Report from the Southern Seas

Robinson, a commentator and presenter on Sky Sports in New Zealand, voiced the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens and IRB Women’s Sevens World Series, and will contribute regular posts this season for Scrumqueens.com on the women’s game in New Zealand and beyond.

"With the women’s NPC starting in New Zealand this weekend, the secondary schoolgirls final being televised on Sunday for the second year in a row, and provincial women’s sevens team already in training for the summer series of sevens, women’s rugby is on a high in this country.

Sky Sports New Zealand, in addition to televising the Schoolgirls final, have added two women’s NPC games to their coverage, as the Taranaki and Waikato rugby unions have shown support to their women’s teams by scheduling them as curtain raisers on September 21st between Taranaki and Otago and then on October 12th between Waikato and Taranaki.

The theory is the television cameras are already there, so why not show more rugby. It’s also a result of the Black Ferns versus England series, earlier this summer, being well received.

Some of the women’s sevens stars meanwhile will make appearances through the NPC, but top players like Sarah Goss in Manawatu or Portia Woodman for Auckland Storm are only allowed to play three games for their 15s sides, as they prepare their bodies for the expanded IRB series starting in November

On the topic of sevens, the national team holds their first camp at the end of the month in Tauranga, but in terms of the upcoming provincial women’s sevens tournaments in November, there’s plenty of interest in how Sonny Bill Williams sister Niall Williams will go as she’s been a New Zealand touch representative for years and has a massive step and big pass.

It’s not just in New Zealand where women’s rugby is starting to get support in the Pacific.

In Fiji the plans are firmly in place for the Bayley’s Corral coast sevens which has a new sponsorship deal for the women’s competition where the national side nicknamed Fijiana will showcase their talent.

I was at the ‘100 days to go’ launch in early August, hosted at the Outrigger on the Lagoon, for the Bayleys Gold Coast sevens and the event focuses on both the men’s and women’s competitions evenly with sponsorship deals for both, and incredible trophies for both.

Creast Chicken put the money up for the women’s draw this year and the defending champions the Australian Pearls will be back, with three other Aussie club teams, and the United States might send a representative team as well.

Two sides will be made up from the current Fijiana squad with other club teams like Marist Seahawks and the Striders also playing.

It’s a good platform for the team to develop towards the Oceania qualifying tournament in early October, in Brisbane.

Thanks to the team’s good performance at the World Cup Sevens in Moscow, winning the Bowl and beating South Africa, France and the Netherlands along the way, teams have been popping up in clubs across the Islands, according to Fiji Sports Council member Timoci Naleba.

A record 130 girls turned up for trials last year which is a small number compared to other nations, but Naleba says that there’s serious consideration to put significant money into women’s sevens for two years to see how much potential the women’s team has.

Imagine how good Fijiana would be if they actually did get some more support!"