A new women's Super Rugby competition will kick off next year.
Chelsea Alley celebrates the Chiefs win over the Blues in the historic first women's Super Rugby game. Photo: Photosport
Super Rugby Aupiki will involve the Blues, Chiefs and Hurricanes, as well as a combined South Island team to be governed by the Crusaders and encompassing the Crusaders and Highlanders regions.
The competition will be played across four weekends in March 2022.
The name Super Rugby Aupiki reflects on the competition being a crucial stepping stone between Farah Palmer Cup and the Black Ferns, with Aupiki translating to mean 'the ascent to the upper most realm'.
New Zealand Rugby's Head of Women's Rugby Cate Sexton said work was ongoing to bring together Super Rugby Aupiki.
"We saw a glimpse of how exciting this competition will be with the match between the Blues and Chiefs earlier this year. It also reaffirmed the need for this level of competition; will be a great opportunity for developing players.
"Next year is absolutely huge for women's rugby and this competition will be the perfect showcase to kick things off and get the rugby public engaged in women's rugby."
The teams will contract 28 players, with squads expected to be named in the next month.
Players will assemble for one preseason match before coming together four days a week through the competition window in March.
Super Rugby Aupiki will start on March 5.
The following two weekends will see home and away fixtures for each team before the top two meet in Final on March 26.
The competition draw will be confirmed later this year.
The Chiefs will be coached by Olympic gold medallist Black Ferns coach Alan Bunting, who stepped down from his sevens role recently.
The head coaches who will be tasked with selecting the first Super Rugby Aupiki squads have been confirmed.
The Hurricanes will be guided by Black Ferns assistant coach Wesley Clarke, the Blues by Auckland Farah Palmer Cup coach Willie Walker and the South Island team by Blair Baxter, the Canterbury Farah Palmer Cup coach.
Sexton believes the coaching appointments are strong.
"It was imperative to make sure these teams were led by quality coaches, and we have achieved that with this group.
"We're committed to this competition providing pathways for women in our game and we'll see that in each of the wider coaching groups that the clubs assemble which is an exciting prospect.
"It was a priority to get Head Coach appointments locked in so now Clubs can focus on their player recruitment and management teams," said Sexton.
Walker coached the first ever Blues women's team in their fixture against the Chiefs earlier this year. The former Super Rugby player is in his first season with the Auckland FPC team.
Bunting will join the Chiefs team, after spending the last decade working with the Black Ferns Sevens. The two-time NZR Coach of the Year returns to his playing roots, where he represented Bay of Plenty.
Clarke has been in the Black Ferns set up for seven years as Assistant Coach and has strong ties to Manawatu where he has coached the Turbos and both the men's and women's sevens teams.
Baxter led Canterbury to FPC success in 2020; the team has been unbeaten while he has been at the helm. The Christchurch based coach has also been involved with several other Canterbury representative teams in recent years. The South Island team will reveal a unique name and identity, representative of the region, in the coming weeks.
In naming Super Rugby Aupiki, NZR's Māori Cultural Advisor Luke Crawford linked this to the narratives about the ascent of Tane to the highest heavens to retrieve the three baskets of knowledge.
The baskets contained all the knowledge and understanding needed to ascend to the highest heights of achievement.
Drawing from a karakia that tells the journey of Tane, the following whakaaro was termed, "Te āupikitanga / tūpikitanga ki Te Toi-ō-ngā-rangi. - The ascent to the upper most realm".
Aupiki was chosen as the term to reflect the journey of players striving for higher honours which is the purpose of this competition.
