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Super Rugby Aotearoa's unique trophy has been unveiled - but can anyone prevent the Crusaders from taking it home?
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has unveiled Tu Kotahi Aotearoa, the unique trophy that will be presented to the winner of Super Rugby Aotearoa 2020.
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Created by Otaki carver Bill Doyle, the trophy represents the coming together of the Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders in the wake of the disruption and turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
T? K?tahi Aotearoa, which translates to Stand As One New Zealand, will be on display at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch for the Crusaders crunch match against the Hurricanes at 7.05pm on Saturday night (25 July) before heading north to Eden Park for the Blues v Chiefs match at 3.35pm on Sunday (26 July).
The trophy remains up for grabs heading into Round 7 of Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa with the Crusaders holding a five-point lead at the top of the table on 18 points, ahead of the Blues (13), the Hurricanes (12), and the Highlanders (10). Only the Chiefs (4) are mathematically out of contention.
Carved out of totara, the Tu Kotahi Aotearoa base represents an upturned waka. The traditional pounamu mere mounted on top signifies the strength and unity rugby has shown to create Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa and bring the rugby community back together.
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NZR Kaihautu Luke Crawford said the name of the trophy derived from a Maori whakaaro (thought) coined while the country was in lockdown.
“That thought spoke to Noho Tawhiti, which means to stay apart, but also Tu Kotahi, which means do things together. As a country, we needed to stay separated, but still be in this together to fight Covid-19.
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“The bigger concept around it was the value rugby has had in providing a platform for the country to reunite post lockdown… so that was the korero, Noho Tawhiti Tu Kotahi.
“In the context of Super Rugby Aotearoa, it’s fitting that we say ‘Tu Kotahi Aotearoa’ or ‘Stand As One New Zealand’, which is what the five clubs, the fans and the rugby community are doing in 2020.”
Crawford said the trophy was intentionally rooted in humility (Whakaititanga), with the pounamu and accompanying taura (rope), repurposed from those normally presented to players for reaching 100 Investec Super Rugby Caps.
“It has been a difficult time for many with job losses and economic impact, so it needed to be humble but still meaningful and authentic and also to serve as a maumaharatanga, or memory, of this time. ‘Ahakoa he iti he pounamu’ – ‘It is humble but it is precious’.”
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Doyle said he was “honoured” to be asked to create the trophy, which was designed in consultation with Te Wananga o Raukawa master-carver Jason Hina.
The designs in the wood were puhoro, traditional Maori leg tattoo, and unanahi, which represent the scales of a fish.
“The unanahi represent Tangaroa [the Maori God of the sea]. They represent protection [for the waka during its journey]. The puhoro represents speed and balance and deception and everything you would have in a game of rugby.”
The trophy has a special rugby connection for Doyle, whose son Sam (Ngati Raukawa) was an original member of the Hurricanes in 1996, played fullback for the Maori All Blacks against the 1993 British and Irish Lions and represented Manawatu and Wellington.
– New Zealand Rugby
Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments