Super Rugby Aupiki: Hurricanes Poua live up to owner’s remarkable prediction ahead of big match against Matatū

Saturday, 11 July 2026

Iritana Hohaia, left, of Hurricanes Poua celebrates a try with Te Rauoriwa Gapper and team-mates against the Blues.

What: Super Rugby Aupiki round five, Matatū v Hurricanes Poua. Where: Fraser Park, Timaru. When: 2.05pm Saturday, Sky Sport 2.

It’s not your everyday thing in New Zealand rugby to make bold public predictions of success. So when newly-installed Hurricanes chair Malcolm Gillies said the following to The Post rugby writer Paul Cully last December, you could picture the eye rolls and even chuckles from other Super Rugby clubs.

“On paper we should win both the men’s and the women’s and if we don’t win, we’ll give it a damn good go,” said Gillies, the Upper Hutt property developer who’d just purchased Wellington Rugby Union’s 50% share in the Hurricanes.

Sure, ticking box A looked a lofty but achievable goal (and the men duly delivered their first title in a decade last month), but box B? A Hurricanes Poua team who were winless throughout 2025, after a solitary victory in each of their first three seasons of Super Rugby Aupiki?

Fast forward to last Saturday at Maidstone Park, where Gillies himself played premier rugby for Upper Hutt. First year head coach Hayden Triggs’ Hurricanes Poua looked every bit the title contenders as they leapt and hugged after a 45-30 win over the defending champion Blues - who beat them 42-7 in the season opener.

It was the first time the Poua had won back-to-back matches in five years of Aupiki.

Co-captain Te Rauoriwa Gapper said: “It was a pretty exciting moment for all of us… There was just a feel about the game. Everyone was stepping up and everybody's heads were up.

“… To come close to Matatū and then to beat Chiefs… the belief has been building and there's been some really key messaging around that. I guess the belief’s there now, and it's a real vibe around the camp.”

So what turned it around? Gapper, from Christchurch and in her second year with the Poua, said Gillies’ backing was certainly a catalyst for change.

“Previously we've been quite geographically challenged. We, Hurricanes, probably cover the widest range and we come from a lot of different places,” Gapper said.

“This is our first season being centralised with everyone, together, week in and week out, and that's really built some connection within the group. And the commitment from the leadership and from the club has been amazing as well, to have the support behind us to put out what we are putting out on the field.”

It also helps that Gillies established the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) which houses the Hurricanes and Phoenix and has its own apartment block next to the training ground. Gapper - who has three children aged 17, 13 and 8 back in Christchurch - stays there during the week with others from outside Wellington.

Rangimarie Sturmey and Anahera Hamahona celebrate the Poua’s first win of the season, against Chiefs Manawa.

“He’s had the belief from then and he's really invested in us and we're super grateful for him.”

You still need the playing roster. Black Fern Renee Holmes’ arrival from Chiefs Manawa was monumental, as she slotted in ably to first five-eighth and ran the show, also booting 20 points against the Blues.

Fellow Black Ferns Krystal Murray, Sam Taylor - the up-and-coming lock and co-captain with Gapper - and Mo’omo’oga Palu were other key additions, joining their two highest-profile players, halfback Iritana Hohaia and winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga.

Then there’s youngsters like Manawatū winger Wikitoria Viljoen whose speed and brilliant jinking feet took her to a game-breaking hat-trick against the Blues. In her debut season, Viljoen’s Hurricanes connection is strong, via her late father Sam Doyle who played in the men’s inaugural year in 1996, and husband Jordi Viljoen the current halfback.

“We've got some really young talent that's coming through and they don't even know how good they are yet,” Gapper said.

Now it’s back to familiar turf for Gapper as they head south to Fraser Park, Timaru, to face the Grace Brooker-led title favourites Matatū on Saturday. The southern club - last year’s beaten finalists - are 4-0 this season but in round one the Poua gave them a fright in a 18-15 nailbiter.

The Aupiki final in a fortnight is first versus second on the ladder, so an upset in Timaru will put the Poua in the box seat, currently one point behind the Blues in third spot.

“We just need to focus on us and what we do well and, yeah, we're willing to take on the challenge and we’re alive, so every game matters for us,” Gapper said.

“The belief is definitely there. We need to make sure we can bring the energy and stay hungry for that ball and keep building on what we've already created.”

Hurricanes Poua: Arene Landon-Lane, Wikitoria Viljoen, Leilani Hakiwai, Te Rauoriwa Gapper (co-capt), Fia Laikong, Renee Holmes, Iritana Hohaia, Brianna Wallace, Neve Anglesey, Anahera Hamahona, Stacey Niao, Sam Taylor (co-capt), Mo’omo’oga Paul, Tegan Willocks, Angel Mulu. Reserves: Jordyn Tihore, Keiana Roffey, Faythe Finau, Keelah Bodle, Greer Muir, Molly Scuffil-McCabe, Kokako Raki, Hinemaringi Scott.

Matatū: Maia Davis, Winnie Palamo, Amy du Plessis, Grace Brooker (capt), Alena Saili, Charntay Poko, Maia Joseph, Kaipo Olsen-Baker, Elinor Plum-King, Lucy Jenkins, Paris Lokotui, Emma Dermody, Pip Love, Nat Delamere, Marcelle Parkes. Reserves: Jett Hayward, Maddi Robinson, Eilis Doyle, Sophie Kerr, Sarah Jones, Kelsyn McCook, Holly Greenway, Binky Muamua.