Black Ferns Arihiana Marino-tauhinu, Kendra Cocksedge, Amy Du Plessis & Santo Taumata along with coaches Wayne Smith & Sir Graham Henry reveal both the nerves and excitement ahead of the Rugby World Cup on Saturday. Video / NZ Herald
Elliott Smith runs the rule over the latest in the rugby world, including the latest from the Rugby World Cup that starts tomorrow.
An observation...
There's rightly been questions asked about the Rugby World Cup being limited to two cities, but it's been refreshing to see Auckland doused in marketingfor the tournament over the past fortnight, with plenty of marketing for the tournament itself but also products surrounding it. It's made it feel like a major event.
The electrifying marketing from NZ Rugby, Spark Sport, Adidas and World Rugby that highlights the key players from all teams and their abilities has brought a sense of occasion to the tournament, and one it deserves.
The exception would be Sport NZ's somewhat patronising campaign where they tell us it's "time" to support women's sport. It feels incredibly late to the party and I'm not sure it's going to convince any of those who don't already.
A question...
Imagine if the All Blacks were missing four key players through injury before a World Cup opener? It probably speaks to the extent of knowledge around the women's game, but it feels like the injury absences of Kennedy Simon and Tanya Kalounivale have probably been undersold in the lead-up to tomorrow's match against Australia.
Ayesha Leti-I'iga is a big loss too but it's not bad when you can call on the likes of Ruby Tui to slot in as a replacement, while Alana Bremner has also impressed this year.
Simon is the side's co-captain and reigning women's 15s national player of the year, and Kalounivale has had a strong year at prop since debuting in the mid-year series. It's a squad game and this is partly driven by expectations of a big win over Australia, but their absences have gone under the radar.
Head Coach Wayne Smith (R) poses with Black Fern co-captain Ruahei Demant during the squad announcement for the upcomng Rugby World Cup. Photo / Getty Images.
An explanation...
Without wanting to be a party-pooper, the key task for World Rugby is going to be bringing the rest of the world's teams outside the top three or four along with them for the ride in future editions.
Realistically, there are three teams that can win this event and the pool stages are likely to feature several mismatches even among teams in the top 10 of the world rankings.
Put it this way - the Black Ferns are the biggest outsiders of the opening day triple-header according to the TAB, and they're paying $1.02 head to head against Australia.
While opening day has event status, there's a risk the tournament might plod along outside the big guns until we get to the knockouts.
A prediction...
Men's rugby also had had that issue in their showpiece, but having certain results through group play is not sustainable if World Rugby wants to get this tournament to where it could be. Good news is on the horizon, with the WXV competition poised to get underway next year that could make women's rugby's calendar the envy of the men's with a global calendar feel.
A suggestion...
When the All Blacks/All Blacks XVs squads are named in the coming days I'm scanning for the name Pita Gus Sowakula. His descent has gone from debutant against Ireland at Eden Park to being overlooked when there were twin unavailabilities for the Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne (he suffered an injury playing for Taranaki while they were away, as it was). Sowakula has quickly become the forgotten man of New Zealand rugby, but surely he at least goes away with the All Blacks XV?
