D'Arcy Waldegrave: Women's rugby - good things take time

Women’s rugby is not unlike the cheese TV commercials. Good things take time.  

Last weekend's Super Rugby Aupiki final between the Blues wāhine and Matatu was a great game to watch. It put an exclamation mark on what was a rollicking tournament. The match reflected the strides the women’s game has taken since the inception of Aupiki. 

The crowd at Eden Park didn’t rock any foundations but the TV viewer numbers were impressive. 405,000 folk tuned in to watch the best female footballers in the country duke it out and match worthy of their eyeballs was rolled out. 

On Thursday night, in atrocious conditions, the Blues laid waste to the Waratahs in the Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final. Again, bugger all in the way of people in the stands (the weather was toxic) and I have no TV numbers, but I’d hazard a guess they would be healthy figures for a Thursday night game that sneaked up on people. Still, it was on, and it was worth a look.  

The women’s game is having a growth spurt, and this needs to be appreciated and fostered as the men’s game has essentially had a multi-generational head start.  

The game is played differently to the men's version, not unlike the cricketing gender split. It’s not better, nor worse, just different. For those hell bent on direct comparison, I have nothing. A frozen and archaic mindset is not worth fighting against, these people can’t or won’t accept the turning wheels of time, good luck to them.  

The top level of domestic women’s rugby is still in an embryonic stage, to judge it based on crowd numbers alone is manifestly unfair, not forgetting how few people turn up to the men’s Super Rugby exchanges on a regular basis.   

With further investment the game will exponentially grow. Let’s not forget that New Zealand rugby’s money, regardless of where it comes from, is not just for the All Blacks. It is for the entire game from the grass roots up. NZR has a responsibility to uphold the development of the game across the board. It’s our national game, not just a platform for the men in black.  

Water the dirt and flowers last for you.   

Good things take time.  

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the All Sport Breakfast podcast with Darcy
Watergrave from News Talks EDB for your Team, Your Sports,
Your show Underway, The All Sport Breakfast with Darcy water
News TALKSB.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Bear with Me. Women's rugby is not unlike the cheese
TV commercials, good things take time. Last weekend's Open Super
Rugby final between the Blues, Woahena and Matatu was It's
a great game to watch. It put an exclamation mark
on what was a rollicking tournament. The match reflected the

(00:43):
strides the women's game has taken since the inception of opik.
The crowd at Eden Park didn't rock any foundations, but
the TV viewer numbers were impressive. Four hundred and five
Thousand's four hundred and five thousands the number I have,
although it might have been slightly low, but aill take
it that many folk tuned in to watch the best

(01:05):
female footballers in the country juke it out and a
match worthy of their eyeballs was rolled out on Thursday
night and atrocious conditions, the Blues laid waste to the
Warratars and the Women's Super Rugby champions finally again. Bargarol
In the way of people in the stands. I mean,
the weather was toxic and I got no TV numbers,

(01:26):
but it has it. I guess that'd be pretty healthy
figures for a Thursday night game that sneaked up on
people didn't it. Still, it was on and it was
absolutely worth the look. There's a couple of superstars in
that side, loving, loving to watch, Braxton Sorenson McGhee being
one of them, and of course the Evergreen Goat. And

(01:48):
if you can't watch her and get a thrill Poorsha
Woodman Wickcliffe, there's something wrong with you. So the women's
game is having a growth. This needs to be appreciated
and fostered. As like the men's game has essentially had
a multi generational head start, the game has played differently
to the men's version, right, not unlike the cricketing gender split.

(02:12):
It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different. For
those hell bent on direct comparison, I've got nothing. A
frozen and archaic mindset is not worth fighting against. These
people can't or won't accept the turning wheels of time,
so good luck to them. I'm not engaging the top
level of domestic women's rugby is still in an embryonic stage.

(02:34):
To judge it based on crowd numbers alone is manifestly unfair,
not forgetting how few people turn up to Men's Super
Rugby exchanges on a regular basis, and that's been gone
for a couple of decades. Right. With further investment, the
game will exponentially grow. Let's not forget that New Zealand
Rugby's money, regardless of where it comes from, is not

(02:56):
just for the All Blacks, It's for the entire game.
From the grassroots up. India has a responsibility to uphold
the development of the game across the board. It's our
national game, not just a platform for the men in
black Water. The dirt and flowers last for you, good things,

(03:16):
take time.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
For more from the All Sport Breakfast with Darcy Watergrave.
Listen live to news talks that be on Saturday mornings,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.