Manawatu Rugby is proud of the inclusiveness they've brought to the union and what it means for their players.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
For the last couple of years Manawatu Rugby has worked to combine many of their men's and women's programmes, not just to streamline processes but to provide equality.
What they've managed is seen by some as the blueprint for the way forward.
Manawatu Cyclones coach Fusi Feaunati has been coaching the women's team for five years and says when he and men's coach Peter Russell got together a few years ago they realised things needed to change.
"One thing we identified was that we had too many programmes running off the back of their own misalignment with the strategic plan.
"When you have that silo management system, you're never going to get unification of people feeling valued or feeling like they're important to a culture."
Photo: Supplied
The women's game in the province has been strong for a number of years, particularly in Sevens where they've won the national title five of the last eight years.
Feaunati says the women in the Manawatu Rugby environment have driven their success in recent years.
"You've got your professional men's environment but the women are still very much amateur, still trying to rugby juggle life with home life, so we really needed to make sure we were valuing all of our people."
Feaunati says they were telling the women that they were important but at the same time they didn't have their own changing rooms.
"The travesty wasn't why do the boys get this and the women don't, the travesty for me was that the women felt like they weren't important because they needed to get the same as the men."
Feaunati says the change also needed to involve all the aspects of the game, including their branding, the jerseys and the visuals around their environment.
"Are we creating that feeling of welcome to everyone under the Manawatu Rugby banner."
Feaunati says he and men's coach Peter Russell decided that things needed to change quickly and that required everyone, including the CEO and the board, to be standing side by side delivering the same message.
"I'm proud of some of the successes, by no means we're where we want to be ideally, but that'll take time.
Manawatu has adopted an integrated training programme which shares resources as well as having the men's and women's provincial teams along with the men's development players together in the gym at the same time.
Fusi Feaunati Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"It's about having conversations around respect, said Feaunati.
"We've knocked down some barriers but we've still got a long way to go, we're no longer fighting fights we're now fine tuning processes."
Peter Russell says as funding became tight over the last couple of years it became obvious that resources within the Union needed to be shared and inclusiveness was important.
He's been impressed with how both the men and women have approached their Wednesday night combined training session.
"The women never shirk their duties and the boys never stand back either and that's what you expect as you have to show them that this is an area of trust, so trust us to help you get through it.
Manawatu rugby players working together Photo: Supplied
"At our morning gym sessions we have up to 50 athletes including our women and our academy and high performance men working together... that's an environment that's inclusive and that culture just breeds culture.
"Young boys rubbing shoulders and learning from both the senior men and women, that's where it starts.
Russell feels working and training together improves respect within the group, especially for some of the younger players.
"Boys will be boys and they'll be boisterous and at times they don't give a shit and a lot of respect has to come with that environment.
"Everyone has to be aware of who is in our environment and that's the big part of growing a group is the respect we show for each other and the discipline that goes with it."
Both the Manawatu men and women's teams return to action this weekend following their Covid breaks with the Turbos playing Northland and the Cyclones playing Tasman.