The greatest woman player the rugby world has ever seen, Anna Richards is more responsible for the development of the game to the stage it has currently reached in New Zealand than any other person. She was an ever-present in New Zealand teams from the second one, picked in 1990, until she called it a day in 2010 having played a record 58 matches (out of a possible 67) and 49 of the possible 54 tests. She was an extraordinarily dedicated athlete, one who never cut corners.
A halfback or first-five, Richards controlled the game in many ways but always preferred to attack with ball in hand. As a result, the New Zealand teams of her era played at a pace and skill level their opponents could not match; it was little wonder the Black Ferns were unbeaten for more than eight years (2001-09, 24 tests). Auckland teams were even more dominant; since the NPC began in 1999 Auckland has won all but two.
Richards tended to be one of those players who make an ideal first lieutenant rather than being a regular captain; Farah Palmer had that job for most of her New Zealand career with Richards very much the senior pro. It was a sharing of responsibility that worked perfectly and suited the temperaments and styles of both women to a tee. Anna Richards went to five World Cups, despite a seven-year hiatus between the first in 1991 and the next; she was part of four winning teams at this tournament (1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010).
Honours for Richards poured in towards the end of her career; NZRU award for Women’s Player of the Year – in 1994, the first year of the award, was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014 and was awarded the Steinlager Salver, the NZRU award for outstanding lifetime achievement, in 2021.
Rochelle Martin never achieved the fame Richards did, but a lot of that had to do with very limited media coverage, and also the fact she was a loose forward rather than the team’s playmaker in a backline that routinely ripped sides apart. She was, without question, one of the best in the world in her day; the New Zealand forwards (particularly the loosies) were a cut above.
Martin came to prominence in Wellington, from where she played representative rugby in 1993 and made the Black Ferns for the first time in 1994, beginning a 13-year international career. When she retired Martin had played 32 tests and scored 14 test tries, which was tied for seventh on the Black Ferns list at the time and best among the forwards.
Martin was named the New Zealand Women’s Player of the Year in 1995 and then moved to Auckland, she linked up with Richards and a number of other quality players at College Rifles, quickly making that club a force on the Auckland scene.
Her path to three World Cup titles was interrupted by two major injuries, both to her ACL, but each time she rebounded strongly. Those three World Cups were 1998, 2002 and 2006, and Martin was typically one of New Zealand’s best each time.
On the domestic front she never lost a game for Auckland (she played 31 first-class matches from the inception of the NPC in 1999) and was one of the most dominant players of her era.
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