Super Rugby Aupiki
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event 2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season
SportRugby union
Founded2022; 2 years ago (2022)
Inaugural season2022
No. of teams4
CountryNew Zealand
Most recent
champion(s)		Matatū
(2023)
TV partner(s)Sky
Related
competitions		Super Rugby Women's
Farah Palmer Cup
Official websitesuperrugby.co.nz

Super Rugby Aupiki is a professional women's rugby union club competition in New Zealand. Its inaugural season was held in March 2022. It is a steppingstone between the Farah Palmer Cup and the Black Ferns. Aupiki translates as ‘the ascent to the upper most realm’.[1][2][3][4]

Format

In 2022, the four teams were supposed to have three regular season matches with one home and away game, and one Super Round fixture. The top two teams at the end of the three rounds would contest the final.[5][6][7] The competition was reformatted as a round robin fixture because of the impact of COVID-19. All the squads were strongly affected with player isolations and COVID-19 cases. The inaugural champion was crowned based on their competition points after the final round.[8]

The 2023 season is expected to be played over a period of five weeks with ten games in total. Each team will play three regular season matches and two play-off matches.[9]

Expansion in 2024 will see a seven week season comprising six weeks of home and away round-robin matches for each club and a final to be played between the two top teams at the conclusion of the regular season. [10] In addition, a four week formal pre-season period will be played which will include two pre-season matches. [10]

History

The Chiefs Manawa won the inaugural title of the 2022 Super Rugby Aupiki season. They defeated the Blues Women 35–0 in the final round of the competition.[11][12][13][14]

2023

Matatū were crowned 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki champions after beating Chiefs Manawa 33–31 in a hard-fought match.[15][16] Matatū won their first title and also handed defending champions, Chiefs Manawa, their first-ever loss in the competition.[15][16]

2024

The 2024 season will see an expansion of squad sizes to 30 players for each Aupiki team and an increase in the season to seven weeks consisting of six weeks of home and away rounds plus a final. [10] Also included in the expansion of the competition were a more than doubling of player payments to include a four-week pre-season and eight-week player preparation period. [10] The pre-season period will include two pre-season matches for each Aupiki club; possibly with Australian Super W teams. [10] This will give the finalists a total of nine professional matches for the first time in New Zealand domestic women’s rugby history.

Teams

There are four teams that compete in the competition. The three teams based in the north are aligned with their Super Rugby franchises, namely the Blues, Chiefs and Hurricanes. The southern team, Matatū, is governed by the Crusaders and also includes the Highlanders region.[17][18][3]

Location of Super Rugby Aupiki teams

Team Coach City Stadium Capacity First season
Blues Women Willie Walker Auckland, Auckland Region Eden Park 50,000 2022
Chiefs Manawa Crystal Kaua Hamilton, Waikato FMG Stadium Waikato 25,800 2022
Hurricanes Poua Victoria Grant Wellington, Wellington Region Sky Stadium 34,500 2022
Matatū Blair Baxter Christchurch, Canterbury Orangetheory Stadium 18,600 2022

Champions

The following sides have won Super Rugby Aupiki titles.

Year No. of Teams Final
Winners Score Runners-up
2022 4 Chiefs Manawa N/A [a] Hurricanes Poua
2023 4 Matatū 33–31 Chiefs Manawa
2024 4 TBD

Players

All four sides will contract 28-players for the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season.[19] All players will be paid for participating within the tournament, with all players being on professional or semi-professional contracts.[17]

Television

Matches in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition will be shown by Sky Sport in New Zealand.[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ A round-robin tournament determined the final standings.

References

  1. ^ "Green light for Super Rugby Aupiki". allblacks.com. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Green light for Super Rugby Aupiki". superrugby.co.nz. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Super Rugby Aupiki: New Zealand Rugby announces new four-team women's competition". NZ Herald. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Sky is 100% behind Super Rugby Aupiki - Sky". www.sky.co.nz. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  5. ^ McLeod, Alex (17 January 2022). "Super Rugby Aupiki draw released for inaugural 2022 season". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Sky Super Rugby Aupiki set to light up rugby landscape in March". superrugby.co.nz. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  7. ^ "New Super Rugby Aupiki competition to feature a Super Round". Stuff. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Sky Super Rugby Aupiki update". superrugby.co.nz. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Sky Super Rugby Aupiki set to entertain in 2023". allblacks.com. 8 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e "SKY SUPER RUGBY AUPIKI 2024 FORMAT CONFIRMED". All Blacks.com. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  11. ^ Chapman, Grant (20 March 2022). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Chiefs Manawa dominate Blues to stay unbeaten, claim inaugural championship". Newshub. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Chiefs Manawa crowned Sky Super Rugby Aupiki champs". superrugby.co.nz. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  13. ^ Reive, Christopher (20 March 2022). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Chiefs storm away to claim inaugural title". NZ Herald. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  14. ^ Pearson, Joseph (20 March 2022). "Chiefs Manawa overwhelm gallant Blues in decider to win first Super Rugby Aupiki title". Stuff. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b Chapman, Grant (25 March 2023). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Matatū shock defending champions Chiefs Manawa to snatch women's crown". Newshub. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  16. ^ a b Reive, Christopher (25 March 2023). "Matatū win Aupiki final in dramatic fashion". NZ Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Super Rugby Aupiki: Players will be paid in NZ Rugby's new elite women's competition". Stuff. 5 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  18. ^ "South Island Women's team named for Super Rugby Aupiki". Super Rugby NZ. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Green light for Super Rugby Aupiki". SANZAAR. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
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