The Black Ferns: the experiences of New Zealand's elite women rugby players.

Chu, Michael M.L. ; Leberman, Sarah I. ; Howe, Bruce L. 等

Rugby is New Zealand's national game, but has until recently been male dominated. It was not until 1980 that the first women's provincial game was played in New Zealand (Chester, Palenski, & McMillan, 1998). Internationally, the USA, Canada, and England dominated women's rugby in the early 1990's. However, in 1992, the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) accepted responsibility for women's rugby in New Zealand, and the New Zealand women's team, the Black Ferns, has remained unbeaten for a decade. Although they are currently the world champions, little information exists on why and how these women became involved in a predominantly male sport. The research is positioned in the context of rugby as a masculine sport with women now playing the sport. Our research aimed to explore why these women entered and continued to participate in one of the fastest growing sports for women in New Zealand (Hillary Commission, 2001).

Two earlier studies conducted by Csizma, Wittig, and Schurr (1988) and Matteo (1984) revealed both men and women perceived rugby to be a predominantly male sport. Taken together, out of 68 sports, rugby was rated in the top five in terms of masculinity alongside boxing, football, wrestling and weightlifting. In the past decade there have been a growing number of studies in which the experiences of women in traditionally non-female sports are investigated. These studies have provided a mainly sociological perspective and have included boxing (Mennesson, 2000; Halbert, 1997), ice hockey (Theberge, 1995), soccer (Scraton, Fasting, Pfister, & Bunuel, 1999), and rugby (Wright & Clarke, 1999). Data collection methods were predominantly qualitative, using participant observation and in-depth interviews.

Mennesson (2000), Scraton et al. (1999), and Young and White (1995) suggested that the women in their studies were socialized into the sport in an unstructured way. Scraton et al.'s research into female soccer players from four European countries found that the women in their study gained access to the male sporting world through male contacts. Fathers, brothers and male friends provided the encouragement and support for these women to begin playing soccer, typically between ages 4-6. The exceptions to this were the Spanish soccer players who were encouraged by female friends to try the sport, and generally at an older age (10-11 years) than their other European counterparts.

Several consistent themes have emerged from the research surrounding sport participation. In a study of competitive youth swimmers, the top five participant motives identified were fun, fitness, team atmosphere, skill development, and excitement-challenge (Gould, Feltz, & Weiss, 1985). Similarly, Weiss and Frazer (1995) in a study of adolescent female basketball players, identified mastery (learn and improve skills), socialization (be with and make friends, be popular), team aspects (being part of a team, team work, team spirit) and fitness (be physically fit, stay in shape) as important participant motives regardless of playing time or status. Although most of the early participant motivation work has been with children, Thuot's (1995) research with adults provides further support for these motives. He identified the five most important reasons given for sport involvement after college as enjoyment, exercise, social aspects (friends), stay in shape, and enjoyment of competition.

The prime reasons given by women for participation in sports traditionally considered as masculine, were the joy of participating in a sport requiring physical strength and speed, as well as a love for the sport (McDermott, 1996; Mennesson, 2000; Scraton et al., 1999; Theberge, 1995; Wright & Clarke, 1999; Young & White, 1995). Other specific reasons identified in particular studies were a sense of empowerment, self-confidence (McDermott, 1996; Young & White, 1995) and the team environment (Scraton et al., 1999; Theberge, 1995). Further, Scraton et al. (1999) stated the female soccer players interviewed enjoyed the physical nature of the game, as well as "being together, their connectedness as women and as a team" (p.106). Theberge (1995) argued that for female ice-hockey players, being part of the team meant that the players could "collectively affirm their skills, commitment and passion for their sport" (p.401). Finally, Young and White (1995) indicated that while the women in their research found particip ation in sport empowering for themselves, they did not make the link to the wider social context in terms of women's emancipation, in general.

Method

The results presented in this study are based on a larger study investigating the experiences of the Black Ferns. The Black Ferns rugby team is New Zealand's premier women's rugby team, and as such was believed to provide an ideal case study of elite women rugby players. Twenty-three Black Ferns volunteered to participate in this study. The data was collected during the Tri Nations competition between New Zealand, Canada and the United States held in Palmerston North in October 1999. The first two authors conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews (15-45 minutes) with each participant while they were staying at the adidas Institute of Rugby. The interviews consisted of nine questions structured around seven key themes: participation motives, reasons for continuation, experiences participating in a male dominated sport, experiences of being a Black Fern, the governing body (NZRFU), and sport and life plans and general background information (see Appendix for interview guide). The results presented here are based on the first three themes.

The interviews were taped, transcribed, and then returned to participants for verification. The participants verified the interview transcripts as true and accurate accounts. Triangulation is important to ensure contextual validation (Bachor, 2002). In this case, triangulation was across investigators with the transcripts coded independently by the two first authors to provide a measure of dependability. To assist with the analysis we used HyperResearch (Dupuis, 1994), a computer based qualitative data analysis package. Transcripts were initially coded using the themes identified above. Following the establishment of these preliminary codes, sub-themes were identified that were grounded in the data to accurately represent the participant's interviews. Following this independent coding phase, the first two authors met to revise, refine and where necessary rename code categories in order to deal with textual uncertainties. In this way, redundancy and overlap between code categories were reduced.

The participants ranged in age from twenty to thirty-five years, with an average age of twenty-six and a half years. We found the Black Ferns were a highly educated sports team, with over half(12) having graduated from university and two having completed polytechnic qualifications. Seventeen of the participants indicated that they worked full-time, in addition to being a Black Fern. The majority (21) of the Black Ferns started playing rugby as adults, with many taking up the sport at University. Only five of the participants started playing the game at high school.

Results and Discussion

The results and discussion has been divided in three general sections: (a) Reasons for starting to play rugby, (b) reasons for continuing to play rugby, and (c) being part of a predominantly male game. Illustrative quotes were selected purposively to illustrate the Black Ferns viewpoints, the number in brackets after the quote indicates the participant number. In each case, we note the number of participants who shared a common viewpoint.

Reasons for starting to play rugby

Thirteen participants indicated they started playing because their friends played and introduced them to the sport. This is highlighted by the following comment:

Just a friend who said "I played rugby last year, it's really fun, come and play you'll enjoy it". So I went along to her club practice one night just to see what it was like and got into it from there (13).

Twelve of the participants mentioned that they came from a 'rugby family'. This was well illustrated by one participant who stated:

I was involved in sport from a young age and was very much involved with rugby because that's what my father loved. I remember getting up at three in the morning when the All Blacks were travelling - so that was very much the culture I was brought up in. Dad and I would watch the rugby on Saturdays and we'd bet on teams, it was an integral part of our family life (5).

The physical nature of the game and a desire to change sport, particularly from netball (a 7-a-side game, predominantly played by women, similar to basketball, but with restricted areas for players), were reasons given by eight participants. The following feedback encapsulates these opinions: "The physical side, which is sort of missing in the other sports. I really enjoy that getting bashed around (17)" and "In netball my own individuality was being stifled. Like you have to conform to a team pattern. . . there is not a lot of freedom to express yourself (5)".

Seven participants also mentioned they liked the fact that rugby was an intelligent game. As two participants said:

I like rugby because I think it is a very intelligent game. It involves such a wide range of skills. It's a simple game that's not often played simply. But I just like the tactical nature of the game and I think that's because I've played for a long time and can apply it to my game (1).

Yeah it's quite exhilarating when you're running with the ball and just people trying to stop you and you really learn the limits of your body but it's also a psychological game. It's like a game of chess and you always have to be aware, just strategizing and looking at where the weaknesses are. So yeah I just love that whole element. I guess it's more of a holistic game because you're using your body, you're using your mind, and I guess the spirit comes from the teamwork that you have to develop and build once you play the game. So it's quite a multi-dimensional sport (5).

Six Black Ferns stated that they had always had an interest in Rugby but had never had an opportunity to play the game. When an opportunity to play rugby presented itself (often at university) they took it.

I suppose I'd grown up always watching rugby. I hadn't really thought about playing it but when I got to university, there was a lot of girls I did university with who said, come on, you'll really enjoy it, and I said, oh yeah, ok(21).

The physical side of it. Just the challenge that it has, personally for me. Yeah, I've always loved rugby and I've always wanted to play it so when the opportunity arose I just had to take it, just like play it (10).

Other reasons mentioned by four Black Ferns included the opportunities provided to travel, and the chance to meet other people.

The Black Ferns experiences mirrored those of the Spanish soccer players (Scraton et al., 1999) and some of the French boxers (Mennesson, 2000). The Black Ferns typically started playing rugby at an older age, generally when enrolled in post secondary studies. It appears that the influence of family in terms of socialization was important, but it seems that female friends were the predominant influence in encouraging these women to take up rugby. Unlike the English, German and Norwegian soccer players in Scraton et al.'s (1999) study, the predominance of male socializing agents such as brothers, fathers and male friends did not come through strongly in this research.

Scraton et al. (1999) describes how the soccer players in their study constantly talked about themselves as 'other' to female or feminine, particularly when describing their childhood experiences. Many of the research participants in the earlier studies indicated that they had been 'tomboys' as children and enjoyed being physically active (Mennesson, 2000; Scraton et al., 1999; Young & White, 1995). By perceiving themselves to be 'like boys', according to Scraton et al. (1999), women reinforce rather than challenge hegemonic male/female power relations. The participants in Scraton et al.'s (1999) study distanced themselves from anything feminine to the point of misogyny. However, in contrast, the Black Ferns did not identify themselves as having been tomboys. Although all were active in a variety of sports while growing up, they strongly identified themselves as women, and appeared to challenge the interviewers to say they were not feminine. They saw their participation in rugby as a strong indicator of their feminist perspectives.

Reasons for continuing to play rugby

Sixteen of the participants mentioned enjoyment as their main reason for continuing to play rugby, with thirteen participants indicating that the challenge of the sport was also important. The following comments by participants illustrate these reasons:

I just really enjoyed it, so at the end of the day the enjoyment factor was the main determining factor for me leaving rugby league [a 13-a-side game, similar to rugby but with no lineouts, rucks and mauls] and going to rugby. I mean I really love the game as well (5).

Going along to the first couple of practices and the first couple of games, it wasn't just the game, it was the friendships and the amount of people that are involved in the game off the field as well. That sort of helped me get into it and decide yeah I really enjoy this (19).

When I first started playing rugby and I noticed, hey I can actually tackle someone bigger than me or I can actually get around people, I was getting successful and was learning more and more and I found that what attracted me to rugby was that it was challenging (6).

The role of coaches in facilitating the athletes to continue to play rugby was mentioned by eight participants, as was the support of friends. Family support was commented on by six participants. As one participant stated, "I think my family has been a big influence. Their support has been awesome (1)". Others stated:

We had a really good coach and I think he basically started me off on the right track because he was just so enthusiastic and patient with us. He taught us a lot about the game and just made me passionate about the game as well (6).

I guess as soon as I made the Black Ferns my dad was just so proud and I think in some ways I fulfilled an ambition that he had so I was able to realize the dream. And since then he's been really supportive (9).

Similar to previous research, the physical nature of rugby was a prime motivator for playing the game, as well as a passion and enjoyment for the sport (McDermott, 1996; Mennesson, 2000; Scraton et al., 1999; Theberge, 1995; Wright & Clarke, 1999; Young & White, 1995). However, other reasons previously absent in the literature were also mentioned. The fact that their friends played was important and also that they were interested in playing a more free-flowing game, as opposed to other more traditional female sports. Rugby was described as an intelligent and multi-dimensional sport involving both body and mind. The enjoyment and social aspects of the game came through very strongly, both in terms of starting to play rugby and in continuing in the sport, and in some ways are similar to the findings of Theberge (1995) with respect to women's ice-hockey. Several also talked about the enjoyable and social nature of the rugby clubrooms, and noted that this atmosphere was not so prevalent in other typically female sports such as netball.

The supportive role of coaches, friends and family in continuing to play rugby also echo Theberge's (1995) work. A number of Black Ferns did however mention that some of their family members had to first overcome their initial shock at their sister or daughter playing rugby.

My sister and I joined up at the same time, and mum said, you shouldn't be playing 'cos do you want to be like men or something. My brothers had played rugby league and got injured and they're not playing anymore. So mum was a bit worried about that, but then she came to watch our game and you could hear her on the sideline, 'go', and she was really into it (17).

Growing up in the New Zealand culture where rugby plays such a dominant role was also a factor that came through strongly. A number of participants talked about how they grew up with the sport, watching their brothers or boyfriends play but never really having the opportunity to participate themselves. As the captain of the Black Ferns stated, she chooses to play rugby "because it's our national sport and we love it. You can't help but get caught up in the passion for the game" (Lamp, 1999, p.4). The cultural significance of rugby in the New Zealand psyche is reinforced by another participant, "Dad's really funny cause he hadn't even watched me playing netball or anything, but as soon as I started playing rugby, yeah that was it. He was right there" (22).

Being part of a predominantly male game

Ten participants did not perceive this as a problem, with nine indicating that they saw it as a challenge. The following comments demonstrate these points:

I think that's nothing different from a lot of things in the world today. It's just a hurdle, it's another challenge...It's just another barrier to break through really. I think that's what I myself am drawn to and want to do better in, because it is sort of male dominated. I think it's a hidden barrier sometimes, it's a smokescreen. Sometimes they like to gloss it over more than saying, 'you can't do this because you're women'. They try and set up other sorts of hurdles and I think it's really satisfying to start breaking the odd barrier down. We've come a long way in the last few years and it just makes you want to keep going (19).

For me it hasn't really been a problem for me. Like where I come from I've had so much support. For me there hasn't really been an issue (18).

I think it's a bit of a challenge because you still met people who sort of, you know, as soon as you say you play rugby you can see what's going through their minds, and you think well I don't really care what you think (13).

Six participants saw the challenge of overcoming prejudice as being invaluable: I think it's an honour really, because if we don't get the ball rolling, nobody else is going to do it for us. Really it's just a matter of changing minds, changing people's thoughts and changing the perceptions of women rugby players. They're not just butch sorts of people or anything, they're actually human beings (10).

Five of the women, as illustrated by the comments below, talked about the frustrations of being involved in what has been a traditionally male dominated game.

I think women's involvement in rugby has been about us breaking down doors. I think we waited to be invited through and it never happened and we started to knock very quietly and now we're at a point where we're just busting the door down. So I think there's still a lot of resistance there, particularly in the top ...but I think the structure is still anti-women (11).

As you get more and more involved in it, you realize how much more there is to do and the thing I find frustrating is the fact that we have no power, the fact that decisions are all made by men in the end. We can make suggestions and we can have workshops and we can have advisory groups but all the major decisions are still made by men. That's the most frustrating (6).

Scraton et al. (1999) note that some of the women soccer players faced major barriers to their participation with a lack of opportunities, particularly upon entering school. However, the Black Ferns did not encounter administrative barriers to their continued involvement as such. Rather, because women's rugby was such a relatively new sport, many did not begin to play earlier because it had not been available. The NZRFU has recently moved to establish women's rugby in schools and has formed a national championship paralleling that of men's rugby. A number of Black Ferns commented about how positive it will be for the sport to have players who have grown up with rugby as their main sport.

In another contrast to Scraton et al.'s (1999) study, the Black Ferns seemed to encounter less negativity from their peers when they started playing rugby. This may be due in part to most starting to play while at university, with more open-minded peers, and often it was their peers who encouraged them to play. Several also commented on the changing perceptions of the public, who were increasingly supportive of the concept of women's rugby, particularly as the Black Ferns received more media exposure.

An elderly lady came up to us and said, 'I didn't think you'd all be so good looking'.

And just things like that, it's really positive. When they realize that we're not all sort of, you know, big, ugly, butch women...people are realizing that we're actually talented and so they don't have a fit! (13)

I went home after my operation, and I was limping down the street, and someone said "you' re xxxx aren't you?" And I was like "sorry?" -And he said, "you're a Black Fern aren't you?" And I thought he was taking the piss. So I mean there are some really positive things happening. (10)

All the participants were positive about their experiences of being a Black Fern, many describing the experience as "excellent" and "awesome". Some participants also mentioned how being a Black Fern enabled them to develop personally through new learning experiences, but that they also had to make sacrifices for the game, particularly with respect to juggling work, family and elite level sporting commitments. These last points raised questions about the amateur/professional debate in terms of the Black Ferns being amateurs, but being expected to train and behave as professionals.

Linked to this were the Black Fern's perceptions of playing a predominantly male game. There seemed to be a mixture of frustration and acceptance. Ten women felt that it was just like playing any other sport and did not see it as being a significant problem. Nine saw it as a challenge in terms of having to break down barriers with respect to what women can do in the wider context. This would lend some support to the notion that some women participating in non-traditional female sports become empowered and feel that this affects women in society at large (McDermott, 1996; Scraton et al., 1999). One player for example noticed a lot of change among male attitudes towards women's rugby.

Once they actually see a decent women's game, because there are crap women's games just as there are crap men's games, once they see the skill level and commitment that the top players put into the game it changes their attitudes. It's just amazing the support that people's partners give them. We've had experiences in the past where the partners haven't been happy with us playing, but it's definitely changing more and more every year. (11)

As a rapidly growing sport, there was frustration that the game lacked the structural depth required, was still male dominated, and had few women in coaching and administrative roles. However, there also seemed to be an acceptance that although certain processes could be sped up, that the NZRFU was doing well so far in establishing structures and processes. There was also an acknowledgement that although the Black Ferns did not receive the same monetary rewards as their male counterparts, the All Blacks, relative to other women's sports they were very well looked after, receiving a daily allowance as well as having all their expenses covered.

From a broad perspective the findings here are similar to previous participation motivation research. Enjoyment, social aspects, team aspects, and challenge were important motivators for the Black Ferns. However, taking a phenomenological approach has allowed us to delve much deeper into the reasons why they played, and continued to do so. What was it about the social nature of the game that they enjoyed? What set it apart from other sports such as netball?

The experiences of the participants in this study have provided a valuable insight into how and why women become rugby players. Such information is of significant importance for those who may wish to promote and further develop the game. For example, the physical nature of the sport was an attraction rather than a deterrent for these women, while the support of family and friends, and the off-field social aspects were important reasons for their continued participation. Researchers such as Scraton et al. (1999) have called for more in-depth analysis into the experiences of women participating in traditionally male dominated sport. The findings of this research will, we hope, provide greater understanding of women's participation motives and move beyond description of participation rates.

Caution should be exercised regarding the generalizability of these results to other elite women's sport teams, or other national women's rugby teams. Rugby plays such a large role in the New Zealand culture that the experiences of these women may not accurately reflect those of other elite female athletes. For example, why New Zealand women play soccer may be different, similarly the reasons why North American women play rugby may be quite different given the lower emphasis placed on rugby in that culture. Furthermore, the first author who is male interviewed half of the participants in this study. How this may have affected participant responses is difficult to gauge. However, the response patterns of the participants did not appear to differ as a function of interviewer.

Appendix

Interview Guide

1. Could you please tell me a little about yourself in terms of where you come from, your education and work?

2. When and why did you first start playing rugby?

3. What factors assisted you in starting and continuing to play rugby, particularly progressing to the top-level?

4. What are your thoughts and feelings about participating in a sport strongly influenced and controlled by men?

5. How would you describe your experiences as a Black Fern?

6. How do you feel women's rugby is supported by the NZRFU at present?

7. In which ways could the NZRFU promote and foster women's rugby?

8. Looking to the future - where to you see yourself heading after your rugby career and how do you seek to achieve this?

9. Is there anything else you would like to add?

References

Bachor, D. G. (2002). Increasing the believability of case study reports. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 48,20-29.

Chester, R., Palenski, R., & McMillan, N. (1998). The encyclopedia of New Zealand rugby. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett.

Csizma, K. A., Wittig, A. F., & Schurr, K. T. (1988). Sport stereotypes and gender. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 10(1), 62-74.

Dupuis, P. R. (1994). Hyper Research (Version 1.56). Randolph, MA: Research Ware Inc.

Gould, D., Feltz, D. L., & Weiss, M. (1985). Motives for participating in competitive youth swimming. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 16, 126-140.

Halbert, C. (1997). Tough enough and woman enough. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 21(1), 7-36.

Hillary Commission (2001). Membership 00-01.xls (Unpublished report). Wellington: Hillary Commission.

Lamp, P. (1999, October 15). Black Ferns serious about rugby. The Evening Standard, p. 4.

Matteo, S. (1984, August). The effect of role stereotyping on sport participation. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto.

McDermott, L. (1996). Toward a feminist understanding of physicality within the context of women's physically active and sporting lives. Sociology of Sport Journal, 13, 12-30.

Mennesson, C. (2000). 'Hard' women and 'soft' women: The social construction of identities among female boxers. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 35(1), 21-33.

Scraton, S., Fasting, K., Pfister, G.,& Bunuel, A. (1999). It's stillaman's game? International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 34(2), 99-111.

Theberge, N. (1995). Gender, sport, and the construction of community: A case study from women's ice hockey. Sociology of Sport Journal, 12, 389-402.

Thuot, S. M. (1995). College students' attitudes toward anticipated sport participation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 80, 155-160.

Weiss, M., & Frazer, K. M. (1995). Initial, continued, and sustained motivation in adolescent female athletes: A season-long analysis. Pediatric Exercise Science, 7, 314-329.

Wright, J., & Clarke, G. (1999). Sport, the media and the construction of compulsory heterosexuality. International Review for the Sociology of Sport, 34(3), 227-243.

Young, K., & White, P. (1995). Sport, physical danger, and injury: The experiences of elite women athletes. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 19(1), 45-61.

Address Corresspondence To: Michael Chu, Department of Management, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand