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Netball champion among seven new faces in 2026 Matatu squad

DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND - APRIL 23: Paris Lokotui of the Tactix collects a pass during the round eight ANZ Premiership match between Steel and Tactix at Edgar Centre, on April 23, 2023, in Dunedin, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
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Matatu have named one of the more settled sides for the 2026 Super Rugby Aupiki season, with 21 returning players and seven new faces, along with two returning names.

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Alena Saili, Elinor-Plum King, Maia Davis, Paris Lokotui, Poppy Baxter, Santo Taumata and Wikitoria Rogers are the newcomers, each at different ages and stages of their professional careers. Holly Greenway and Natalie Delamere return after previously representing Matatu in 2024.

Lokotui, already a triple international in netball, basketball and water polo and with an ANZ Premiership title to her name in the netball arena, switches to rugby aged 23. Her father, Tukulua Lokotui, represented Tonga at three Rugby World Cups.

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“Paris is such a versatile athlete. Her background gives her a competitive edge, and we’re really looking forward to supporting her as she finds her voice in this game,” new Matatu head coach Blair Baxter said.

In the cohort of returning faces, seven current Black Ferns feature in the squad: Prop Maddi Robinson, locks Laura Bayfield and Chelsea Bremner, loose forward Kaipo Olsen?Baker, halfback Maia Joseph, first five Hannah King and midfielder Amy du Plessis.

“Our returning players know who we are and what matters to us, and our new athletes have come in with genuine hunger to grow and contribute. They’re all proud to represent the South Island and proud to represent Matat? and all we stand for,” Baxter added.

Grace Brooker returns from a stint in the AFL to captain the team.

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Matatu 2026 squad

Front Row
Pip Love
Santo Taumata
Eilis Doyle
Holly Greenway
Jett Hayward
Maddison Robinson
Marcelle Parkes
Wikitoria Rogers*
Natalie Delamere

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Locks and Loose Forwards
Laura Bayfield
Chelsea Bremner
Emma Dermody
Lucy Jenkins
Kaipo Olsen-Baker
Elinor-Plum King
Sarah Jones
Fiaali’i Solomona

Inside Backs
Maia Joseph
Hannah King
Kelsyn McCook
Abigail Paton

Midfield and Outside Backs
Amy du Plessis
Winnie Palamo
Poppy Baxter*
Grace Brooker
Maia Davis*
Alena Saili*
Naomi Sopoaga
Charlotte Va’afusuaga

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Comments on RugbyPass

T
TT. 18 minutes ago
Billy Vunipola: 'If I say that, I’ll get too comfortable. I’ll stay humble'

Could probably play 20 minutes in a WC game if England were looking for a powerful 8…

3 Go to comments
K
KwAussie 32 minutes ago
Rennie to shuffle No 10 pack as Richie Mo'unga's comeback is pushed back

Not sure why all these people are living in the past and expect the ABs to grow by looking backwards. Mo’unga may prove to be the best 10 in NZ, but he needs to prove it because he’s been away for so long. It amazes me how players who leave seem to grow in skills and ability that they didn’t have when they played in NZ. Sure RM did some really good things, but he also made a lot of mistakes that gave the ball to the opposition. Saying he needs to prove himself in the NPC is the correct thing to do. While the Boks have done well with bringing players back from overseas, the reality for them is that their home competition and economy is so awful they have to because they can’t afford their top players to stay in SA.

For me NZR is doing the ABs a huge service in retaining the policy and keeping the best players in NZ. Sure there are a lot going off shore but for the most part they are fringe players or ones who have realised that they aren’t likely to get selected and so are off to capitalise on their ability to earn for their families before they get too old. Good on them.



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55 Go to comments
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GRB13 41 minutes ago
'Tried and true': Ex-All Black winger Rico Gear assesses the options out wide for Dave Rennie

Just because you cap a player does not necessarily mean you build true depth. You can cap him give him 5min and hardly ever play him again.

27 Go to comments
K
KwAussie 56 minutes ago
The five performers of the week from Super Rugby Pacific round fifteen

Some of those decisions that cost them the game really question the leadership of this group. They were basic things they should have got correct and didn’t.

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K
KwAussie 57 minutes ago
The five performers of the week from Super Rugby Pacific round fifteen

The last thing NZ rugby needs is to follow the disastrous policy RA are doing and recruit some mungo who doesn’t understand the game, won’t know where to be on the field in attack or defence, can’t pass accurately both ways, can’t kick and who will take 3 years to do what rugby players do instinctively. FFS! lets not follow that stupid path.

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BleedRed&Black 1 hour ago
The five performers of the week from Super Rugby Pacific round fifteen

Israel Leota looks like he’s a good potential candidate for the Highlanders. They need a strike winger now Lowe is going.

Always thought NZ super rugby/npc should spend a lot more time recruiting in Oz league for NZers for fullbacks/wings/centres aged between 18 and 23. There are a colossal number of players from NZ who get recruited by NRL teams. Almost all don’t make it. A lot because they ain’t good enough, but some because their skill set doesn’t suit league.



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K
KwAussie 1 hour ago
'Tried and true': Ex-All Black winger Rico Gear assesses the options out wide for Dave Rennie

Yeah sure let’s look to the past to create the future plus I’ll put in a word for my mates because that’s all that really matters. Luckily Dave Rennie won’t be listening to this dribble.

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Henrik 1 hour ago
Finger of blame quickly pointed after Leinster's Champions Cup beatdown

don’t worry Eric, I have no Saffer genes …. lived in South Africa in my youth, so something like a Saffer-at-heart (especially after Apartheid was abolished) …. but I do have a soft spot for the Irish as well 😉 …. and yes, if Nienabers gameplan doesn’t blend well with the overall Leinster gameplan, he’s not the perfect fit, regardless of his merits - I don’t think he’ll have difficulties in finding a new job 😉

32 Go to comments
K
KwAussie 1 hour ago
Black Ferns Sevens forced into change after young star sidelined

That’s a real shame. Depth is good for NZ and I think they’ll need it with Australia pushing hard. Looking forward to this weekend

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Henrik 1 hour ago
Rennie to shuffle No 10 pack as Richie Mo'unga's comeback is pushed back

I am neither a Kiwi nor an AB-fanboy, so I don’t feel any entitlement to participate in that discussion …. all I’m saying is the ABs are, as of now, always a serious side, regardless whom they field …. they don’t have the absolute dominance of 10 years ago, which is a good thing for rugby in general, in my opinion

btw, I don’t think the Boks have any absolute dominance either, they are the team-to-beat right now, but they are not as (almost) unbeatable as the ABs were once - again, a good thing for rugby in general, in my opinion



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B
B 2 hours ago
'Tried and true': Ex-All Black winger Rico Gear assesses the options out wide for Dave Rennie

No “loyalty” to incumbents, selections based on current SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC FORM and heavily centered on rigorous work ethic, uncompromising conditioning, and baseline skill execution..

Josh Moorby, (Maori AB’s) now All Black #12??…Right Wing, Fullback….



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GodOfFriedChicken 2 hours ago
Jamie Joseph pinpoints where Highlanders repeatedly fell short in 2026

I’m not saying to have them rely exclusively on high school talent but teams should be able to retain their top local talent rather than lose them to more regularly successful unions on a regular basis. Look at what’s happened to the Manawatu region, who lost the entire Whitelock family and Codie Taylor to Canterbury before any of them could even play a game there. Imports are part of the game but if it’s a top talent that was either raised in your region or already plays in your region at a position that’s not of surplus, you should have more ability to have their rights. Also on the note of Tupou-Ta’eiloa, he moved to Moana because he wants to play for Tonga i.e. the actual purpose of the team.

The salary cap in SRP is very poorly enforced, especially when you compare it to leagues like the NRL or most of American sport. There’s no salary floor, so a team like the Highlanders is regularly spending much less than their other NZ teams and the whole AB top-up system means that you can essentially pay a bunch of good players much less for their SR salary than they’re worth because the players get enough of an AB top-up that their SR salary doesn’t matter. Given that the ABs have eligibility rules that require them to play SR anyway, it shouldn’t be a massive stretch to slightly increase the salary cap but include AB salaries in there. It’s not being “penalised for doing things right”, it’s keeping teams from hoarding talent and making sure the competition stays fair. Happens in the NRL every time but if their systems are as good as advertised (like Penrith, who’ve had to let go of a star every year to a lesser team since their title runs), then they should be able to rebuild. There’s a reason why the NRL’s had nearly every team (except the Warriors, Dolphins and Titans) win a premiership while SR has become top heavy with a lot of one sided results - one competition lets you hoard talent and essentially lets you pay them with hidden money legally, the other makes sure players are paid what they’re worth for the team.



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K
KM 2 hours ago
The five performers of the week from Super Rugby Pacific round fifteen

That was a great game , but the Chiefs have yet to learn , To quote Tommy Rudonakis , Never give a Mug a even Break , they should never have kicked those penalties, That was the wrong way , keep playing , put your foot down on the throat to say .

T Vai is a serial mug , smug rubbing the opposition players heads is a sure way to get them fired up to rub your nose in the mud in return , Literally .



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T
The Economist 3 hours ago
Jamie Joseph pinpoints where Highlanders repeatedly fell short in 2026

Wanting teams to retain their high school talent would be an own goal for the Highlanders, which relies almost exclusively on imports. Straight away they’d have to give up Holland, Lienert-Brown, Tangitau, JRK, Lennox, Dunshea, Lowe, Shearer, to name just a few. It’s also hard to have much sympathy when they let gems like Tupou-Ta’eiloa slip through their hands.

There is an enforced salary cap in SRP, but teams with better coaching and culture perform better and generate more ABs, which nets them bigger national top-ups. Taking the latter into account would inevitably result in a cap so high that it’d almost never bind, otherwise clubs would be penalised for doing things right and ABs would be required to change clubs every year.



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G
Graeme Hayward 3 hours ago
Finger of blame quickly pointed after Leinster's Champions Cup beatdown

Of course they can have a postmortem. To be fair, when your attack fails, the first port if call shouldn't be the defense coach.

My assessment was that they were outmuscled when defending and attacking.



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L
Lionel 3 hours ago
'Fundamental shift in the game': World Rugby outline new six-year strategy

I don't get it?

What's the fundamental shift?



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11 Go to comments
T
The Economist 3 hours ago
Jamie Joseph pinpoints where Highlanders repeatedly fell short in 2026

“the teams growing, getting stronger every year…” Not on the basis of evidence it’s not. The Highlanders have been on an inexorable downward trend since Mauger left, broken only by the single year Dermody was in charge, while Joseph has made things demonstrably worse, apparently without consequence. The Teflon Man.

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M
MM 3 hours ago
'Tried and true': Ex-All Black winger Rico Gear assesses the options out wide for Dave Rennie

You obviously don’t follow NZ rugby Tom if you think Reiko goes well at 13! He’s been a continual disaster in that position.

27 Go to comments
G
GodOfFriedChicken 4 hours ago
Jamie Joseph pinpoints where Highlanders repeatedly fell short in 2026

Just imagine though if Super Rugby had a properly enforced salary cap or draft system to make sure talent is actually spread evenly across at least our NZ sides (though ideally across the competition as a whole). Teams like the Landers only need 2-3 injuries to starters to have a massive downturn in play (and far exceeded that) while teams like the Crusaders can lose an All Blacks prop and hooker and still have an All Black prop and hooker as a replacement. Be great if they could’ve kept talent from Otago like George Bell (born there and schooled there), Bower and Lio-Willie (both part of Otago).

8 Go to comments
J
JW 4 hours ago
Rennie to shuffle No 10 pack as Richie Mo'unga's comeback is pushed back

To keep them in NZ. You just heard it from the horses mouth, theres no way NZ can replicate SAs pipeline to replace players that leave, it needs to use the AB jersey to keep as many of them hear as possible.

55 Go to comments
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