Allan Bunting’s exit marks turning point for Black Ferns women’s rugby - Opinion

THE FACTS

It’s the end of an era with the news that Allan Bunting is not seeking reappointment as the Black Ferns director of rugby.

His departure marks the first time in 13 years that New Zealand Rugby won’t have Bunting involved in some capacity with a Black Ferns team.

He has an incredible record: two Olympic golds and a silver, Commonwealth gold, countless sevens titles, inaugural Aupiki champion.

And famously, part of the fix-it team installed in the mad dash to lift the Rugby World Cup in 2022. After crashing out in the semifinals of this year’s tournament, Bunting has fallen on the sword for his team.

The Black Ferns will have a new coach for the coming World Cup cycle.

His intention was clear at the press conference after the World Cup semifinal loss to Canada.

Bunting was going to take the hit for his team.

Questions were asked about the limited test schedule offered and shonky domestic prospects that have led to a post-World Cup talent exodus to England.

Bunting, however, was resolute in his answer: the buck would stop with him as the lead of the programme. He showed an accountability that’s all too rare in the professional game.

As the search now opens up for Bunting’s replacement, there are many lessons to be learned from this quiet coach.

First is the value of long-term investment in coaching talent.

Bunting was afforded the privilege of being able to learn in a paid role, freely admitting the assistant that joined the Black Ferns Sevens in 2012, was a world away from the champion coach he became.

Having experienced the benefits, it’s something he committed himself to. Always seeking opportunities for further professional development.

When Bunting first took the lead of the Black Ferns programme, he was quick to ask for the same for others. He was important in the push for more liveable wages which saw our Black Ferns empowered to be fulltime professionals for the first time.

He asked questions of the rugby establishment – having seen male coaches develop in professional roles in the men’s game and then transfer these skills across into key positions in the women’s game.

In his first interview with me post appointment, Bunting asked why women coaches weren’t being offered access to the same opportunities.

The real question remains what will happen to the cultural competency within the Black Ferns environment once Bunting is gone.

He was installed as the fix to the issues identified in the 2021 Black Ferns Environmental Review, being appointed as the manager of culture and leadership in 2022. Bunting carried that responsibility with him into the director role, but with new appointments coming, it remains to be seen who will assume this wero, this challenge.

While there will be much made of the games he won – and the significant one he lost – the real legacy of Bunting’s coaching career is the oversight of the women’s game at its moment of becoming.

How he centred the excellence of our women rather than covering himself in glory. His leadership empowered the first truly breakthrough stars like Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Ruby Tui.

What he built with the Black Ferns Sevens programme became the benchmark of women’s rugby in this country. The first truly professional team in every sense of the word. The blueprint we have now attempted to replicate across the women’s game.

Just like his star, Woodman-Wickliffe, who has announced this next phase is about family, the same is no doubt true for proud dad Bunting.

Whose whānau will relish the opportunity to have him closer to home.

Should Bunting want to add to his legacy, however, there’s a whole domestic system that needs proper professionalising, to allow more wins for the women’s game.

Alice Soper is a sports columnist for the Herald on Sunday. A former provincial rugby player and current club coach, she has a particular interest in telling stories of the emerging world of women’s sports.