NZR apologises after damning review into Ferns’ culture

Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (front) performing a haka. She says her non-selection was the final...
Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (front) performing a haka. She says her non-selection was the final straw after eight years of being negatively impacted and not feeling valued, other than for cultural aspects she brought to the team. Photo: Getty Images

New Zealand Rugby has apologised for failing to properly support the elite women's game following a damning review into the Black Ferns culture.

Head coach Glenn Moore has, however, been retained to guide the team through its defence of the World Cup in New Zealand later this year.

The findings of the 30-page review into the Black Ferns that includes 26 recommendations were released in Auckland yesterday.

The review was sparked after Black Ferns hooker Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate revealed via social media that she suffered a mental breakdown after alleged critical comments from Moore on last year's end-of-year tour that featured four successive losses to England and France.

Review lead Phillipa Muir, partner at leading law firm Simpson Grierson, outlined how Ngata-Aerengamate broke down on the eve of the third test in Toulouse after not being selected.

Ngata-Aerengamate said her non-selection was the final straw after eight years of being negatively impacted and not feeling valued other than for cultural aspects she brought to the team.

Muir said in the days that followed Ngata-Aerengamate's breakdown she was not properly supported.

Head coach Glenn Moore. Photo: Getty Images
Head coach Glenn Moore. Photo: Getty Images

Among the most damning findings, the Black Ferns review states there is no clear or consistent high-performance vision, practices or mindset while purporting a clear cultural disconnect between players and management.

The review contains allegations of culturally insensitive comments; poor communication and inconsistent feedback; favouritism and ghosting; body shaming issues for some players; and a lack of good recruitment, induction and ongoing support for management and players.

In offering some balance, it does acknowledge players need to build resilience within high performance environments to accept critical feedback and improve from it.

With 75% of the squad from Maori or Pasifika backgrounds, the review underlined the need for greater diversity among the ageing male-dominated management team and a better understanding of how to coach women athletes.

Under the health and wellbeing section, the review states the need to dismantle systems and practices that ‘‘only reflect a Pakeha world view’’.

After conducting 52 interviews alongside former Black Fern Tammi Wilson Uluinayau, Muir confirmed Ngata-Aerengamate, who is not among this year's contracted Black Ferns players, was far from a lone voice of dissension.

‘‘We've identified that this framework has moved very fast into a semi-professional environment and the resourcing unfortunately hasn't been there to support that,’’ Muir said.

New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson admitted women's rugby's transition from amateur to semi-professional, which includes Super Rugby Aupiki's brief launch last month and the move to fully contracted Black Ferns, left major gaps in critical areas.

‘‘We haven't got everything right and this report highlights that.

‘‘As an organisation we apologise for not having provided all of these tools to our people to succeed and we know and acknowledge we have a lot of hard work to do,’’ Robinson said.

‘‘After assessing the campaign and cultural reviews, we believe Glenn is the right person to lead the coaching team and we have committed to increasing resources in the management team to support this.

‘‘Glenn is exceptionally skilled and experienced as a coach who cares deeply about the Black Ferns.’’ 

 - By Liam Napier of NZME