For New Zealand Black Fern Vici-Rose Green, South Africa has offered more than a different rugby environment – it has offered a different perspective on what it means to play the game.
For years, New Zealand has been the benchmark of women’s rugby. The Black Ferns have built one of the most successful legacies in the sport, with seven Rugby World Cup titles and a professional environment that has increasingly allowed their players to make rugby a career.
Meanwhile, South Africa is still building. The gap between the two systems was visible at FNB Stadium on 5 September when the Black Ferns defeated the Springbok Women 52-20 in a historic Test. New Zealand’s pace, skill and experience ultimately proved too much, but South Africa’s four tries and periods of dominance offered evidence of a team continuing to establish itself against the world’s best.
For Green, however, the difference between the two countries cannot simply be measured on a scoreboard. It can be measured in resources, opportunity and what players are able to make of the circumstances they are given. And, unexpectedly, it can also be measured in gratitude.
A Game that Became a Career
Green knows what it means to come from a system where women’s rugby has been given the opportunity to grow. For her, one of the most significant differences between New Zealand and South Africa is not necessarily the quality of the players, but the infrastructure surrounding them. “I think the differences that we probably have in our women’s rugby is that we’re really well resourced,” Green said.
That support, she explained, extends beyond the rugby field. “We’re really grateful for being able to have support from our NZ government from the rugby perspective,” she said.
Most importantly, that support has allowed players to make the transition from fitting rugby around their lives to making it their lives. “Just being able to do it as a full-time job is amazing.”
That reality is relatively recent. Green pointed out that a few years ago, women’s rugby in New Zealand was not a full-time profession. The players who came before her helped create the conditions in which the current generation could take another step forward. “A couple years ago it wasn’t full-time,” she said. “So being able to have the ladies that paved the way for us to be full-time, it’s just made our rugby take it up a notch.”
That progression matters. Professionalisation does not automatically create success, but it creates the opportunity for players to train more, recover properly, develop professionally and dedicate themselves to the sport in ways that are difficult when rugby has to compete with work or other responsibilities.
South Africa is still working towards that level of opportunity. But Green’s experience suggests that the conversation cannot stop at what South Africa does not yet have. Because there is something she believes South Africa has given her that cannot be measured by funding or facilities.
“You could be anything or come from anything.”
Ask Green what South Africa has taught her, and her answer moves away from rugby entirely. It begins with gratitude. “I think just the gratitude they have for each other and for what they have,” she said. It is a lesson, she admits, that has made her look at home differently. “I think we take for granted what we have back at home,” Green said, pointing to things as ordinary as resources, access to fields and the ability to simply play.
Her experience in South Africa challenged that perception. The players she encountered came from different circumstances, including backgrounds marked by hardship, yet they continued to pursue rugby and push themselves forward. “These girls, they’ve come from really [difficult] backgrounds,” Green said.
Her conclusion is perhaps the most powerful part of her reflection. “You could be anything or come from anything and you’re still able to be the best version of yourself.” It is a message that sits at the heart of South Africa’s women’s rugby story.
The Springbok Women are not yet where the Black Ferns are. The recent 52-20 result made that clear. New Zealand’s experience, depth and resources remain a significant advantage. However, the distance between the two nations is not necessarily a reason for South Africa to look only towards New Zealand for answers. It can also be a reason to recognise what is already being built.
Different Systems, Same Ambition
South African women’s rugby is developing in a landscape where the professional opportunities available to players are not yet comparable to those of New Zealand. And yet the Springbok Women have continued to make progress.
Their run to the knockout stages of the 2025 Rugby World Cup marked a historic first, while their performances against the Black Ferns – including periods of scrum dominance and four tries at FNB Stadium – showed that the gap is not without resistance.
That distinction is important. The lesson from New Zealand is not that South Africa needs to become New Zealand. It is that sustained investment can change what a generation of players believes is possible.
Green is living proof of that progression herself. She is part of a Black Ferns side that benefits from the work of players who came before her – women who helped push the game towards full-time status and created opportunities that previously did not exist.
South Africa’s current players are attempting to do something similar for the generation that follows them. The pathway may look different. The resources may not be equal, but the ambition is familiar.
What Comes Next
The danger in comparing developing women’s rugby programmes with established powerhouses is that the comparison can become discouraging. But Green’s perspective offers something different.
It is possible to acknowledge the gap without overlooking the progress. It is possible to recognise New Zealand’s advantages while recognising that South Africa has its own strengths, particularly the resilience and gratitude Green noticed during her time in the country.
And perhaps that is the most valuable lesson she takes home.
South African women’s rugby does not simply need more resources. It needs continued investment, opportunities and visibility so that future players can look at rugby and see a viable career in the same way Green does.
But those players are already here. They are playing through difficult circumstances. They are representing their country. They are pushing against the boundaries of what women’s rugby in South Africa has traditionally been expected to look like. And they are paving the way for someone else.
Green arrived in South Africa as a Black Fern, carrying the experience of a rugby system that has spent years building towards professionalism. However, she leaves with something less tangible, but arguably just as valuable: gratitude.
For Green, South Africa’s lesson is not simply about rugby. It is about perspective – about recognising where opportunity comes from, appreciating those who created them and understanding that circumstances do not have to determine how far a person can go.
“You could be anything or come from anything,” Green said, “and you’re still able to be the best version of yourself.” That may be the lesson South African women’s rugby is already teaching the world.
The fields may be different. The systems may be different. But the dream is the same.
Visual: Mpho Makwela
