The NSW Waratahs have formally recognised the history of their powerhouse Women's program with an official capping procedure ahead of Friday's semi-final against the ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium.
Spearheaded by team manager and Waratah #52 Erin Morton, over 200 players have been recognised with their formal cap number, stretching from the first game as a club in 1993 until last fortnight's debutant Ruby Anderson #206.
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It comes in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the Waratahs club, with Morton going through the record books for well over a year to track every single game going back over 30 years to make sure when players received their formal number, they were accurate.
“With 150 years this year, we really wanted to celebrate that but also understand that we're celebrating the whole club," she told Rugby.com.au
“We went into the archives in 1993 for the first match and got some help from a lot of different avenues, nailing down team lists as much as we could to put it together and celebrate the 150 year anniversary. It’s tough looking at the early years, the record-keeping for anyone back there is not great, we were scoring using a piece of paper and pen so I think we’ve done pretty well to fill it all out.
“We were really conscious of not giving them a number because we were aware they weren’t number one (when Super W started in 2018)
“All the current players are currently capped, but they just didn’t have a number…when you explain it to the current players why they didn’t get a number initially, they were all totally on board with that, understood and really respected the Waratahs’ decision to wait and do it properly rather than give them a number that wasn’t right.
“The respect from the current playing group for the shoulders they stand on is really humbling and something that I love to see."
The players will be recognised as part of their end-of-season presentation, which will also acknowledge the significant group of male players post-war who were not capped according to Morton.
On top of this, there are plans to formalise a Waratahs Women's Hall of Fame, potentially unveiled at the same presentation.
“We’re going to go with an initial 15 and there’ll be criteria around having to be retired for five years which we’re still working through but it’s a long list and really exciting," Morton explained on the Hall of Fame.
“I’m looking forward to getting them all in a room at the presentation night .”
For scrumhalf and Waratah #167 Layne Morgan, the initiative and the way it ties them back to the rich history of the club was welcomed.
“It’s pretty amazing to have this formalised finally. It’s a huge legacy behind us at Waratahs and unfortunately, because we haven’t had the capping, we didn’t know how far that leafy stretched," Morgan explained.
“It’s awesome to say that my number is 167 and see the females behind me who wore the Tah jersey and have paved the way. To actually be able to give something back to them was a really nice connection with the past.
“Women’s Rugby has built so much since 1992 so to be able to acknowledge those women that allowed that to happen is pretty exciting.”
The current Waratahs are eager to create their own history on the quest to bring home a fifth Super Rugby Women's title.
Friday's standalone semi-final at Allianz Stadium reflects the growth of the 15-a-side game and women's program, eager to book their place at next week's Final at Ballymore, the home of women's Rugby in Australia.
“When I found out that our game was going to be at Allianz Stadium, I had the biggest smile on my face, you couldn’t take it off me because it’s about time that women are respected to have finals in stadiums and be able to show what they’re capable of on a great platform, turf and place," Morgan said.
“It’s just so exciting to even be able to have a ticket for our game, I think I’ll be asking my parents to keep this so I can have it. There’s not been many times where you actually get a ticket to go to a standalone women’s Waratahs game, which is pretty exciting.
“It’s a big first and step in the history for Super Rugby franchises and a good lead from the Waratahs to show how Women’s Rugby should be respected and how to be respected.”
