In a congested rugby calendar, Super Rugby Aupiki, which starts this weekend, will struggle for consistent attention.
Perhaps that’s always been the case, but competing against Super Rugby finals, the first All Blacks squad naming, and July tests (not to mention the football World Cup and cricket T20 World Cup) makes the 2026 version an even harder sell. This is despite two rounds of Aupiki occurring during a fortnight with no men’s fixtures.
How can Aupiki gain attention, and what are some interesting plots that could unfold?
Women’s rugby benefits from less kicking, especially the gormless ‘box kicks’ that have blighted the men’s game this season. Even All Blacks maestro Cam Roigard apologised at a Hurricanes press conference for the constant use of that largely fruitless tactic. Teams typically regain possession less than 15 percent of the time.
Ball-in-hand, ambitious, fast, skilled attack is still a good thing. It wins more games than it loses, as the Hurricanes men show. More people want to watch it. Look at how the Black Ferns captured the public’s imagination during the 2022 Rugby World Cup.
Female rugby players are generally more relatable, articulate, and accessible than their male counterparts. From that perspective, little change is needed. However, this humble correspondent has noticed an alarming rise in contrived “rugby speak” (“win the collisions,” “learnings”) that overshadows authentic dialogue. Please be yourselves!
On the field, the Blues roster looks vastly superior to the rest, while fears that the Hurricanes Poua will drag the chain again aren’t unfounded, though they have made some brave personnel and tactical changes in the offseason. To make the competition genuinely interesting, the Blues need to be challenged, but will that happen?
It’s the Blues to Lose
Two-time defending champions, the Blues, are stacked with 10 current or former Black Ferns in their starting XV and another four on the bench for their opening game against the Hurricanes Poua at Eden Park on Saturday.
Captain Maia Roos hasn’t missed a minute of Aupiki and locks the scrum with Maama Vaipulu, who was in explosive form during the Black Ferns Pacific-Four series win in April.
The loose forwards are headlined by 2023 Black Ferns Player of the Year Liana Mikaele-Tu’u, now a prolific winner of lineout possession, a new skill gained while playing in England with Harlequins.
Teenager Taufa Bason was an Aupiki breakout in 2025. The part-time eggfarmer from Feilding wasn’t contracted at the start of the season. She initially tried her luck with Matatū in Christchurch before filling in for injury at the Blues and becoming the best player in the Blues’ 26-19 final win against Matatū. Can Bason continue her momentum?
Amarante Sititi, sister of All Black Wallace Sititi, approaches the game with similar vigour. Amarante scored four tries in seven games for Auckland in the Dame Farah Palmer Cup (FPC) last year. The former head girl at Auckland Girls’ Grammar is a recipient of a Tania Dalton Foundation Scholarship, a proven accolade for future Black Ferns, inculding Rugby World Cup winner Amy Rule.
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe has retired, but the Blues have no cause for concern. Rockstar Black Ferns Ruahei Demant, Sylvia Brunt and Braxton Sorensen-McGee (11 tries in 6 games at the 2025 Rugby World Cup) are now joined by Mererangi Paul. Paul was the Black Ferns’ leading try scorer in the Pacific Four and has moved from Chiefs Manawa.
The Blues’ overall Aupiki record is 15 wins and 8 defeats, with 12 victories in the past two seasons. However, they lost both pre-season outings: to Chiefs Manawa (34-17) on May 30 at St Paul’s Collegiate, Hamilton, and to Hurricanes Poua (26-12) in Heretaunga on June 5. Is that cause for concern?
Captain Maia Roos: “Pre-season has been hard, but exciting, building connections with the new players. We’ve tried new combos and playing styles and seen pictures we want to exploit as an individual and a team.”
Couldn’t get any worse – Hurricanes Poua
The Poua haven’t won a game since beating Matatū on March 9, 2024, in the immediate aftermath of the ‘Redneck haka’ furore.
In 2025, they were categorically the worst team, ranking last in points scored (81), points conceded (244), tries scored (13), carries (694), clean breaks (38), defenders beaten (128), metres gained (2,596), and offloads (65). They had the third-best lineout but the worst scrum.
In 2026, the Poua have only two currently contracted Black Ferns, so why has former Māori All Blacks lock, straight-speaking Hayden Triggs, entered the fray as head coach?
“Why not? It’s a great challenge, a chance to grow my own pedagogy, but, more importantly, to bring new energy and new ideas and make a difference. The performances over the past two seasons aren’t good enough. There are many reasons for that. We’ve reviewed them and will learn from them. There is a huge desire and intent to be better.”
Triggs is joined by former Rugby World Cup-winning Black Ferns Mel Bosman and Emma Jensen, and the trio appear to be giving more than lip service to genuine change.
The acquisition of the Black Ferns’ third-highest points scorer of all time, Renee Holmes, is a coup. Even more compelling is her switch from fullback to first five-eighth. Getting your best player on the ball more often to drive the game makes sense. For Rugby World Cup winner Holmes, it’s a new challenge, and she might provide genuine back-up at Test level, where Ruahei Demant lacks challengers.
Iritana Hohaia has been shifted from halfback to fullback. Hohaia has played that position for Taranaki in the FPC, and it might improve her chances for more Black Ferns minutes with Maia Joseph and Tara Turner the top picks at halfback. Irish international Molly Scuffil-McCabe is available at halfback for the Poua.
Canterbury first five Te Rauoriwa Gapper, 34, and Black Ferns XV lock Sam Taylor, 23, have been appointed co-captains. The age gap and differences in position, culture, and experience create a smart balance. Gapper has won four FPC Premierships with Canterbury and is a wise head. Ambitious Taylor is on the rise, winning 14 of 17 games with Manawatū and ranking among the top 10 lineout forwards in Aupiki last year.
Battle-hardened provincial stalwarts, Tegan Hollows and Greer Muir, have been loyal servants of Otago. Hooker Hollows has played 72 games for the Spirit while centre or loose forward Muir holds the Otago records for most games (77) and tries (33).
The absence of powerhouse Black Ferns loose forward Layla Sae due to injury is a massive blow.
However, Black Fern Ayesha Leti-I’iga remains. In 2025, she ranked inside the top ten for metres gained (365), defenders beaten (25), and offloads (9). Recently, she scored her 200th try for her beloved club, Oriental Rongotai. It only took 82 games to reach that milestone.
Matatū Looking to go one Better
An intercept of an Amy Du Plessis pass by Portia Woodman-Wickliffe with the last play of the 2025 final snuffed out a possible match-tying try for Matatū, who appear the most likely challenger to the Blues’ mantle.
A settled squad, albeit less dynamic than the Blues, boasts Black Ferns like Laura Bayfield, Lucy Jenkins, Chelsea Bremner and the best loose forward in international rugby, Kaipo Olsen-Baker. The 2024 Black Ferns Player of the Year had a mammoth Aupiki in 2025, ranking in the top 10 for carries (92), metres gained (393), offloads (9), and tackles (104). In the Black Ferns 36-14 win over Canada in the Pacific 4 (Pac-4), she scored two tries.
What’s new? Alena Saili has extensive experience with the Black Ferns Sevens and could slot into midfield, wing or at a stretch loose forward. Elinor Plum-King, Maia Davis, and Paris Lokotui are all from the Hurricanes region but have opted to head south. Lokotui won an ANZ Netball Premiership with the Central Pulse. Davis is a youngster from the Black Ferns Sevens who can cover halfback, first-five or wing. Plum-King is a Black Ferns XV flanker.
Captain and former Black Fern Grace Brooker returns from a stint in the AFLW with Essendon.
“There were a number of things AFL taught me, like different techniques for kicking the ball, new perspectives on how to find space and contest in the air. It’s a fast-moving game with mistakes ranging from small to huge. Managing that challenge was an area of growth for me and my fitness is definitely better. You cover a lot of ground. In the first couple of games, I was running around like a headless goose.”
Matatū is aiming to sell out Te Kaha One New Zealand for their first match against Chiefs Manawa. So far, every game at Christchurch’s new $683 million stadium has sold out, and there is a push to shatter the record women’s crowd for an Aupiki match of 4,800. A family-friendly kickoff time of 4:05pm, with tickets priced from $20 for adults to $5 for kids, under-5s free, and $40 for a family of four, will help push the stadium toward a sellout.
New Faces at Chiefs Manawa
It’s been an unsettled preseason for Chiefs Manawa, the inaugural winners in 2022 and finalists in 2023 and 2024; they need their experienced players to step up.
Gone are Black Ferns Ruby Tui, Kelly Brazier (now assistant coach), Awhina Tangen-Wainohu (retired), Tayana Kalounivale (Australia), and Luka Connor, record try scorer with 17 in 15 games. Indeed, 13 of the 33 in the squad are potential debutants.
Black Ferns co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu rediscovered her best form during Pac-4. The stocks of new Black Ferns Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu, Vici-Rose Green, and Justine McGregor are rising. Shoshanah Seumanutafa has been capped by Canada. Manaia Nuku, back from a harrowing ACL injury, had her best season in the gun Black Ferns Sevens.
“When I first got injured, I was struggling to walk,” Nuku said. “The biggest thing the journey taught me was that you have to talk to people and normalise the experience rather than hide behind the pain. I definitely think I’ve become a better person and player because of this, more resilient, practical and empathetic.”
Carys Dallinger, 26, will run the cutter. She was born in Rotorua and played 27 games for the Manawatū Cyclones before heading to Australia, where she played six tests in 2023. She has also previously represented Hurricanes Poua and the Queensland Reds.
Most of the team is assembled from Waikato FPC Premiership-winning teams from the past two seasons.
