New Zealand Rugby criticised for ‘disgraceful’ fixture clash with Black Ferns

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has been criticised for a ‘disgraceful’ fixture clash between the All Blacks and the Black Ferns that will see both national sides kick off less than one hour apart from each other on Saturday.The national men’s rugby time face Japan in Tokyo from 6:50pm New Zealand time (6.50am BST), 40 minutes before Wayne Smith’s side begin their World Cup quarter-final against Wales in Whangarei (7.30am BST). A kick-off time for the Japan game was not confirmed when the fixture was initially announced in August.While the quarter-final line-up for the World Cup was not announced until after the conclusion of the pool stages last weekend, tournament organisers had long planned for the hosts to be afforded the lone prime-time slot of the four quarter-finals.A statement from NZR admitted that they had not considered the possiblity of a clash when agreeing to a start time set by Japan. ‘New Zealand Rugby acknowledges the scheduling clash between the Black Ferns’ crucial Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Wales in Whangarei and the All Blacks Test against Japan in Tokyo on Saturday,’ the statement from NZR said.’Unfortunately, when Japan Rugby set the kick-off time for the All Blacks Test, NZR did not take into account the Rugby World Cup stipulation that the host nation would play in the quarter-final 2 timeslot regardless of pool results and may inadvertently cause a clash.’There was never an intent to overshadow the Rugby World Cup in any way, and New Zealand Rugby is delighted with how New Zealanders have embraced not only the Black Ferns but the tournament as a whole.’The clash has been criticised by a number of leading politicians in the country, including Justice Minister Kiri Allan, who described it as ‘avoidable, and frankly, disgraceful’.NZR earlier this year lost $NZ280,000 (£140,322) in government funding after failing to have 40% women on their board.The Black Ferns moved closer towards professionalism in January of this year after the union announced new full-time contracts in the wake of a disastrous tour of Europe in November 2022 that saw New Zealand beaten twice by both England and France.A post-tour cultural review, initiated by allegations from hooker Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate that she had not been adequately supported and suffered a mental breakdown, found that NZR had not sufficiently supported women’s high-performance rugby, leading to the resignation of coach Glenn Moore. New Zealand advanced to the quarter-finals as the top seeds after winning all three of their pool fixtures, including a 56-12 victory over their last-eight opponents.A win over Wales would likely set up a semi-final encounter with France (who face Italy) at Eden Park next Saturday.In the other half of the draw, England face Australia and Canada meet the USA for a semi-final place.