Having the Black Ferns and All Blacks matches overlap has once again resulted in NZR being accused of not caring about the women's game, Jamie Wall writes. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
Comment - Control the narrative. That's the lesson that should be taken out of a week of often baffling rugby news, which started with two games being on TV at the same time and carried on to a bunch of schools not wanting to be on TV at all.
The furore that followed the Black Ferns/All Blacks scheduling, which will see both tests against Wales and Japan respectively overlap one another, followed a now predictable narrative.
Confusion, followed by anger, followed by everyone just having a pop at New Zealand Rugby for once again giving off the impression that they don't care about the women's game.
While scrutiny is warranted, because NZR really should have known better and even admitted as much, the fact is no one else noticed the impending clash of both national sides either - at least until the somewhat confusing and convoluted Rugby World Cup quarter-final format became clear (for reference it's almost the same way the Super Rugby conference system used to work, which was famously not noted for being comprehensible).
NZR Statement: Black Ferns and All Blacks schedule clash. pic.twitter.com/emJpeooptg
— New Zealand Rugby (@NZRugby) October 26, 2022
But really, this was always going to happen. World Rugby controls the Rugby World Cup kickoff times and the Japanese Rugby Union control its matches.
The All Blacks were always going to play their test against Japan in the afternoon, Tokyo time, because the national baseball league finals are on in the evening. That's a not so insignificant event given that Game Six of the series between the Yakult Swallows and Orix Buffaloes is taking place next door to where the rugby test is being played, right after it is scheduled to finish.
The All Blacks are playing in the afternoon because a huge baseball game is also taking place in Tokyo the same day. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
This could have been explained by NZR, but that would mean admitting that they aren't the biggest deal in Tokyo this weekend - which would go against pretty much every brand guideline they have over the golden egg laying goose that is the All Blacks.
And it wouldn't even be the first time this year, after they were shunted to Thursday night in Melbourne thanks to the NRL and AFL finals taking precedence on that weekend.
Meanwhile, the fuss has somewhat put a negative air around the otherwise feel-good (so far at least) Black Ferns' campaign. They will thrash Wales for the second time in a fortnight this weekend, hopefully in front of another big Whangārei crowd, but the situation they find themselves in is the logical next step in the journey of professionalism for our female elite players.
Whenever they play, they are competing against something for the attention of an audience, whether that be the All Blacks or simply someone's desire to turn off the TV and go for a walk.
As compelling a story as the Black Ferns are, they're not owed a viewership. The good thing is that they all seem to understand that and have done a great job engaging with the public throughout the tournament so far, in a season that's seen them play more home tests than ever before.
Theresa Fitzpatrick of the Black Ferns with fans after a RWC match. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Of course, the issue has seen it become the outrage of the week topic on Twitter, one which the Black Ferns are becoming unfortunately accustomed to.
The amount of wagon-hitching on the match timings has been breathtaking, even by Twitter standards, with one Minister even suggesting that NZR look to FIFA for tips on how to run things. Which is a pretty bold statement, given where this year's Football World Cup is being held and the circumstances of how it got there.
I’ll be supporting our @BlackFerns this weekend in Whangarei. But @NZRugby, this clash was avoidable, and frankly, disgraceful. For tips on how to plan a world standard womens World Cup, suggest you take some tips from @FIFAWorldCup who set the standard last w/e w their draw. pic.twitter.com/rlpHosgXuO
— Kiri Allan (@KiriAllan) October 26, 2022
At the other end of the scale, the Auckland 1A secondary school competition has decided that viewership isn't something they want by scrapping game broadcasts, supposedly to combat "negative impacts of unnecessary hype".
Which is absurd, really, given that it's the schools themselves that have created the environment of unnecessary hype themselves. Scholarships, preferential treatment of student athletes, pumping reported millions of dollars into First XV programmes all happens before anyone even sets up a camera.
Expecting footage from phones not to make it to social media is fairytale stuff, anyway.
Plenty has been said about the college rugby scene and the wannabe version of the NCAA that has developed in Auckland, but it has to be said that at its elite level it does provide NZR with a very important service: producing players to an almost professional standard once they leave.
It's unlikely this agreement will change any time soon but hiding it away from plain sight isn't going to change anyone's perceptions about the rather unsavoury ways that service is provided.
