Wallaroos v Rugby Australia: Wallabies urged to speak up for women’s national team
A former Wallaroo has voiced her disappointment at the Wallabies for staying silent over the treatment of the women’s national rugby team.
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Ex-Rugby Australia athlete Kennedy Cherrington has called on the Wallabies to vocally support the Wallaroos as they fight for better resources and funding for the national women’s team.
Cherrington, who was a part of Rugby Australia’s 7s program and the Australia A Wallaroos side before making the switch to the NRLW in 2020, said she’s been disappointed at the silence from rugby’s male stars.
The 24-year-old is now captain of the Eels in the rival code, but remains close friends with her ex-teammates in the Wallaroos squad.
In the past few days since the Australian womens’ rugby team issued an open letter in a coordinated social media effort, Cherrington has been communicating back and forth with players who have asked for advice on how the NRLW operates, as well as the rugby league players’ union.
Cherrington said support of NRL players was crucial in helping NRLW players land an historic first collective bargaining agreement recently, which includes minimum employment standards and a clear map to professional progression for the women’s game.
“It took a while but once (NRL players) got on board it helped a lot,” she said.
“None of the Wallabies have said anything, and that’s quite disappointing.
“Millie (Boyle, Sydney Roosters prop) was part of the Wallaroos too and she’s been quite vocal about it as well.
“They’re all our mates.
“I’m really close with the majority of the playing group, and I’ve given them some advice on how we run the RLPA and our delegates system and how it’s benefitted us.
“I know we compete against each other but we’ve all got that same motive to better our playing rights, find better equality and grow female sports.”
The plight of the Wallaroos has erupted in recent days but has been brewing behind the scenes for some time.
There have been claims of broken promises made to players about a timeline to move towards full-time professional contracts, as well as a misrepresentation of how much funding is available to help resource the women’s game.
They are also angry over the complete lack of promotion for their Test matches, which was outlined by ex-Wallaroos star Grace Kemp to Newscorp on Monday night.
At minimum, players are seeking a full-time coach (their current coach Jay Tregonning juggles his role with the national team with his regular job as a school teacher), and a full-time physiotherapist.
Cherrington said these were the same concerns she held when she was an RA contracted athlete seven years ago.
“At the moment the position they’re in is not good enough,” Cherrington said.
“Why is it that this code, rugby union, is not thriving like netball, football, cricket and rugby league? Why are they still stuck in a position where they were 10 years ago?
“That comes down to the organisation not respecting them or supporting them.
“The frustrating thing is I was in the program five, six, seven years ago and it’s still stuck where it was back then.
“It’s 2023, we need to wake up and get out of that traditional mindset of thinking women can’t play sport, or they can’t offer revenue or they can’t push to be better.
“Because every other sport in Australia has taken off, so why hasn’t rugby union?”
In a statement released on Monday RA admitted they need to do better and are working towards a resolution.
A formal proposal from the Wallaroos is due to be presented to RA this week, with hopes of a sit down with chief executive Phil Waugh.
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Ex-Wallaroos forward Grace Kemp says she hit rock bottom while trying to keep up with the demands of her contract amid a storm between Australia’s female players and Rugby Australia.
On Monday night the 22-year-old said it was after last year’s World Cup that she grew disenchanted with Rugby Australia.
“It honestly felt like club rugby,” she said of the treatment of the Wallaroos in the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“It felt like we weren’t there representing our country.
“Playing for the Wallaroos is supposed to be the highest honour in your sport, and I absolutely love rugby union, it’s such an amazing game and girls deserve to be recognised in that sport.
“We travelled with no media, we didn’t have any social media posts put up about our game, hardly anyone knew we were playing. Even our training kit was in men’s sizes.
“It’s so dated.”
Kemp recently signed with Canberra in the rival NRLW competition, and although she initially thought she may juggle both contracts, she admits she was let go from her Rugby Australia contract on compassionate grounds.
She struggled greatly with burnout in the rugby environment.
“I’ve seen what a professional athlete can be,” she said of her time with the Raiders.
“I’m at such an amazing club who have absolutely supported me on and off the field and I think that’s really important.
“If you don’t feel that support from your club, you’re not going to feel good playing the sport you love.
“I’m really feeling for the girls at the moment.”
Kemp’s admission comes as Wallaroos players refused to wear their official Rugby Australia kit at training on Monday night as they prepare to go to war over conditions for female players.
The national rugby team gathered remotely for a training session just a day after calling out the disparity between the men’s and women’s squads in a player-led movement seeking meaningful change.
It follows a bombshell open letter shared on social media by the majority of current Wallaroos players that took aim at Rugby Australia’s investment in the women’s game on Sunday afternoon.
The letter claimed players were lied to about the advancement of their game, including moving towards full-time professionalism and a lack of resources.
It also took aim at the recruitment of NRL player Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on a multimillion-dollar contract from next season despite claims players were told there is a lack of money to better fund the women’s program.
Roosters star and ex Wallaroos player Millie Boyle also joined the chorus of outcry on Monday, calling Rugby Australia a “joke” and saying action was overdue for the women while sharing the open letter to her Instagram.
The sudden move from the playing group to breach their contracts and call out Rugby Australia publicly has been brewing for more than a month.
But it landed at the right time within the Australian sporting conscience when awareness of women’s sport is at an all time high following the Matildas success at the Women’s World Cup.
Wallaroos players were recently incensed that they had to wait until 9pm to access the gymnasium at the $31.5 million National Rugby Training Centre at Ballymore, despite the facility set up for women with government funding.
The players were forced to wait until male players had finished their training session at the gym before they could go in.
Players said while men had fob keys to access the gym anytime, they had not been set up with automatic entry.
As for the social media post uploaded by the partner of a Wallaby, who was flown to Sydney from Melbourne along with other WAGs to farewell the team before they departed from France, the Wallaroos players now understand that the trip wasn’t fully funded by RA.
However, they remain mystified that RA’s own website, rugby.com.au, thought it was a good idea to publish the post suggesting that the woman’s trip had been fully funded.
But the players are not as angry as earlier thought about the delayed trip from Canada last month. It’s now understood that RA made a group booking and Air Canada overbooked the flight home.
What the players are seeking is a full-time coach, and a full-time physiotherapist.
They want funding to better build their national program, and to allow those who work not to forego a crucial amount of money just to train and play for the country.
The players met on Monday evening, and will be taking a formal proposal to RA on Tuesday, with hopes of sitting down with chief executive Phil Waugh this week to canvas their concerns.
On Monday Rugby Australia released a statement saying they are “taking steps towards a fully professional future for the Wallaroos and investing more broadly in women’s rugby across national and community competitions”, also admitting they have a way to go yet.
Originally published as Wallaroos v Rugby Australia: Wallabies urged to speak up for women’s national team
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