Weekend Herald editorial: Respect and responsibility must guide rugby's attitude to women

The Black Ferns celebrate their win during women's rugby's World Cup. Photo / Photosport

Editorial

We welcome the results of New Zealand Rugby's review of its attitudes to alcohol and women and the goals it has set itself to live up to today's standards of behaviour.

The incidents that gave rise to the Respect and Responsibility Review, in particular the mistreatment of a stripper hired for a Chiefs end-of-season party last year, and All Black Aaron Smith's airport toilet sex incident, are not acceptable. Rugby's bosses would have been mortified when the airport incident was back in the news a few weeks ago, thanks to the woman involved who made public her belief that Smith's Super Rugby team were blaming her for the incident and that Smith had asked for her help to cover it up.

More recently, All Black Jerome Kaino has had to take time out from the squad for "personal reasons" after allegations he'd had an affair came to light when the team was in Sydney for the first Bledisloe Cup test this season. Tawdry as these matters may be, it is necessary they be exposed for the public lessons they provide. The All Blacks management seems to defend its players by saying they are personal issues, not rugby issues, but they appear out of touch.

The report it has now received from a group including former All Blacks Michael Jones and Kevin Mealamu and Olympic kayaker Lisa Carrington, under the leadership of Law Society president Kathryn Beck, provides them with a much more accurate reflection of today's moral standards. These people are not hypocrites.

They have found no less than 36 cases of misconduct, some they described as serious. All but three cases involved players, two involved a whole team and one an entire club. The offences included drunkenness, violence, inappropriate sexual conduct, drugs and homophobic language.

Alcohol was a factor in more than half the cases. While the drinking culture is reported to be much less pronounced in the All Blacks and professional rugby than it was in the game's amateur days, NZ Rugby chief Steve Tew says the moderation of drinking habits has probably not percolated down to all clubs. It is time it did.

Tew acknowledges that disgraceful behaviour has had an impact on NZ Rugby's commercial interests. "There's no doubt it has an impact on the view people have of our sport, of our teams and of our brands." The union's commercial sponsors, "have been supportive", he said, "but there is no question they do not want to see the same things going on and on without some action".

Women are an important part of rugby today, not only as partners and girlfriends but as enthusiastic spectators and, by no means least, serious players. The Black Ferns recent triumph in women's rugby's World Cup is proof of that. Rugby's respect for women should go beyond social behaviour to developing the competitions and attracting the television audiences and sponsors that would let good women players earn a living in the game.

But it is off the field that the more urgent problem exists. The Respect and Responsibility review has given NZ Rugby six goals for developing inclusive leadership, integrity, gender equality, respectful pro-active engagement and accountability. The rugby union says it will strive to meet them. We hope they mean it. Improvement will not be easy but we will be watching to see they deliver.