The latest tug of war features women in the game. Much is made of the missteps of union, with a failure to capitalise on momentum generated by a home world cup and a domestic competition unworthy of capturing off-season sevens stars.
The lure of league though is not just a case of union stumbling. It’s the considered steps they are taking that is securing league’s advantage.
It starts in the boardroom. While rugby union has been stubborn to embrace governance as diverse as its participants, the same cannot be said of rugby league. The sport had no trouble meeting the Government’s gender quota and its leadership is not dominated by Pākehā directors. They are not embroiled in the multipart saga which is the union reviews. Instead, their energy is dedicated to growing the game.
The green shoots of their efforts are showing in other areas of leadership too.
This season, the Akarana Falcons boast an all-women coaching team in their provincial competition. This follows the Wellington Orcas, who did the same last year. Meanwhile, in union our women coaching stats are falling. With four of our 13 provinces not featuring a single woman in their coaching set up this season and our Super Rugby Aupiki head coaches dropping from three women to just one next year.
League’s history is one of challenging the incumbent which sets it up well to compete amongst the growing list of options for our women and girls. Its offering is more agile, acknowledging that our young athletes will want to try their hand at many different sports before making a commitment to pursue higher honours.
Speaking at an Under 16 tournament last year, Wellington Orca’s captain, Luca-Bella Ngatuere-Ongley, articulated this best when she said: “We’ve been actually pressured to choose and been made to feel like the decision to play rugby league was a stink one”.
That has to be the fastest way to turn talent off. That arrogance and lack of flexibility doesn’t work for anyone, but particularly not our women.
This is where, despite a disparate contrast in resources available to the two codes, league has an advantage.
What they lack in flash kits and training facilities, they make up in their wealth of culture. It’s one that innately reflects those that play it. While union has made much commercial gain from Māori culture, it still has a confused relationship with our indigenous population. This tension has been exposed by women in the game.
First as part of the events that kicked off the Black Ferns Environmental Review and then more recently in the furor surrounding the Hurricanes Poua haka.
Wāhine Māori in rugby are still waiting for any suggestion that they may get a Māori Black Ferns team. Meanwhile in July this year, over one weekend 47 girls teams played in a tournament that brought together over 600 Māori players.
From here an under 13 and under 14 Aotearoa Māori team was selected. This is just the start for these players as they have the Māori All Stars team to aspire to.
Those All Stars of course are plucked from the primary place of investment.
Rather than union’s trickle down approach with the largest player investment going into Black Ferns, league is creating a solid launchpad.
They aren’t growing individual talent tall, they are growing the talent pool wide - hoovering up all the oval balls’ biggest names in the process.
Without this step on the ladder, one struggles to imagine the same conversion rate of Black Ferns Sevens stars to Kiwi Ferns caps.
It’s about time union stopped treating league as a place people fail into. Instead they must take take heed of the wins that are coming across the board for the 13-player code. Rugby league has always zigged to rugby unions zag. The difference in approach may yet reveal the answers for all women in rugby.
