on the non-stop Dubai leg: 17 hours. I was genuinely in shock that a world champion side, in a sport like rugby, in a country like New Zealand, was flying at the back of the plane.
No, they didn't get paid, we all knew that. And we broadly all knew the reasons why. But I had assumed, obviously naively, that they would get some expenses covered, a match or tournament fee, and a proper seat on a plane. No such luck.
So the deal announced by NZ Rugby is years overdue, and more than well deserved, and one can only hope leads to a genuine aspiration by an increasing number of young people who will see rugby as a proper future and means of making a living.
Mind you, one of the quirks of the overall argument is that sports are held back in terms of success and performance by them remaining amateur. Recruitment becomes an issue, retention of talent and so on. And yet the Black Ferns enter the professional age, as the best there is. But here's a really interesting thing, surely this is as good a case for pay equity as you will ever see.