Alice Soper: Plea to NZ Rugby after All Blacks' Women's Day tweet

All Black Sevu Reece with Ian Foster. Photo / Photosport

OPINION:

I'm going to have to be honest with you, I didn't even see the All Blacks' social media post on International Women's Day because I do not follow their accounts. As a fan of the women's game, I instead ate up the tributes on the Black Ferns page, celebrations of the women that inspire them to be the best they can be. So the comedown to these warm fuzzies waited until this morning, the day after International Women's Day, when I awoke to the notifications of this misstep.

It was very "thanks to the ladies in the kitchen" of them. Saying the quiet part aloud, that women in this game are valued namely because of their service to men. Playing the offscreen characters in the All Blacks' movie, women progress the plot without being seen or heard. That's before we even get into the faces chosen to represent this gratitude.

I still remember the press conference where Steve Hansen clumsily named domestic violence as "not a gender thing" despite all statistics in Aotearoa pointing to the contrary. So the choice of Sevu Reece, as one of the hero images in the All Blacks' IWD social post, is painful to all of us who have experienced intimate partner violence. If New Zealand Rugby truly wishes to support Reece's rehabilitation they should do better by him too, rather than opening up these wounds by using him as the face of women's issues.

What disappoints me further is that they have plenty of examples of more authentic allyship to draw from. Ardie Savea is a regular on the sidelines of women's club matches in Wellington and was a former coach of the St Mary's College girls rugby team. Akira and Rieko Ioane's mum, former-Black Fern Sandra Ioane (nee Wihongi), surely played some influence in her sons' development as rugby players. This could have been a chance to highlight the All Blacks' excitement to support the Black Ferns' Rugby World Cup campaign here on home soil later this year. Or who knows, perhaps you could have handed over your platform for the day for a Black Ferns' takeover.

Wellington rugby player Alice Soper has been one of the strongest voices for women's rugby in New Zealand. Photo / Getty Images

Some may argue that the All Blacks are not New Zealand Rugby and it is true that the New Zealand Rugby page posted a better offering to mark the occasion. However, this argument is not one reflected in the way they carry themselves. New Zealand Rugby has spent too long going all in on the All Blacks to try and distance themselves now. This is reflected in the follower numbers, millions for All Blacks versus thousands for New Zealand Rugby, meaning that one voice speaks the loudest for the national game. That these choruses of rugby voices were not singing from the same song sheet speaks to perhaps a broader issue of organisational structure.

So as the comments rolled in and the collective sense of outrage built, I felt two things: firstly, none of this is surprising given this sport is still reckoning with its relationship with women and, secondly, I told you so. Honestly, Google me, I've said it enough times now. The biggest issue facing women's rugby is the sexist attitudes of those that run the game. People react with dismay to this comment, "it's 2022!" they declare as if the calendar dates alone are enough to change the traditions upon which rugby was built.

The reality is that this tribute would have been reviewed by more than one pair of eyes before they hit post — and none of them saw an issue with it. That is because they still do not really see us or our contribution to New Zealand's national game. We are still largely a box to be ticked, a squeaky wheel to be greased rather than a proud part of our past and a crucial part of our game's future.

International Women's Day is always a bit performative, it's just unfortunate for New Zealand Rugby that they haven't learnt the script. Or perhaps more tellingly that one actor, the Black Ferns, is delivering a stellar performance only to be let down by their leading man, the All Blacks. But the curtain has fallen, this day is behind us, now for the other 364. My recommendation for those days is the same as every other day, listen to those you are trying to speak to and you might end up communicating your true intent.