Why are we seeing an influx of Black Ferns into the PWR?

With the latest Black Fern Ruahei Demant having landed in the UK on Sunday evening, joining as injury cover with Bristol Bears, the New Zealand co-captain is yet another in a long line of Kiwi additions to the PWR this season.

However, Bristol’s huge signing doesn’t appear to be the end of it. Despite the league reaching round five at the weekend, there are more 2025 World Cup bronze medal winners rumoured to be looking to sign contracts with English clubs.

With Georgia Ponsonby, Alana Borland, Amy Rule, Layla Sae and Liana Mikaele-Tu’u already signed as injury cover with PWR sides until March 2026, the PWR is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the density of talent in one league.

However, you have to ask the question, with no player movement from New Zealand to the PWR before, why now?

The biggest reason is due to game time. In hugely contrasting scenarios, in some cases there was only a week of proper down time before Red Roses players were asked to return to their clubs, however, in New Zealand it’s a whole different story with players looking down the barrel of a long pre-season through New Zealand’s summer months before international matches kick off again in the form of the Pacific Four Series in April.

NZR have announced the Black Ferns will play 10 test matches in 2026, with the Pacific Four Series, followed by the O’Reilly Cup against Australia, and the WXV Global Series in September and October. But between October and April, nothing.

And the deal isn’t any sweeter even if you just want to play provincial rugby with Super Rugby Aupiki being moved to a later mid-year window from June to August next year.

But with players in arguably the form of their lives off the back of all the training and game time from the World Cup, why should they wait back in New Zealand for 15s rugby to kick off again?

Bristol’s new signing Demant commented on the issue, saying: “ It’s a combination of a few different reasons, the main reason is there is no rugby in New Zealand at the moment, how are we going to get better if there’s no games?

“This is the best competition in the world (the PWR), there’s no other comp like it where you get to train with so many international players and play against quality international players as well.

“The training and game demands are so much higher, and to get better we need to play more games against better opposition, and with better coaching. We need to evolve and continue to grow and that’s what the PWR offers.”

World Cup winning hooker Ponsonby said the same in a previous RugbyPass interview when asked why she decided to move across to Trailfinders alongside international team mate Borland, replying: “We’ve worked so hard to be the fittest, fastest, strongest we’ve ever been to go into the World Cup, then we play six games and it’s all over.

“The girls have gone into off-season back home and don’t have a Test match ’til April. We had two weeks off, and then we’re back into training for a game this weekend. I just want to keep the momentum going as we’re the best that we’ve probably been in our careers. I’m just excited to play lots of rugby.”

When asked whether there was discontent amongst the players with the union at having such a big break between the World Cup and the next set of international Test matches, Demant replied: “I don’t think there’s any discontent, there’s a lot of confusion, people are surprised at the fact there is such a big block with no rugby and the desire to want to play is so high that the girls are willing to do anything, literally travel half way around the world just to play.”

From a star power, fan and broadcasting perspective, having World Cup winning, world class talent enter the league is no bad thing, but one does wonder what will happen when these players collectively leave in March when they’re once again required by their national teams for Test matches.

They will have gleaned precious game time and made relationships and long-lasting memories from the PWR, but clubs will need to plan accordingly with the final regular season matches not taking place until June- the final three months could be, and usually do prove, critical to a team’s success when it comes to making the play-offs.

With England recently winning the World Cup all will be rosy at the RFU, but with an influx of foreign players brings the question around English qualified players getting their chance in the league and developing home grown talent, and of course, the salary cap and how clubs are affording to recruit star quality players.

We’re only five rounds in and already the post-World Cup PWR season is proving a juicy and intriguing one.