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Super Rugby Aupiki 2024 draw revealed
Afternoon games feature heavily in the newly announced and extended 2024 Super Rugby Aupiki schedule.
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The tournament, squads and preseason have all been expanded for 2024, with preseason games preceding the March kickoff of the regular season.
Chiefs Manawa went undefeated in the 2023 season until falling to Matatu in the final. The Manawa side will kickstart the season against the Hurricanes Poua in Hamilton. The reigning champions Matatu will then face a Blues team boosted by the recent Auckland FPC victory.
There will be six rounds of action before a final hosted on April 13.
New Zealand Rugby’s Women’s High Performance Manager Hannah Porter said: “It’s great to announce the 2024 Sky Super Rugby Aupiki draw. Once again matches will be played across the country, with all teams having the opportunity to play their opposition both and home and away.
“We expect to be entertained by the fast pace, engaging style our women play. Adding to this, the growth and injection of new talent across the Aupiki squads it will be exciting to see the positive influence that will have. We look forward to the competition kicking off.”
Round three will feature the 2023 final rematch in Hamilton and then the final round of pool play will see the rivalry head to Christchurch.
Some venues are yet to be announced but fans in Palmerston North and Levin will get the chance to see their Hurricanes Poua in action as the team play fixtures away from Wellington in rounds four and six.
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2024 Sky Super Rugby Aupiki Draw
Round 1
Chiefs Manawa v Hurricanes Poua, Saturday 2 March, FMG Stadium Waikato, kick off 2.05pm
Matatu v nib Blues, Saturday 2 March, venue TBC, kick off 4.35pm
Round 2
nib Blues v Chiefs Manawa, Saturday 9 March, venue TBC, kick off 2.05pm
Hurricanes Poua v Matatu, Saturday 9 March, SKY Stadium, 4.35pm
Round 3
nib Blues v Hurricanes Poua, Saturday 16 March, venue TBC, kick off 2.05pm
Chiefs Manawa v Matatu, Saturday 16 March, FMG Stadium Waikato, kick off 4.35pm
Round 4
Hurricanes Poua v Chiefs Manawa, Friday 22 March, CET Arena Palmerston North, kick off 4.35pm
nib Blues v Matatu, Saturday 23 March, Eden Park, kick off 4.35pm
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Round 5
Matatu v Hurricanes Poua, Friday 29 March, Apollo Projects Stadium, kick off 4.35pm
Chiefs Manawa v nib Blues, Saturday 30 March, venue TBC, kick off 2.05pm
Round 6
Hurricanes Poua v nib Blues, Saturday 6 April, Levin Domain, kick off 2.05pm
Matatu v Chiefs Manawa, Nga Puna Wai, Christchurch, kick off 4.05pm
Comments on RugbyPass
Kok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to commentsjesus - that front 5!
1 Go to commentsShould be an absolute cracker of a game! Will be great to see DuPont & Ntamack in tandem once again🔥
1 Go to commentsBest team ever…. To have played? These guys are still pressure chokers. Came nowhere when it counted. What a joke
84 Go to commentsMusk defends anonymous terrorism, fascism, threats against individuals and children etc etc But a Rugby club account….lock ‘em up!!!
2 Go to commentsActually the era defining moment came a few years earlier. February 2002 to be precise, when Michael D Higgins as finance minister at the time introduced his sports persons tax relief bill to the dial. As the politicians of the day stated “It seems to be another daft K Club frolic born in Kildare amongst the well-paid professional jockeys with whom the Minister plays golf” and that the scheme represented “a savage uncaring vision of Ireland and one that should be condemned”. The irfu and Leinster would be nowhere near the position they are in today without this key component of the finances.
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