Super Rugby Aupiki is the professional women’s rugby union competition organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR). It sits at the very top of the domestic women’s game, one level above the provincial Farah Palmer Cup, and serves as the main selection window for the Black Ferns, the national women’s side. Four regional franchises contest the title each year. In te reo Māori the word “Aupiki” is usually translated as “the ascent to the upper-most realm” — a fitting name for a competition built as the final step before international rugby. This guide explains what the competition is, who plays in it, how the 2026 season and draw were structured, how points are won, who has lifted the trophy, and where New Zealand fans can watch.
Key facts
- What it is: New Zealand’s professional women’s rugby union competition, run by New Zealand Rugby.
- Launched: 2022; the 2026 edition was the fifth season.
- Teams: four — Blues, Chiefs Manawa, Hurricanes Poua and Matatū.
- Format: six-round regular season, then a grand final between the top two.
- Points: 4 for a win, 2 for a draw, plus try and losing bonus points.
- Most successful: Blues (2024, 2025 and 2026 champions).
- Watch: live on Sky Sport and Sky Sport Now in New Zealand.
What Super Rugby Aupiki Is and How It Started
New Zealand Rugby launched Super Rugby Aupiki in 2022 as the country’s first fully professional pathway for women’s rugby. Before then, elite female players combined provincial rugby in the Farah Palmer Cup with jobs or study, and there was no professional layer between that competition and the Black Ferns. Aupiki closed that gap by pooling the best provincial talent into four centrally contracted regional franchises with proper coaching, medical and conditioning support.
Each franchise contracts a squad of around 28 players on professional or semi-professional terms. The competition is part of the wider Super Rugby family that also includes the men’s Super Rugby Pacific, and it shares the same franchise brands. If you already follow the men’s game, our guide to Super Rugby Pacific gives useful background on how those franchises are set up.
The early seasons were disrupted by COVID-19 and used short, condensed windows. Since then the calendar has expanded: the 2024 season introduced a full home-and-away round robin, and the format has continued to grow year on year. The 2026 edition was the fifth season of the competition.
The Four Franchises
The four teams are aligned to the men’s franchise regions, which keeps long-standing provincial rivalries alive in the professional women’s game. Each side draws its players from a group of provincial unions within its catchment.
- Blues Women (Auckland): the northern franchise, drawing on Northland, Auckland and Counties Manukau. The Blues have been the dominant side of the modern era.
- Chiefs Manawa (Hamilton): the central North Island franchise, covering Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki. “Manawa” means “heart” in te reo Māori. They were the inaugural 2022 champions.
- Hurricanes Poua (Wellington): the lower North Island franchise, drawing largely on Wellington and Manawātū. “Poua” refers to a treasured possession.
- Matatū (Christchurch): the only South Island franchise, representing Canterbury, Tasman, Otago and Southland across the whole of Te Waipounamu.
The four franchises
| Franchise | Base | Regions covered | Aupiki titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blues Women | Auckland | Northland, Auckland, Counties Manukau | 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Chiefs Manawa | Hamilton | Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki | 2022 |
| Hurricanes Poua | Wellington | Wellington, Manawātū | — |
| Matatū | Christchurch | Canterbury, Tasman, Otago, Southland | 2023 |
The 2026 Season and Draw
The 2026 season marked a significant scheduling change: rather than the traditional autumn window, the competition moved to a mid-winter slot alongside Super Rugby Pacific. The regular season opened on Saturday 13 June 2026 and ran across six rounds before the grand final on Saturday 25 July 2026.
A standout addition was “Super Rugby Aupiki: All In”, a festival-style Round 3 held on Saturday 27 June at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe, where all four teams played back-to-back on the same evening — the women’s equivalent of the men’s Super Round. The season also fed into a Trans-Tasman decider: the Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final, played the week after the grand final against Australia’s Super Rugby Women’s champions.
The table below shows a selection of the 2026 fixtures. Kick-off times are shown in New Zealand time and, as always, were subject to broadcast scheduling.
| Round | Fixture | Venue | Date / Kick-off (NZT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | Blues vs Hurricanes Poua | Eden Park, Auckland | Sat 13 Jun, 2:05pm |
| Round 1 | Matatū vs Chiefs Manawa | One NZ Stadium, Christchurch | Sat 13 Jun, 4:05pm |
| Round 3 (All In) | Chiefs Manawa vs Hurricanes Poua | Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe | Sat 27 Jun, 5:05pm |
| Round 3 (All In) | Blues vs Matatū | Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe | Sat 27 Jun, 7:05pm |
| Grand Final | 1st seed vs 2nd seed | One NZ Stadium, Christchurch | Sat 25 Jul |
The full, confirmed weekly draw — including every venue, date and final kick-off time — is published on the official New Zealand Rugby and Super Rugby websites, which are the sources to check for any late changes.
How Points and the Playoffs Work
Aupiki uses the standard Super Rugby competition-points system. Understanding it makes the ladder easy to read, and the same principles apply across the men’s game too, as explained in our guide to how the Super Rugby ladder works.
- Win: 4 competition points.
- Draw: 2 points each.
- Loss: 0 points.
- Try bonus point: 1 extra point for scoring at least three more tries than the opponent.
- Losing bonus point: 1 point for losing by seven points or fewer.
The maximum a team can take from a match is five points (a win with the try bonus). At the end of the six-round regular season the top two sides on the ladder meet in a single grand final, with the higher-placed team earning home advantage. There are no semi-finals in the four-team format — finishing first or second is what matters.
Roll of Honour: Every Aupiki Champion
Since the competition began in 2022, the trophy has been shared between three franchises, with the Blues establishing themselves as the benchmark side.
- 2022: Chiefs Manawa (inaugural champions).
- 2023: Matatū.
- 2024: Blues Women.
- 2025: Blues Women — 26–19 over Matatū at Eden Park.
- 2026: Blues Women — 28–21 over Matatū at One NZ Stadium, Christchurch.
The 2026 grand final was a third straight decider between the Blues and Matatū. The Blues sealed a dramatic 28–21 win with a match-winning try inside the final minute in front of a crowd of 10,067, claiming their third Aupiki title. A week later, on 1 August 2026 in Sydney, the Blues added the Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final by beating the NSW Waratahs 24–17 — the second edition of that Trans-Tasman fixture, and a second win in a row for the Blues.
How the Format Has Grown Since 2022
Super Rugby Aupiki has changed noticeably in a short time, and knowing that history helps explain why the schedule looks the way it does today.
- 2022 (inaugural): a short, condensed competition affected by COVID-19 restrictions, with teams often based together in a controlled window rather than travelling home and away.
- 2023: a similarly compact format, again built around a small number of match weeks and a final.
- 2024: a major step up, with a full home-and-away round robin spread over several weeks — the first time every team met every rival twice in the regular season.
- 2025: the introduction of the Trans-Tasman Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final, adding a fixture against Australia’s Super Rugby Women’s champions after the domestic grand final.
- 2026: a six-round season moved into a mid-winter window alongside Super Rugby Pacific, headlined by the “All In” festival round at Pukekohe.
The move to a winter slot in 2026 lined the women’s competition up with the men’s Super Rugby Pacific broadcast season, giving the games a higher-profile window and more consistent television exposure. Crowds have grown across the life of the competition, and the 2026 grand final drew a five-figure attendance of just over 10,000.
The Style of Play
Aupiki is a fast, high-skill competition. With only four evenly matched teams, margins are tight and the standard has risen sharply since 2022. Several tactical themes stand out for new viewers.
Quick ball at the breakdown is central: sides that recycle possession quickly can move defences and create space out wide. Our explainer on breakdown tactics covers the ruck and the jackal in plain terms. The set piece — scrum, lineout and maul — remains the platform that launches attacks; you can read more in our guide to set-piece strategies. Franchises tend to have recognisable identities: the Blues have been known for explosive outside backs and counter-attack, Chiefs Manawa for forward power, Hurricanes Poua for aggressive line speed, and Matatū for control and accuracy.
The finals have reflected how fine those margins are. The 2025 grand final was decided by a last-gasp intercept try from Blues wing Portia Woodman-Wickliffe against Matatū, while the 2026 decider between the same two sides again went down to a score inside the closing minute. Close, high-tempo endings have become a hallmark of the competition.
How to Watch and Buy Tickets
Sky Sport is the home broadcaster for Super Rugby Aupiki in New Zealand, showing every match live with replays and analysis. Fans who prefer a contract-free option can stream games through the Sky Sport Now app on phones, tablets and smart TVs. Free-to-air highlights packages are also typically available after matches.
Match tickets are sold through official ticketing agencies such as Ticketek, and buying only through authorised channels avoids invalid or overpriced resale tickets. For a wider look at streaming, apps and following your team online, see our guide to how New Zealand supporters follow the game digitally.
From Aupiki to the Black Ferns
The competition’s core purpose is player development. Aupiki gives the country’s best women a professional environment — full-time coaching, sports science and match exposure — that prepares them for Test rugby, and it is now the main proving ground for Black Ferns selection. It also strengthens the layer beneath it, giving Farah Palmer Cup standouts a clear next step. For how younger players climb toward this level, see our overview of the New Zealand player development pathway.
As women’s rugby continues to grow internationally, Aupiki’s role as a bridge between the provincial game and the world stage is only becoming more important — which is why the annual draw, results and champions are worth following closely.
Sources
- New Zealand Rugby — 2026 Super Rugby Aupiki draw confirmed
- Super Rugby Aupiki — official competition site
- AllBlacks.com — Blues crowned 2026 Sky Super Rugby Aupiki champions
- Super Rugby — Blues and Waratahs set for Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final
- RNZ — Blues v Waratahs, Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final
- RugbyPass — Super Rugby Aupiki announce full 2026 draw
Vanliga frågor (FAQ)
What does “Aupiki” mean?
In te reo Māori, “Aupiki” is generally translated as “the ascent to the upper-most realm.” It reflects the idea of the competition as the top rung of the domestic women’s game and the final climb toward international rugby with the Black Ferns.
How many teams play in Super Rugby Aupiki?
Four regional franchises compete: the Blues (Auckland), Chiefs Manawa (Hamilton), Hurricanes Poua (Wellington) and Matatū, which represents the entire South Island from its Christchurch base.
Who won Super Rugby Aupiki in 2026?
The Blues won the 2026 title, beating Matatū 28–21 in the grand final at One NZ Stadium in Christchurch. It was the Blues’ third Aupiki championship, and they followed it by beating the NSW Waratahs in the Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final in Sydney.
How do the competition points work?
Teams earn four points for a win and two for a draw. A bonus point is available for scoring at least three more tries than the opponent, and a losing side earns a bonus point if it loses by seven points or fewer. The top two teams after six rounds meet in the grand final.
Where can I watch Super Rugby Aupiki in New Zealand?
Sky Sport broadcasts every match live in New Zealand, and games can also be streamed on the Sky Sport Now app across mobile devices and smart TVs. Tickets for home fixtures are sold through official agencies such as Ticketek.