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Overview
These poi were collected at a public event celebrating the Black Ferns’ World Cup victory, held in Wellington on 13 December 2022.
Rugby World Cup 2021
The 2021 World Cup was held in Auckland and Whangārei from 8 October to 12 November 2022 (delayed for one year because of the Covid-19 pandemic). It was the ninth women’s Rugby World Cup competition and the first to be played in the Southern Hemisphere. A new precedent was set in marketing the tournament, as it was called the Rugby World Cup with no gender designation – an effort by World Rugby to create greater parity across the men’s and women’s games.
The Black Ferns won the World Cup in front of a sold-out crowd at Eden Park. It was their sixth win, with World Cup titles in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2017.
Poi
A unique aspect of the 2021 Rugby World Cup was the Wā Poi (It’s Poi Time) campaign, which encouraged fans to make and twirl poi in support of the players. The idea came from Dame Hinewehi Mohi, who made history at the 1999 Rugby World Cup by singing the national anthem in Te Reo Māori for the first time. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, NZ Rugby Māori Cultural Advisor Luke Crawford, Whangārei hapū group and poi expert Pere Wihongi provided cultural guidance to ensure the project was tika.
Thousands of poi were made by a range of local suppliers, and were given out free to fans as they entered match venues on game days. Educational videos featuring current and former players instructed fans on the correct and respectful use of poi, and showed them how they could make their own poi at home. DIY poi-making workshops were run in Auckland and Whangārei on all match days, and schools, kura, and community groups also ran poi-making programmes. The taura/cords on these poi are in the same colours as the official 2021 Rugby World Cup brand identity.
Celebratory tour
Following their World Cup win the Black Ferns embarked on a celebratory nationwide tour, visiting twelve centres between 5 December and 18 December. The whole team and its management attended the public reception at Parliament on 13 December. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau, and coach Wayne Smith all spoke, while players Ruahei Demant, Ruby Tui and Stacey Fluhler took questions from the hundreds of fans in attendance.
References:
- ---. n.d. ‘Black Ferns.’ Team Profile, All Blacks website.
- ---. 2022. ‘2021 Rugby World Cup.’ Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, updated 23 November.
- ---. 2022. ‘Fans to twirl poi in support of wāhine toa at Rugby World Cup 2021.’ News, All Blacks website, 21 September.
- ---. 2022. ‘Black Ferns celebrations continue with nationwide tour.’ News, All Blacks website, 2 December.
- ---. 2022. ‘Black Ferns celebrated at Parliament for spectacular Rugby World Cup win.’ New Zealand Herald, 13 December.
- McFadden, Suzanne. 2022. ‘Rugby World Cup: The poi phenomenon - How a small round ball became a highlight of the tournament.’ New Zealand Herald, 9 November.