Emma Jensen relishing the rise of the Black Ferns

The Black Ferns have taken a long road to get the country behind them, says Emma Jensen. Photo / NZME

By Hamish Bidwell

Emma Jensen once feared there would be no Black Ferns.

For whatever reason, the team felt they were looked upon as a luxury, rather than a necessity.

Far from being valued by New Zealand Rugby and fans around the country, the Black Ferns believed they were largely an irrelevance.

Now we're on the cusp of finding out if they're more popular than the mighty All Blacks.

A scheduling issue, that many people feel could have been avoided, has now meant the teams effectively go head-to-head on Saturday, with the All Blacks meeting Japan in Tokyo and the Black Ferns playing a Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Wales in Whangarei.

"I'd be interested to know the figures on the All Blacks-Black Ferns game[s]. I'm certainly going to be recording the All Blacks and watching the Black Ferns live and it'll be interesting to see the figures on that," Jensen said.

Former Black Fern Emma Jensen pictured at Hastings Girls' High School. Photo / Neil Reid

A three-time Rugby World Cup winner, Jensen is amazed by the progress women's rugby has made and the way her successors have been embraced.

"You only have to look at the Black Ferns game in Whangārei [against Scotland] and that was a sellout. It's unheard of for New Zealand supporters to get behind the girls' game in that way."

Jensen knows that only too well.

For years the team played in virtual obscurity, contesting World Cups away from home and rarely even playing a test match on these shores.

"People didn't know that we'd won three World Cups in a row. They only really picked up on the one that we lost in 2014 , which was unfortunate," Jensen said.

"We were always fighting to keep women's rugby alive in the early days, because there was a lot of pressure on us to perform and win World Cups so that the next generation had something to look forward to.

"There was a lot of talk about canning the New Zealand team, because if they didn't perform there was no point putting money into it. We had to deal with all those sorts of things as well."

It's a far cry from the modern day, where the players are all paid and many have become household names.

Jensen coaches the Hastings Girls' High School 1st XV and has seen first-hand how a rise in the Black Ferns' profile has brought more girls to the game.

"It's getting more and more media focus, but the beauty is the career paths that are now on offer. I've got girls here for whom rugby is now their thing and it would be awesome to just see them go through as rugby players," she said.

"I wish I was probably 10, 15 years younger and had these opportunities. But I'm thankful for my career, but also the way it's panned out for our current crop of rugby girls.

"It's just so exciting for me to see the young talent come through."