There is no better time than now for a Māori Black Ferns team - Alice Soper

Katelyn Vahaakolo wants to see a Māori Black Ferns versus Pacific Black Ferns three match series. Photo / Getty Images

THREE KEY FACTS

• Black Fern Katelynn Vahaakolo has put her support behind the idea of a Māori Black Ferns team.
• The winger has also suggested a Pacific Black Ferns team to play against the Māori side.
• The Black Ferns head to the United Kingdom to defend their Rugby World Cup title later this year.

It’s an idea which has been all over my social media feed for the last week.

One that has been picked up from time to time, dreamed on, debated over before ultimately being put back on the shelf. The crucial piece that has been missing, to translate this idea into action, is timing.

And as this idea whirls through the consciousness once more, you can’t help but feel the time is finally right. We are now ready for a Māori Black Ferns team.

This latest loop was kicked off by the social media page, Rugby Mashup.

The administrator of the page saw the recent announcement of the Māori All Blacks and XV sides and thought, surely there’s an opportunity to promote a Māori Black Ferns team.

Messaging a couple of the greats of the game, Honey Hireme-Smiler, Shiray Kaka and Victoria Edmonds, they each gave their endorsement of the concept and shared what playing for such a team would mean.

It’s since spread like wildfire across the women’s rugby community.

Past and present players weighing in on selections, discussing potential opposition and making their own pitch for its launch.

Chief amongst them, current Black Ferns wing and 2023 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year, Katelynn Vahaakolo.

Just like her running metres, Vahaakolo is going big. Pitching both a Māori Black Ferns and Pacific Black Ferns side to play a three match series over three weeks.

This series would feature a cultural night for teams to share with each other. Taking the lead from last year’s Aupiki final, Vahaakolo wants this broadcast on TV and simultaneously live streamed on Tiktok. She was also quick to request that those calling the action be ready to confidently tackle the names on the team sheet.

Such an ask may feel audacious but our game needs that this year. Looking at the Black Ferns announced playing schedule for 2025, there are some worrisome gaps.

After the Pacific Four Series being played in May, there is only one confirmed test against Australia in July before we head over to England to defend our Rugby World Cup.

Traditionally, the Farah Palmer Cup hasn’t been moved to accommodate World Cups played overseas. This leaves our World Cup squad with only 10 guaranteed games between Super Rugby Aupiki and our test match schedule ahead of the Black Ferns toughest assignment yet.

Compare this to our successful campaign in 2022, where we had six tests, a Black Ferns trial, Aupiki and the FPC to prepare, and it all starts feeling a little undercooked.

The addition of a Māori Black Ferns team to our high performance ladder just makes sense. It provides another place of development for our player base, one anchored in meaning for players and fans alike.

It provides local and worthy competition for our Black Ferns XV side and an opportunity to re-engage with the Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship in a more meaningful way. Allowing us to support the growth of rugby across the Pacific in a year that sees Fiji and Samoa both featuring in a World Cup for the first time.

It’s not just about the future of the women’s game but about honouring our past.

The path to prominence that our Black Ferns 15s side now enjoys was built through our sevens programme. The same programme that was adopted by figures in Māori Rugby when New Zealand Rugby dipped out in the early 2000s.

Thus the Aotearoa Māori 7s team appeared. Coached and largely funded by Peter Joseph, they dominated the Hong Kong tournament between 2002-2007.

Until such a team officially exists, it will always be dreamed of. Good ideas never die, they simply wait for their moment to be fully realised. So it’s a matter of when, not if a Māori Black Ferns team emerges. With a desperate need for more quality game time in a World Cup year, surely that moment has arrived.