Pacific Four needs a SANZAAR
In order for this tournament to take the next step
Of course the first dedicated rugby thing I would write this year would be yet another piece about missing schedules.
At the end of last year, we got the news that the Black Ferns would be playing 10 tests this year. This included the details of the four home tests being played from August. Then a couple of days later, confirmation of a bonus fixture in September against South Africa.
It’s now nearing the end of January and I have no dates for whats happening before then. Nothing officially confirmed for Pacific Four and Super Rugby Aupiki fixtures are still “coming soon”.
Instead, I am supposed to be excited to learn this week that the Black Ferns will be playing the Lions in September 2027. In case you forgot, I’ve gone on the record previously regarding my views of this upcoming tour.
Alice Soper
Where I outlined the crux of my issue with the launch of the women’s side:
“This tour is insular, not expansive. Traditional, not progressive. It is taking women’s rugby down a developmental dead-end which will further chisel away at the edges between rugby’s haves and have nots.
So safe to say, I’m not a fan of the Lions in terms of the wider growth of our game. But it’s happening so when it arrives on our shores, I’ll engage with it. Despite some people’s perception, I am a long suffering optimist. Which is why despite hating the initiative I’m still keen to see what we can learn from it.
The announcement of this tour’s schedule landing before details of the Pacific Four is lesson 1: We need an organising body to get shit done properly.
Pacific Four’s origins were, let’s be honest, an assembly of the best of the rest. At the point of it’s introduction, Six Nations had locked up six of the top ten women’s sides in the World Rankings. The remaining four nations, New Zealand, Australia, USA and Canada had established rivalries with their neighbours but had no equivalent tournament to give their season an assured form.
Enter Pacific Four, a World Rugby initiative to give these nations a tournament of their own. In many ways the first international tournament designed purely for the needs of the women’s game. Over the past five years, the growth of the teams within this catchment have given the tournament real credibility. One of the most exciting rivalries in recent years, was born here. The Black Ferns vs Canada our very own Le Crunch.
My understanding is that this tournament’s foundations were laid by World Rugby but is now a joint partnership with the participating unions. At this stage, those unions essentially own the operating and commercial rights. In practice, it looks like one union taking on the hosting and therefore taking control of the venues and announcement of schedule. Once they launch, the other unions then trigger their own promotional activity.
That’s how we have ended up in late January without the confirmation of this year’s tournament.
That’s also how I have ended up being able to cross reference the TBCs of the four participating nations to know this tournament will be being played in USA in April. Women’s rugby fans are nothing if not resourceful.
All of this leads me back to that first lesson of the upcoming Lions tour. We need an official entity to take control of this tournament if it’s going to reach its full potential. We need to establish CANU, the women’s rugby version of SANZAAR, so that there is a level of consistency in promotion and delivery of this tournament. So that we can actually realise it as a strategic asset rather than just a convenient grouping of tests.
Imagine what a collective effort could achieve. Not just for this tournament but our future. An U20s competition the next logical step and further collaboration on Super Rugby. Perhaps a concession for internationals coming in from our CANU collective. Negotiations with South Africa and Japan should follow. Making the Pacific Four, the Pacific Six. Growing the reach and commercial opportunities.
All this could come if we came together more fully. To map out a vision for our shared growth. My plea to the unions of the Pacific Four is simple, stop stumbling into this series and start taking it seriously.
In the meantime, could we just start by making sure we get a schedule with the same type of run in other international series do. Learn from the Lions and give fans and players time to prepare.
That’s just lesson one, they’ll be more to come.
With you,
Alice
PS. Want to know when Six Nations started promoting their April fixtures? During the 2025 World Cup. And what do you know? They are on track to set new attendance records 🫠
