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<\/p>\nComment: When my son was growing up, I coached his junior rugby teams. <\/p>\n
Back then, we had one, maybe two girls playing alongside the boys in the rippa grades. Today, many of those same clubs now have dedicated girls\u2019 teams across multiple age grades.<\/p>\n
It reinforces something I strongly believe: pathways matter.<\/p>\n
When young girls can see role models like the Black Ferns, and when there are clear opportunities to progress from junior rugby through to the highest level, participation grows. <\/p>\n
Confidence grows. Communities grow. That\u2019s exactly why partnerships like this are so important.<\/p>\n
Every Black Fern starts somewhere\u2014at a school, club or in the community. <\/p>\n
Over the past few years, we\u2019ve seen a significant shift in the way New Zealanders engage with women\u2019s rugby. More people are watching, more girls are participating, and more athletes are being recognised than ever before. <\/p>\n
While the quality and commitment of our female athletes has never been in doubt, increased visibility, investment and support are helping unlock the game\u2019s potential. That progress is worth celebrating \u2013 but it\u2019s also something we need to keep building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why 2degrees has made the largest sporting investment in our history through our new partnership with New Zealand Rugby. It exceeds our other major sporting partnerships, reflecting both the scale of the opportunity and our belief in the future of women\u2019s rugby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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And it supports different elements of the rugby ecosystem, from rugby programmes to the elite teams.<\/p>\n
The progress we are seeing across women\u2019s rugby already has shown what is possible when investment and opportunity come together \u2013 since 2018, New Zealand Rugby\u2019s investment in women\u2019s rugby has grown by more than 300 per cent, with $33 million being invested into women\u2019s rugby this year alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is already creating tangible opportunities for the women\u2019s game. We\u2019re seeing bigger crowds, stronger digital audiences and more opportunities for elite competition than ever before. On the field, the game has never offered more opportunity either; with a new global calendar, expanded international competitions, and the Black Ferns set to play a record 11 test matches in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most importantly, however, this growth at the elite level gives more girls the confidence to see rugby as a game where they can belong and thrive, which is why we\u2019re proud to be backing a continued, long-term growth area for players who are building the game today, and to the next generation who will carry it forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2025 more than 200 new players attended the regional Next Ferns programme, while the inaugural Under 18 North v South programme created a dedicated high-performance environment for the country\u2019s most promising young players. These initiatives help ensure the next generation has clear opportunities to progress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This builds on our SupportHER platform, through which we\u2019ve backed initiatives including the Tania Dalton Foundation, Super Rugby Aupiki, the Tall Ferns and Basketball New Zealand programmes \u2013 all designed to create more opportunities for women and girls in sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fighting for Fair has always been about backing positive change where it\u2019s needed most. We saw that when 2degrees entered New Zealand\u2019s telecommunications market \u2013 challenging the status quo through long-term investment and a different way of thinking. Building women\u2019s rugby requires the same commitment. Meaningful change doesn\u2019t happen in a single season; it happens through sustained support over many years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The same is true in sport. Building a stronger women\u2019s rugby system will not happen through one event, or one season. It requires sustained support for players, coaches, communities and programmes at every level of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s rugby has enormous momentum, and sustaining that progress will take long-term commitment. The next generation needs to see that rugby is a game where they belong, with pathways that help them grow and communities that believe in their potential. <\/p>\n
The 2Degrees partnership with NZ Rugby, signed in July 2026, is for three years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Comment: When my son was growing up, I coached his junior rugby teams. Back then, we had one,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-869393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}