The historic contracts signed by Black Ferns players are a "a step in the right direction" towards the country's leading female rugby players becoming fully professional.
Black Ferns lock Charmaine Smith told TVNZ1's Breakfast today that female players had to be realistic when it comes to transitioning to a fully professional environment.
"We have to be realistic, we need to be playing more test matches a year for that (full professionalism) to happen, at the moment we don't play enough for it to be fulltime yet," she said.
"We're definitely heading in the right direction to be fulltime."
The new 12-month deals secured the players on retainers and providing other assistance, including medical and life insurance and maternity leave.
Smith is a police officer and says the new contract has allowed her to get off night shifts as she trains twice daily.
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