A. Scotland
In the aftermath of the RWC the SRU has announced the names of 37 players to receive new contracts.
On the surface this is excellent news. The board has its eyes set firmly on the 2029 RWC. But it has meant some cruel choices.
Of the 33 players to appear at the RWC no fewer than twelve have not found continued favour, including Jade Konkel, Caity Mattinson and Lisa Cockburn, who have all retired from the test arena.
Sad to say, the whole process has been marred by the way the news was imparted.
Rachel Malcolm, the captain, complained pre-RWC about uncertainties over contracts. Konkel made headlines about the way the bad news was imparted to her.
Gemma Fay is the newly elevated MD of Scottish women’s rugby; David Nucifora, late of the IRFU but himself Australian, said he was happy with the way the decisions were made. Ho, hum.
We must then wonder whether the players are too fussy, too sensitive, or whether yet another national board is proving itself incapable of handling matters more capably.
These are one-year contracts (aka “financial support”). The question arises: and what next, if/when a contract is terminated? There we have the dilemma of professionalisation in a nutshell. We know the length of the contracts but not of course their size or terms.
The 37 divide up like this: eleven are home-based; two, Chloe Rollie and Rachel McLachlan, are in France; the rest in the PWR.
It’s good to see a younger generation of seven players offered “Development Support”.
What we don’t know is how much funding SRU can afford. Fay and Nucifora will have all the answers to the questions still being posed.
B. Bunting sacked
To the other side of the globe, and a very different rugby background.
As was widely forecast, the DoR of the Black Ferns, Allan Bunting, has not had his contract renewed. NZR is actively seeking a replacement.
For well over a century New Zealand/Aotearoa rugby has ruled the world, sharing the glory only with the men’s Springboks team.
But across the past three years (some would claim much longer) the Black Ferns have been on the slide. Sir Wayne Smith was helicoptered in to ensure the home team scraped another trophy at Eden Park. Since then the BFs have lost to Canada, England, France and Ireland.
The writing was on the wall when the Maple Leafs hammered them in that memorable semi-final at Bristol. Even a decisive defeat of France for the bronze medal couldn’t save Bunting.
The chosen newcomer will face the same unsolved problems; chief among many others the rival attractions of the NRLW in Australia and the ongoing shortage of quality players, especially up front. They are one of many nations who needed to co-opt 7s players.
Kiwis still expect their rugby players to walk off with every major title going.
We’ll see how achievable that goal remains.
C. France
We’ve known about France’s change of command for some time. They, like the Black Ferns, were the losing semi-finalists in England. Another ambition forestalled.
Will it be the same story in 2029?
We can’t even be sure the newly installed selector will still be in place then. It’s a two-year contract, extendable for the remaining two.
What will be the criterion for retention? It may well be a first win over England since 2018, but how likely is that? The newcomer will have a minimum of two chances to gain that elusive victory.
We’ll know the name of the lucky applicant before the end of November: he or she will be in action at Marcoussis on 5 January. Some fine names have been suggested, among them Caroline Sune, who runs the U20s, and Francois Ratier, ex-head coach of Canada.
More than one optimistic supporter has called for Kevin Rouet to return home. If such wishful thinking were fulfilled, that really would be news! I doubt Rugby Canada will need to clap him in irons to prevent his departure.
So we’ll have two new bosses in charge of leading nations as 2026 breaks.
Tailpiece
Question: what are the chances of either of them being a woman?
It’s ironic that news breaks in England of a combined RFU/PWR initiative to discover why so few women occupy leading coaching positions.
They could do worse than ask Charlie Hayter and his colleagues at HQ why they didn’t choose a woman to succeed Simon Middleton as boss of the Red Roses. Instead they picked a man, a Kiwi, unfamiliar with women’s rugby, older than Middleton and not even available.
Who will be the next woman to be entrusted with running a PWR club?
