Carlos Spencer offers verdict on Tara Turner's 'brave' Aupiki final decision

Blues assistant coach Carlos Spencer has revealed his emotions during Tara Turner’s decision to take a quick tap in the 82nd minute of the Super Rugby Aupiki final against Matatu.

They did, however, benefit from the decision, clinching their third straight Super Rugby Aupiki title at the new One New Zealand Stadium.

Their triumph, a nail-biting 28-21 victory over the Christchurch-based side, came after the Blues earned a penalty deep inside Matatu’s 22-metre line, a minute after the final hooter, with the scores equal at 21 apiece.

Turner approached the ruck where the referee awarded the away side the penalty, grabbed the ball, and took a quick tap with the Matatu defence still recovering.

The Blues halfback shifted it to the left, where the Willie Walker-coached side went close, before they started to spread the ball left. A couple of phases later, Black Ferns winger Katelyn Vaha’akolo got her hands on the ball in some space, powering through several defenders to win the 2026 Super Rugby Aupiki final for the Blues.

Spencer said that Turner’s decision showcased the attitude of their team, and that they always back their players to make decisions.

“Oh, look, I think if the outcome was different, we’re probably having a different conversation,” Spencer said on Sport Nation Mornings.

“But we always encourage our girls to be brave, to play with courage, and express themselves. We also encourage them to make smart decisions. It was one of those decisions, and you look back on it now when you say it’s the right decision because we probably had them under the pump.

“I thought we were on top of them in terms of our attack, and to make a decision like that in the 81st minute, it paid off.

“And was it the right decision at that moment? Hey, a lot of people probably say it wasn’t, but hey, it got us the result at the end of the day, so that’s all that matters.”

One decision that Spencer believes was certainly the right one was Ruahei Demant’s option to give the ball to Vaha’akolo, who has provided significant energy off the bench during 2026.

“Obviously with KV, you know, she’s done awesome off the bench for us in the last few weeks, and the impact she’s brought to finishing off matches for us has been huge,” Spencer told Sport Nation.

“It was just another one of those big moments in the weekend where she got the ball and did a job for us, which was amazing.”

With the 2026 final going down to the wire, Blair Baxter’s Matatu side opted to keep the ball in hand during the late stages, something that Spencer wouldn’t encourage his players to do.

“I was very surprised, and to be honest, I wouldn’t have encouraged my girls to do that, and it probably just goes to show the different mindsets in the two teams.

“Them to obviously play for a draw rather than play for a win just goes to show what sort of mindset they’ve got, and we get a penalty in the 81st minute with an opportunity to kick for three and win the match, but we tap-and-go and win by seven instead of winning by three.

“So that probably just goes to show the difference in mindset that both teams have.”

Having been involved in Women’s Rugby and the Super Rugby Aupiki competition for a number of years now, the 35-Test former All Black weighed in on the quality of the tournament.

“I thought it was an improvement from last year, and I think the Hurricanes Poua proved that. I think you look at them last year and what they did last year to this year,” Spencer said.

“As soon as they grew a little bit of confidence and they picked up a couple of wins, just how much they grew towards the end of the competition, and that’s a good sign for the competition because we need this competition to be competitive because we only have four teams.

“They’ve got a young team as well, so I think the future’s bright for Poua and the competition needs it. So I think it’s been a step up from the last couple of years, which is good.”