After years of wahine playing rugby in a gender-neutral boot, Adidas have come out with a shoe designed specifically for women to support their performance requirements.
The Adidas RS15 Avaglide is the first ever women’s specific rugby boot, and comes just in time, ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup kicking off in August.
The boots were created using feedback and research on foot-sizing from Adidas’ roster of professional rugby and amateur athletes, combined with research data on male and female anatomical differences.
The key differences in this new boot are the new heel structure, cushioning plastic inserts near the forefoot and a new moulded sock liner.
Some of NZ’s most adored women’s rugby players Katelyn Vaha’akolo, Maiawanakaulani Roos, and Black Ferns all-time leading try scorer Portia Woodman are ecstatic about the new kick game.
Check the video below to hear what these stars had to say:
When Vaha’akolo first heard the news, she said, “as they should”.
Woodman and Roos both acknowledged how different the women’s bodies are compared to men’s, and how amazing it is to have a boot that recognises those differences.
“For women to know that this is designed specifically for them, it’s an amazing event,” said Woodman.
Roos just couldn’t get over how “special” the feeling was.
Why the need for a specially designed shoe? Lots of reasons.
The female heel is narrower than the male, so the RS15 Avaglide features a ‘waterfall’ heel system that provides an adaptive fit with a dense foam lining, wrapped around the top edge and extending down the back of the outer heel of the boot, creating the cascading waterfall effect.
Women have a broader forefoot than men (didn’t even know this myself - the power of research!). A set of inserts has been placed to mould to the shape of the foot, allowing the leather to stretch if the wearer has wider feet.
Lastly, because our hips don’t lie, female athletes tend to over-pronate, meaning their feet roll forward due to broader hips. A moulded sock liner in the midfoot region, as well as asymmetrical lacing, provides support for the arch and any over-pronating.
As the game of women's rugby continues to grow, more aspiring athletes are looking up to the Black Ferns with heaps of admiration.
No doubt, many of those young girls will be slipping on this newly designed shoe sometime soon.
Roos had a message for all those with a dream to play rugby professionally: “Keep having fun. I started playing because I was having fun with my friends and it’s brought me here, and that’s pretty special.”
The slick new core-black RS15 Avaglide starts at $290 and hits NZ stores today.
The rise of women’s rugby is here, and it’s real.
