With a home World Cup around the corner, it's no doubt a milestone year for women's rugby.
But for some 2022 year will be remembered for much more than a pinnacle event - rather the year that things began to change.
As the Farah Palmer Cup heads into semi-finals weekend, attention has started to turn to the next generation of stars and their mums.
At the Nortland Kauri, pregame rituals looks a little different with four babies essentially extra members of the squad, joining the team for trainings as well as games – home and away.
“That’s what I would love to see in the long run, that this is everyone’s new normal,” former Black Fern Charmaine Smith said with daughter Amiria.
“It’s our new normal here at Northland.”
Athletes balancing motherhood and footy is nothing new but the Farah Palmer Cup’s approach to it is, Northland manager Hannah Shalders said.
“We brought in the concept of a support person,” Shalders said.
“So they travel with the team on the flight and we put them in accommodation with the mum and the baby so they have that support around them throughout the travel and trip when we're away.”
The support has been a huge boost, Smith said.
“It means a lot. This has been a long time in the making and it's about being inclusive of everyone and it's just the message that it sends that mums can do anything and woman can do anything.”
Canterbury centurion Steph Te Ohaere-Fox is relishing the change too, with her daughter now also joining the team on tour.
It's a far cry from when she first started.
“There were definitely mothers but it wasn't heard of that you were allowed to bring kids away with you,” Te Ohaere-Fox said.
“I guess it was always compared to the men and they never took their children away.
“But it’s like comparing apples and oranges.”
The support concept is already included in Black Ferns contracts but it's hoped a similar policy can be extended into the Farah Palmer Cup and Super Rugby Aupiki competitions.
“I know there's a lot of work to do to create equality in our game but I think It's not going to take one big thing - it's going to be all of these little things that eventually get us to that equilibrium,” Smith said.
This new normal in Northland, hopefully just the first small steps.
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