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Matatū

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Matatū
UnionNew Zealand Rugby
Founded2021; 4 years ago (2021)
LocationChristchurch, New Zealand
RegionTasman
Canterbury
Otago
Coach(es)Whitney Hansen
Captain(s)Alana Bremner
Most appearancesGeorgia Ponsonby (21)
Alana Bremner (21)
Top scorerRenee Holmes (59)
Most triesLucy Jenkins (8)
Winnie Palamo (8)
League(s)Super Rugby Aupiki
2025Runners-up
Official website
www.matatu.co.nz

Matatū is a New Zealand women's professional rugby union team that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. Matatū represents the South Island, specifically the regions covered by the Crusaders and the Highlanders.[1] They were crowned the champions of the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season.[2]

History

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Name, logo and colours

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The team's name, logo and colours were officially unveiled on 12 October 2021. The name, logo and colours were created by a local artist and designer Morgan Mathews-Hale in partnership with Te Whaka Ako Limited. Matatū is a name gifted by Ngāi Tūāhuriri, which is one of five primary hapū of the Ngai Tahu iwi.[1]

The name Matatū, literally meaning "alert or vigilant", has been gifted to symbolise the teams tūmanawa (determined sacrifice), tūaho (legacy), tūhono (connections) and tūtira (unity) in representing Te Waka o Aoraki (the South Island).[3]

Inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season

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2022

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Matatū played their first game against the Chiefs Manawa in a pre-season match ahead of the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season at the Owen Delany Park in Taupō. Liv McGoverne kicked the teams first-ever points and Julia Gorinski scored their first try. The Chiefs Manawa won the match 28–20.[4][5] Matatū and the Chiefs Manawa met five days later to play the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki match on 10 March 2022. It was a historical moment for Matatū as this was their first team to take the field. It was a tense match but the Chiefs Manawa edged Matatū 17–15 to win the second match between the teams.[6][7][8]

Matatū next played the Blues Women in round 2 of the competition, but lost the game 10–21.[9][10] In the final round, they faced the Hurricanes Poua at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton, and were defeated 8–16 to finish last overall.[11][12][13]

2023

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Matatū recorded their first Super Rugby Aupiki win after defeating the Blues Women 33–31 in the opening round of the competition.[14][15] In round 2 and 3, they lost to the Hurricanes Poua 24–25 and the Chiefs Manawa 38–46.[16][17] They met the Blues again, but this time in the semi-finals. They defeated them 26–23.[18][19] They claimed their first title after defeating the Chiefs Manawa 33–31 in the Grand final in Hamilton at FMG Stadium Waikato.[20][2]

2024

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Matatū's 2024 title defense started off with a 17–24 loss to the Blues Women in Invercargill.[21] It was followed by two more defeats to the Hurricanes Poua 29–36 in Wellington and Chiefs Manawa 22–38 in Hamilton.[22][23] They lost again to the eventual champions Blues Women in Auckland 17–27,[24][25] before defeating the Hurricanes Poua 37–17, and Chiefs Manawa 22–20 in both rematches.[26][27]

2025

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In 2025, Matatū defeated the Chiefs Manawa (31–25) in Hamilton to kickstart their campaign.[28] They then went on to defeat the Hurricanes Poua with a (29–7) bonus point victory in Christchurch.[29] Matatū suffered their first loss of the season with a (7–28) defeat to the defending champions Blues Women in Nelson.[30] They defeated the Hurricanes Poua again with a (43–24) win in Wellington.[31] They defeated the Blues Women (37–29) in Whangārei to hand them their first loss of the season.[32] Matatū were defeated by the Chiefs Manawa (22–28) in Christchurch in the last game of the regular season.[33] Matatū were defeated by the Blues Women (19–26) in the Final at Eden Park in Auckland.[34]

Overall record

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Matatū Super Rugby Aupiki matches
Coach Period G W L D P%
Blues Women 2022– 8 3 5 0 38%
Chiefs Manawa 2022– 7 3 4 0 43%
Hurricanes Poua 2022– 6 3 3 0 50%
(2022–present)* 21 9 12 0 43%
Updated to: 12 April 2025

Notes:

^* Official Super Rugby Aupiki competition matches only, including finals.

Season standings

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A summary of Matatu's results in the regular season is shown below:

Season Pos Pld W L D F A +/- BP Pts Notes
2022 4th 3 0 3 0 31 56 -25 1 1 Finished 4th overall
2023 2nd 3 1 2 0 95 102 -7 1 5 Defeated the Chiefs Manawa in the final
2024 3rd 6 2 4 0 144 162 -18 3 11 Finished 3rd overall
2025 2nd 6 4 2 0 169 141 +28 2 19 Lost to the Blues Women in the final

Current squad

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On 31 October 2024, the squad for the 2025 Super Rugby Aupiki season was announced.[35][36]

Matatū Super Rugby Aupiki squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Halfbacks (Scrum-halves)

Five-eighths (Fly-halves)

Midfielders (centres)

Outside backs

(cc) Denotes team co-captains, Bold denotes internationally capped, SP denotes a shadow player[further explanation needed] and ST indicated short-term cover.

Coaching staff

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In 2021, Blair Baxter was announced as Head Coach, with Whitney Hansen and Tony Christie appointed as the two assistant coaches.[37] Baxter stepped down from head coach after the 2023 season.[38] Whitney Hansen was named as Matatū's Head coach for the 2024 season.[39]

  • Head Coach: Whitney Hansen
  • Assistant Coach: Simon Kneebone
  • Assistant Coach: Jason Kjestrup
  • Assistant Coach: Blair Baxter

Captain

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Captain Years
New Zealand Alana Bremner 2022 – present

Coaching record

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Matatū coaches by date, matches and win percentage*
Coach Period G W L D %
Blair Baxter 2022–2023 8 3 5 0 38%
Whitney Hansen 2024– 12 6 7 0 46%
Totals (2022–present)* 21 9 12 0 43%
Updated to: 12 April 2025

Notes:

^* Official Super Rugby Aupiki competition matches only, including finals.

References

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  1. ^ a b "South Island Women's team ready to face the challenge of Super Rugby Aupiki with unveiling of unique identity". matatu.co.nz. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Reive, Christopher (25 March 2023). "Matatū win Aupiki final in dramatic fashion". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  3. ^ "Our Story - Matatū Rugby". Matatū. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Matatū team named for pre-season clash with Chiefs Manawa". superrugby.co.nz. 4 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Chiefs Manawa hold on to defeat Matatū in pre-season hit-out". superrugby.co.nz. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Matatū team announced for inaugural Sky Super Rugby Aupiki clash". superrugby.co.nz. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  7. ^ "PREVIEW: Chiefs Manawa v Matatū". superrugby.co.nz. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  8. ^ Burnes, Campbell (10 March 2022). "Chiefs Manawa edge Matatū in Sky Super Rugby Aupiki opener". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Matatū side named to face nib Blues in Hamilton". superrugby.co.nz. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  10. ^ Burnes, Campbell (15 March 2022). "Blues full of merit in downing Matatū". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  11. ^ Burnes, Campbell (20 March 2022). "Leti-I'iga brace sees Hurricanes Poua home". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  12. ^ Pearson, Joseph (20 March 2022). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Ayesha Leti-I'iga inspires Hurricanes Poua to first win against Matatū". Stuff. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  13. ^ Reive, Christopher (20 March 2022). "Hurricanes Poua claim first Super Rugby win". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  14. ^ "Matatū hold off Blues for first-ever Super Rugby Aupiki win". 1 News. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  15. ^ Wall, Jamie (25 February 2023). "Matatū pip Blues Women in outstanding performance". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Hurricanes Poua beat Matatū in one-point thriller for first victory of Super Rugby Aupiki". stuff.co.nz. 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Chiefs Manawa too strong for determined Matatū". odt.co.nz. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  18. ^ "INTO THE FINALS! Match Report v Blues". Matatū. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  19. ^ Wall, Jamie (19 March 2023). "Robins-Reti the heroine in Matatū semi final triumph". superrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  20. ^ Chapman, Grant (25 March 2023). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Matatū shock defending champions Chiefs Manawa to snatch women's crown". Newshub. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Super Rugby: Blues Women get win over Matatu in Invercargill". NZ Herald. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Hurricanes Poua v Matatū result: Hurricanes Poua edge Matatū in high-scoring encounter". NZ Herald. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Chiefs Manawa v Matatū result: Luka Connor hat-trick lifts Chiefs Manawa to third Super Rugby Aupiki win". NZ Herald. 16 March 2024. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Blues Women v Matatū live updates: Super Rugby Aupiki round four". NZ Herald. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  25. ^ "Recap: Blues stun Chiefs Manawa to win Super Rugby Aupiki final". stuff.co.nz. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Matatū finally switch on to convincingly beat Hurricanes Poua". odt.co.nz. 30 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Recap: Matatū v Chiefs Manawa". stuff.co.nz. 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Match Report: Round 1 v Chiefs Manawa". matatu.co.nz. 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  29. ^ "Matatū too strong for the Poua". matatu.co.nz. 9 March 2025. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
  30. ^ "Match Report: Round 3 v nib Blues". matatu.co.nz. 15 March 2025. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  31. ^ "Match Report: Round 4 v Hurricanes Poua". matatu.co.nz. 22 March 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  32. ^ "Match Report: Matatū win in Whangārei". matatu.co.nz. 29 March 2025. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
  33. ^ "Match Report: Round 6 v Chiefs Manawa". matatu.co.nz. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  34. ^ "Match Report: Grand Final v Blues". matatu.co.nz. 12 April 2025. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  35. ^ "Sky Super Rugby Aupiki squads locked in for 2025". NZ Rugby. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ "2025 Squad Named". Matatū. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  37. ^ "Blair Baxter Named As Head Coach". matatu.co.nz. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  38. ^ "Blair Baxter Accepts International Job". matatu.co.nz. 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  39. ^ "Whitney Hansen Named Matatū Head Coach for 2024". matatu.co.nz. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
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