NZ Rugby caught in ‘disgraceful’ conflict

NZR generated furore when it was found the All Blacks’ game with Japan would coincide with women’s team the Black Ferns’ World Cup quarterfinal against Wales on Saturday night.The Black Ferns have made an impressive showing at their home World Cup, which kicked off against Australia in front of a sold-out Eden Park crowd on 8 October.Since then, they have been undefeated and remain strong favourites to advance to the semi finals.After the scheduling conflict was pointed out, NZR put out a statement apologising for what they said was an error in planning.Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >“Unfortunately, when Japan Rugby set the kick-off time for the All Blacks Test, NZR did not take into account the Rugby World Cup stipulation that the host nation would play in the Quarterfinal 2 timeslot regardless of pool results and may inadvertently cause a clash,” NZR said.“There was never an intent to overshadow the Rugby World Cup in any way, and New Zealand Rugby is delighted with how New Zealanders have embraced not only the Black Ferns but the tournament as a whole.”nz rugby apologyAll Blacks coach Ian Foster expressed his frustration with the clash, but said he accepted NZR’s apology.“(It’s) a massive game for the Black Ferns, and we’re disappointed,” he said from Japan. “We would have loved to have watched them. It’s a pretty special day for our country with them playing a quarterfinal and we wish them the best.”“It’s pretty clear New Zealand Rugby has owned up to an error… the world has to accept an apology and move on a little bit. It’s not what everyone wanted but it is what it is.”Black Ferns coach Wayne Smith said it was up to the New Zealand public to decide who to support.“Who should [the public] watch on Saturday night? It’s up to them,” he said.“We’ve got a huge crowd coming along at Whangarei, good ticket sales from what I hear. They’ll be great.”Others have found it more difficult to brush off the clash as a simple error, however, with New Zealand’s Justice Minister Kiri Allan taking to Twitter to share her disappointment.“I’ll be supporting our Black Ferns this weekend in Whangarei,” she said. “NZ Rugby, this clash was avoidable, and frankly, disgraceful.”Allan was joined by 15-Test Black Fern and former MP Louisa Wall, who told Newstalk ZB radio the clash summed up NZR’s attitude towards women’s rugby.“It’s incredibly incompetent,” she said. “I think it’s an indication that NZ Rugby puts the All Blacks above anything.”“So, a game for the All Blacks is more important than a (Black Ferns) quarterfinal in the Rugby World Cup. That’s pretty bad.”The scandal reignited complaints about NZR’s relationship with women, only months after it drew international backlash for a social media post that celebrated International Women‘s Day with pictures of male players’ partners.Along with ignoring the existence of New Zealand’s female players, the post was heavily criticised for its inclusion of Sevu Reece, who admitted to assaulting his partner in 2018.Madeleine Chapman, editor of New Zealand news site The Spinoff, has been a vocal critic of NZR’s treatment of the women’s game.“(NZR) has demonstrated over and over that it pays little attention to the women’s game, so much so that it appears commercially foolish,” she wrote. Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au