Sunday Star-Times

Growth of Super Rugby Aupiki ‘will take time’ despite Black Ferns’ success

Rugby bosses know the women’s competitio­n must expand to survive and so, writes Joseph Pearson, the big question for its new season is whether it can capitalise on the World Cup win.

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Super Rugby Aupiki was wrecked by Covid-19’s impact last year when its first edition was confined to three rounds in 10 days in Hamilton.

Its second season starts this Saturday at the Levin Domain, more than three months since the Black Ferns were crowned world champions for a sixth time after a magical Rugby World Cup triumph at Eden Park.

There is cautious optimism that the semi-profession­al tournament can capitalise on the World Cup’s success.

Women’s rugby was catapulted into the public spotlight like never before, mirroring the global trend of greater prominence for women’s sport.

However, chief executives and general managers the Sunday Star-Times spoke to from

Aupiki’s four teams all agreed on one sticking point – a women’s Super Rugby competitio­n will need to be longer than this season’s five rounds to survive in the long-term.

They were also excited about the game’s future, eager to seize on the momentum of the first women’s WC to be played in NZ, while accepting it will take time to fully establish a more profession­al competitio­n.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson, speaking at last week’s unveiling of Allan Bunting as the new Black Ferns coach, said they are hopeful of an expansion with overseas teams – aligned namely with Australia’s Super W – from next year.

Until such a commitment is confirmed, there will be trepidatio­n about its future while players, who for so long have been amateur or semi-pro, consider how best to make a career from women’s rugby in its formative years as a profession­al sport.

The significan­t expansion of the NRL’s women’s competitio­n (NRLW) in the coming years, with larger salaries and a commitment to at least 20 rounds, is also looming as a threat for rugby’s bosses wanting to retain the best talent.

Naturally, the lure of playing for the Black Ferns, following the WC success, will be strong.

They will be contracted fulltime through to the next cup in England in 2025, but the level of players below the national team will mostly be part-time for the duration of Aupiki only.

The opening round sees the Hurricanes Poua host the Chiefs Manawa in Levin, before the South Island-based Matatu¯ play the Blues in Dunedin in the first part of a double-header, before the men’s match between the Highlander­s and the Blues.

After last year’s Covid-related disruption­s, which forced teams into restrictiv­e bubbles in Taupo¯ , each squad has had regular, uninterrup­ted pre-seasons.

With many players working, however, they could only assemble on weekends at first, although the teams do gather more regularly throughout the week for the full season.

Matatu¯ general manager Sarah Munro said this season feels like ‘‘only the beginning’’.

‘‘[Aupiki] is building and developing. It needs to keep developing to where we want it to go, with longer campaigns, more

weeks of play, full-time assembly and larger squads,’’ she said.

While an absence of star players – such as World Cup winners Ruby Tui (on an extended break), Stacey Fluhler, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Sarah Hirini (all sevens) – was a blow for marketing Aupiki, the challenge for each team will be maintainin­g the game’s increased profile from the World Cup.

Attendance records, domestical­ly and globally, were smashed.

The crowd for the Eden Park final, of 42,579, was a world record for women’s rugby.

Much of its demographi­c was different to the typical audience for men’s rugby.

There were more families and women, some attending a game for the first time, while a feature of the Black Ferns’ two World Cup matches at Whanga¯rei’s Northland Events Centre was the packed grass banks in a smaller venue.

The atmosphere in Northland was nonetheles­s fantastic.

Chiefs chief executive Simon Graafhius said that different crowd presented them with an opportunit­y to reach new audiences.

‘‘I don’t think any of us have yet figured out how to bottle that festival atmosphere we saw at the World Cup, but we need to try and do that,’’ he said.

‘‘It would be a wasted opportunit­y if we don’t leverage what happened [at the World Cup]. We need to make sure the product is good.’’

Large crowds seen at the World Cup are unlikely to flock to every Aupiki match, but it’s hoped teams can begin to slowly build supporter bases. Historical­ly, crowds for women’s sport have been almost non-existent.

It’s why the Hurricanes are hosting in the modest setting of the Levin Domain, aiming to attract about 3000 fans.

Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee said they were marketing through their usual channels – advertisin­g, billboards, social media and visits to clubs and schools – and hope to build the Poua’s brand.

‘‘The Black Ferns’ World Cup put women’s rugby on the map for families, young girls, even traditiona­l men’s rugby fans are loving it,’’ Lee said.

‘‘We want more people watching, going to games, and fans will realise it’s something special.’’

Blues chief executive Andrew Hore said Aupiki’s expansion will take time, but stressed there was great potential.

He said his 7-year-old son, who has a Black Ferns jersey, didn’t see men’s and women’s rugby as two different games and talks about players, such as Ruahei Demant and Patrick Tuipolutu, as though they were the same.

‘‘I don’t think any of us have yet figured out how to bottle that festival atmosphere we saw at the World Cup, but we need to try and do that.’’

Simon Graafhius Chiefs chief executive

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