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'I am struggling': Heartfelt plea from Black Ferns star shares the strain the Women's game is having after a decade
History was made last weekend when the first-ever Super Rugby Women’s clash between the Blues and the Chiefs was played at Eden Park in front of a healthy crowd who turned up to witness the occasion.
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Black Fern Chelsea Alley played in the midfield for the Chiefs, and while she noted that it was a massive win for the players, she shared a heartfelt message on her social media account to highlight the burden that the game has for Women’s players.
The 28-year-old said that the post-match experience after playing Super Rugby hit hard, as reality sunk back in after getting a taste of full-time professional rugby.
“Last week was a massive win for some of us as Women’s Rugby Players. A historic occasion. One that past & present players have been working towards for many years,” she wrote.
“However.. the reality of the way we live, train & survive has hit me more than usual this week.
“I. Am. STRUGGLING.”
She confessed she is struggling with the load, working three jobs to cover her expenses while training morning and nights to prepare for the highest level of play in the Women’s game.
After 10 years in the game, she has become “accustomed” to feeling this way, being lifted up for the games and then being brought back to reality during the week trying to juggle all her rugby commitments, family life and jobs to cover the bills.
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The “amazing” feeling having the experiences around your teammates fades come Monday morning when the grind of the process sets in.
“Then from Monday morning that all starts to fade. Reality hits again. Here it is..
“It’s setting early alarms and getting up at 5.30am to get your training in before you go to work for the day (still sore from the weekend), finding time to prepare meals because you know you’ll also be getting home well past dark 4+ nights a week from your various evening team trainings, rushing to a physio appointment in your lunch break, squeezing in time to see your partner & family in short bursts where you can so you try not to burn out mentally and add a little bit of balance to your crazy life.
“For me personally this week – it’s working THREE jobs because I have bills to pay. It’s playing in THREE different teams in a week and being expected to switch on & perform well in all of them.
Alley explained that they don’t get paid anything at all to play for club, province or Super Rugby teams, and that it is “normal” to have minimal resources. Everything they do is for the love of the game.
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“I need to lead by example in Club, FPC & Super Rugby – all of these teams we don’t get paid anything AT ALL to play for. We get minimum resources. That’s normal.
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“But I’m wondering at what point does the level we’ve got to become personally unsustainable with the resources we’re given?
Alley appreciates that she has been chosen for this role as a semi-professional rugby player, but the burden of the semi-pro game is not something she wants to settle for.
“I fully understand that I’ve been lucky enough to be chosen to be a semi-professional women’s rugby player.. something trailblazers before me worked so hard for! For us to reap some of these rewards and for these mana wahine I am honestly forever thankful!
“But I am starting to feel the weight of this crazy, blessed, hectic, HARD yet rewarding life a decade later. This is not a complaint. This is just reality.
“This is why I will keep fighting for us so that future FPC, Super Rugby & Black Ferns stars have an actual sustainable career. We can’t settle because if the amazing ladies before us settled we wouldn’t be where we are today. I am grateful.
“But in all honesty – I’m also tired of being told to ‘just be grateful’.
“When do we get to stand up & say that we deserve more without being made to feel like we’re demanding & unappreciative?”
Alley’s message was met with an outpouring of support from teammates and other former and current professional players like Israel Dagg, Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Ardie Savea.
Comments on RugbyPass
Good to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
16 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
16 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
4 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
4 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
16 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
16 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
16 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
16 Go to comments