Women’s NPC set to return in New Zealand

After pressure from present and past players, supporters and media during and after the Womens Rugby World Cup, won by the Black Ferns, a competition for 2011 has been mooted.

The competition, which sees the best womens players in New Zealand represent their province, has always been a pathway to making it into the national team set-up.

The NZRU was criticised last year after its decision toshelve the competitionas part of cost cutting leaving just the club game for top womens players.

Former Black Fern Melodie Roinson said that the NZRU had been listening to the concerns a group established to pressure on the union and had responded.

She said: The reinstated womens competition will run in under the Community Rugby branch of the NZRU, which former Waikato stalwart Brent Anderson is in charge of. The actual structure of the competition isnt finalised yet, and which unions will participate is still up in the air, as some dont put in the resources for their senior womens teams.

Writing on a rugby blog which has been set up by former Black Fern captain Farah Palmer to provide updates on the womens game in New Zealand, Robinson saidthat support had also been forthcoming from the New Zealand Players association who recently hosted a meeting between Anderson, and former players Melodie Robinson, Anna Richards and current Black Ferns manager Hannah Myers to talk through competition structures, and the unions plans for womens rugby.

She added: A good proportion of the funding the NZRU has put aside goes into secondary schools girls rugby, and there is talk of employing a fulltime person in charge of running the womens game.

As for what theyll do with the sevens, the union is waiting on the IRBs strategic direction for the womens shortened version of the game before they decide where theyll head. Inside word though is that the womens competition will be bought back into the national championships, currently held in Queenstown.

(Pic: Black Fern Victoria Heighway with the NPC title she won with Auckland last year)