WELLINGTON: New Zealand women’s rugby head coach Glenn Moore resigned Saturday, five days after a withering review found coaches made culturally insensitive comments to the country’s top players and indulged in favouritism and body-shaming. Moore’s immediate departure comes less than six months from the Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by New Zealand, the defending champions. Despite steering the team to the 2017 title, Moore had been under intense pressure to quit following the independent review, which found that Black Ferns players had been badly served by both team management and New Zealand Rugby. It was launched after experienced hooker Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate shared a social media post in which she said she had suffered a mental breakdown because of critical comments made by Moore. She alleged Moore had told her she did not deserve to be on the team and was “picked only to play the guitar”. Moore, 62, said in a statement that he had chosen to end his seven-year tenure following a wave of criticism at his retention. “The decision to resign from a position I am passionate about six months before the 2022 Women’s Rugby World Cup has been really tough for both me and my family,” Moore said. “I remain concerned that the prolonged Cultural and Environmental Review continues to be distracting at a time when all focus needs to be on maximising performance.” Moore said he took issue with Ngata-Aerengamate’s allegations, describing them as “misleading”.