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Amy Rule: From 'culture shock' of first Test to winning the World Cup
Amy Rule conceded she wasn’t ready for international rugby in November 2021 when the Black Ferns toured the UK and France.
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In March 2023 she was “ugly crying” as she returned to her old school, Aparima College in Riverton, Southland with the Rugby World Cup.
“Debuting on that tour was a culture shock but it made me excited that I had so much to learn,” Rule told RugbyPass.
“I decided after that tour I had to be the best version of myself on and off the field. I needed to be an athlete.
“Sometimes as a prop, we’re put into a box. Scrum is all you need. I wanted to be fitter, faster, stronger, and contribute all around the park.
Rule started five of the six Black Ferns matches in their World Cup triumph. She is the spine of the Matatu front row in Super Rugby Aupiki and in March will head to Canberra to play for the Brumbies in Super Rugby W.
“Natalie Delamere played for the Waratahs last year and I thought that’s pretty cool. I’m going to Australia to branch out a wee bit, challenge myself against new opposition and play a different style of rugby.
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“It’s a bit of a risk but I’m only young and I’ve had the same coaches and teammates for four years. One of the things I love about rugby is connecting with new people.”
The Black Ferns beat Australia four times in 2022 but Rule believes the sport is growing across the Tasman.
“The Wallaroos have consistently built. The more time you spend together the more competitive you become, and they showcased that last year. They’ve got some wicked props over there who run all day. I hope I can keep up.”
Of more immediate concern to Rule is Super Rugby Aupiki. Matatu started the competition with their first-ever win 33-31 against the Blues on Saturday.
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Matatu was ahead 33-12 only for the Blues to launch a furious fightback. With the last play of the game Blues’ first-five Ruahei Demant missed a conversion attempt which would have sent the game into extra time.
“It’s so competitive now those one-percenters make the difference. Some of us didn’t even realise if she got the kick, we were headed to golden point. It was pretty hectic.
“In pre-season, we tried a lot of things that weren’t connecting. It was exciting on Saturday that improved but then I think the Blues stepped it up and said, ‘this isn’t good enough.’
“With short turnarounds and little pre-season, you must take more risks to create more opportunities. We’re lucky at Matatu we’ve got a lot of connections in the forwards because we’ve played a lot of rugby together but I think Saturday showed that this competition is close and momentum can shift really quickly.”
This weekend Matatu will seek to continue their winning form against Hurricanes Poua in Christchurch. The Poua was demolished in the first round by reigning champions Chiefs Manawa 53-21. Rule is weary of a Hurricanes fightback.
“They’ve got some absolute weapons in there so sticking to the game plan, shutting down their threats, and grinding for the full 80 will be crucial.”
The Poua beat Matatu 45-26 in pre-season with prolific Black Ferns winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga scoring three tries.
Leti-I’iga scored the winning try in the World Cup final on November 12, 2022, against England at Eden Park. A less celebrated, but equally important try was that scored by Rule just before halftime. The Black Ferns deficit was reduced from a dozen to a converted try.
“I’m never usually in the back of the maul. I’m usually a shield for the hooker. For some reason, I thought I’m going to grab this ball and I looked up and I second guessed it, which is terrible in an international game, you don’t have time to think you’ve got to do, but when I looked up, I was like ‘is that the try line?’ ‘Am I supposed to score this?’ It’s very unnatural for me, but I thought let’s give this a crack.
“It was an awesome way to finish the half. England had been scoring mauls on us all day so to get one back on them after working on it all year was awesome. It was like, ‘we’ve got this.’”
Former Black Ferns Director of Rugby Wayne Smith has suggested the maul should be banned. Rule disagrees.
“I like rolling mauls. I scored a try,” she laughed.
“Mauls are a special thing for forwards to compete in. They’re the most frustrating thing and exciting thing at the same time. I know Smithy loves that real fast, free, wide game but sometimes you’ve got to roll your sleeves up and put your head in dark places.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to comments