Ruby Tui has confirmed her intentions for 2024.
Following last year’s Rugby World Cup, the Black Ferns star wing took a sabbatical; opting not to play in Super Rugby Aupiki, but providing commentary for the season before heading to the United States to play in the Premier Rugby Sevens competition.
Next year, she will pull on a Chiefs Manawa jersey again.
Tui has agreed to a deal with New Zealand Rugby until the end of 2024 - all but closing the door on a return to the sevens arena for another shot at Olympic glory in Paris next year.
“I played sevens for 10 years and I had two goals; I wanted an Olympic gold medal and I wanted women to be professional in this country if they chose to play rugby. Sevens are doing great. They’re hissing, they’re flourishing, Paris will be amazing, but if I ever get fomo [fear of missing out] I just whip out the gold medal. It’s quite heavy,” Tui said.
“I’m really happy with the strides we made in sevens, but as far as I’m concerned the Black Ferns have just gone pro so there are a lot of steps in 15s. Fifteens is our national sport here in New Zealand keep in mind, and I know [Black Ferns coach] Allan Bunting, we had lots of conversations [around] what do we do now, what do we do next, and 15s - the Black Ferns, Super Rugby Aupiki in New Zealand – everywhere around the world, that’s where the growth is now, that’s where the support and resources need to be thrown into, and that’s why I’m here.”
Tui has consistently spoken about wanting to grow the game and said that was a major part of the conversations she had that saw her re-sign with the Chiefs, noting Chiefs Manawa coach Crystal Kaua had been “putting in the hours on the phone”.
In 2024, Super Rugby Aupiki will be an expanded competition with a home-and-away format before a final, a longer pre-season training programme and player payments increasing. The season will cover seven weeks in total – an increase on the five-week competition of 2023. Each club will also contract 30 players – two more than last season.
While she was happy to return to the Manawa team for 2024, Tui was non-committal beyond that timeframe.
Tui made an immediate impact when she returned to the Black Ferns late this year – named in World Rugby’s team of the year despite playing just three tests – and while the next World Cup lays just beyond the horizon in 2025, Tui said there were some things she still wanted to make sure of before signing beyond next year.
“I had many honest conversations with Allan Bunting and I’m lucky I’ve got that history with him. I can be honest with him, ask if he’s doing this, what’s happening here, that kind of thing. Every contract that I sign, I make sure I do my due diligence and make sure things are happening the way they could be,” Tui said.
“You can imagine some of the conversations I had to have before I came back to New Zealand Rugby. There were a lot of them, they were long, and I’m just trying to make sure everybody is doing what they can. I’ve got to keep up with everybody as well, so I’ll do my due diligence both physically and focus on myself, make sure I’m up to par, then make sure those who say they’re going to support us are actually supporting us.
“I’m not saying give me more money. I hope people don’t take this the wrong way because I’m not saying that. I’m saying are you resourcing us? Are you supporting our competitions? Are you making us feel like when we walk in this building we’re a part of your team? That’s what I really want to make sure everybody’s doing, then we can chat about 2025.”