The review into the state of the Black Ferns’ rugby structures has now been published. It takes a long detailed look at every aspect of the current situation and how it has come about.
The review committee makes plain that it is New Zealand Rugby (NZR) that will decide what action to take about its 26 recommendations.
At this early stage I can bring to light only one or two of the matters arising from this important document.
The committee interviewed 52 people. They categorise some of the points made to them:
Culturally insensitive comments;
Poor communication and inconsistent feedback;
Allegations of ‘favouritism’;
‘Body shaming’ issues for some players;
Lack of good recruitment, induction and ongoing support for both management and players.
They emphasise that it wasn’t only players who felt the lack of a proper grounding in what it takes to belong to a high performance group; members of the management too felt its lack in the fields to which they were appointed.
These and other faults led to grave shortcomings experienced on the Northern Tour of autumn 2021.
One interviewee said: ‘Not everyone […] is paddling in the same direction’.
The committee commented: ‘This may be partly a result of the very recent move from amateur to professional arrangements for women’s rugby in NZ (and the fact that until 2021, the Black Ferns came under Community Sport at NZR, not High Performance), but there needs to be greater ownership and accountability (by players and Management) for meeting high performance standards in all areas on and off the field.
The values, strategy, policies and people operating inside the Black Ferns environment are not always clearly aligned with high performance practices.’
The review goes into detail about failings in management structures. In one aspect it mirrors a problem at player level, ethnicity balance; in another gender balance: there is a notable lack of female administrators (especially on the NZR executive board) and coaches.
Of the players in the touring squad about 50% were Māori and about 25% Pasifika. All the management were Pākehā, that is New Zealanders of European descent. Without sufficient training and understanding of cultural differences, the management was likely to encounter problems it would have difficulty in solving.
And the criticisms came:
‘One minute I was being chased to come back, and the next minute I felt like I didn’t exist’
‘The challenge is selecting players and communicating those selections earlier’
‘The players’ mental resilience is not being prioritised’
‘I felt like a ghost all my years’
‘There needs to be selection of the best players, rather than being based on favouritism’
These anonymous statements sound very similar to Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate’s Instagram post that was a trigger for the review itself.
The review comments: ‘Almost all players reported examples of inconsistent (or at times non-existent) communications from Management, and perceived a sense of discomfort from Management when dealing with the need to have ‘hard’ conversations with players.’
A few more points raised under this heading;
The Black Ferns’ coaching and management structures need to support a high-performance culture.
‘Management are not equipped to deal with off-field player issues’.
Poor recruitment processes by NZR have meant that many of the coaches and management were appointed without a fair or contestable process (often being
‘shoulder tapped’) and this leads to questions about ‘how they got the job’.
Many of the Black Ferns management claimed professional development was lacking.
NZR has accepted all the 26 recommendations. It now remains for the executive board to discuss all the matters raised and decide on the appropriate actions.
