Super Rugby Aupiki 2023
-
Just watched Aotearoa Rugby Pod and it’s a bit of a shame that when they discussed Aupiki (which was good length coverage) they guys had so many facts wrong about players. Both Hall and Parsons didn’t even know that Renee Wickliffe not only has a new name but has retired. They seemed to have done their research from the original squad announcements last year with no updates.
Keep up the promotion guys but please do a touch more research. -
-
-
@Crucial said in Super Rugby Aupiki 2023:
Interesting that all previews and TAB aren’t ranking the Poua too highly. I think they could surprise.
Yeah, I'd rate them ahead of Matatū, and maybe even the Blues.
It will be a tough game for the Chiefs Manawa in Levin.
-
Much of the preview talk understandably focuses on names from BFs and previous years but there has been quite an influx of league and touch players that add real unknowns in to the mix. It is a very changing scene at the moment and there could be some surprises.
Players that have had the game almost to themselves for years now have some real competition.
I think all four teams are quite even and the difference will be game management/tactics.
Tahs showed against the Blues early that an organised team will negate their firepower. It took the Blues about 15 minutes to even get into the other half. Errors are starting to have bigger consequences too so error rates, decision making and handling could be real factors in who ends up where.
The saving grace for teams is that they all get a finals game so the RR is almost training. Then it's a two match streak. -
A good initiative to improve the depth.
https://www.chiefs.co.nz/news-item/spotlight-on-womens-rugby-for-waitomo-chiefs-manawa-home-game
-
@Bovidae said in Super Rugby Aupiki 2023:
@Crucial Olive is now listed in the Chiefs Manawa squad profiles (ignore the details).
https://www.chiefs.co.nz/chiefs-squad-player/olive-watherston
born in 1970? She's looking good for 52/53 years...
-
@nostrildamus Laziness to just type in the same default DOB for a number of players.
-
@nostrildamus said in Super Rugby Aupiki 2023:
@Bovidae said in Super Rugby Aupiki 2023:
@Crucial Olive is now listed in the Chiefs Manawa squad profiles (ignore the details).
https://www.chiefs.co.nz/chiefs-squad-player/olive-watherston
born in 1970? She's looking good for 52/53 years...
I'll pass on the compliment.
Chiefs SM team either haven't followed up to complete player profiles or haven't actually asked the players for info.
Same thing across other franchises and men's game too.
SM in NZ teams is probably lightly funded and even NZR aren't that good. Hopefully this is something that Silverlake will put on the improvements table. Stats and profiles help drive interest.
-
-
-
@Crucial Yeah, because the semis are both played at North Harbour Stadium, it doesn't really matter whether a team finishes 2nd or 3rd. There's no home advantage on the line. They'll try avoiding finishing last, to avoid the Manawa in the semis.
-
The semi-final matchups have been confirmed (to be played at North Harbour Stadium on Sunday).
3.15pm: Matatū v Blues
6.05pm: Chiefs Manawa v Hurricanes PouaI think it would have been better to have a home and away round-robin and no final. That would give all teams an extra game and equal home/away games.
-
@Stargazer - there should be a fifth franchise. If not the Highlanders, base one in the Hawkes Bay. Or better still, six franchises - one in Otago and one in the Hawkes Bay. I reckon it’s affordable because they don’t need big huge grounds for Aupiki. The smaller intimate grounds are suitable. Like Napier’s McLean Park.
-
@Bovidae - Indeed. North Harbour Stadium is a terrible venue for crowds. Maybe they’re thinking it’s far enough north for Northlanders to travel down but still in Auckland to attract Aucklanders out and maybe even get people travelling up from Waikato.
As an aside, the best place for the Blues home ground is somewhere like Waitakere stadium.
-
@Auckman said in Super Rugby Aupiki 2023:
@Stargazer - there should be a fifth franchise. If not the Highlanders, base one in the Hawkes Bay. Or better still, six franchises - one in Otago and one in the Hawkes Bay. I reckon it’s affordable because they don’t need big huge grounds for Aupiki. The smaller intimate grounds are suitable. Like Napier’s McLean Park.
For starters there are few players around that have “missed out” on the selections for four teams.
That means that NZR would have to seriously up the $ for players and attract in league, oz and overseas players to make the numbers.
That money is better spent toward getting this comp more games. -
I will add that NZR are looking for this to be sustainable and have assessed that they need to pump a lot into the tiers below this comp to get a ready production line of players. That means helping out clubs and provinces with support in coaching programmes etc.
We have discussed before about another SI team (mainly because I was pissy about Matatu being so Cantab dominant across the organisation).
Even I agree that an Otago team isn't feasible without a load of imports. Maybe it will be with growth in Southland but at the moment the Otago FPC setup seems a long way off the Aupiki level as seen by the number of players that have made squads. They have 2 (?) in Matatu including an Oz import. One injured that played SRA last year and one that moved to another region for development.
HB also not overly strong and a handful of players made squads -
@Crucial I agree with you. There's not enough talent of a sufficient level for 5 franchises, but having seen some really good players miss out on a spot, the scouting and selection process needs to improve. Seeing someone like Amelia Pasikala going to Oz to play league (and now probably being lost to the Tui, because how many come back?), that's something that shouldn't have happened. I can think of at least 4 current Hawke's Bay players who were really unlucky to miss out (two of them were eventually training with the Poua, but no game time). No doubt, there will be more in other franchise areas. I have a strong suspicion, that (some) Championship teams aren't looked at, eventhough there could be individual players in those teams that are more than good enough.
