The country's leading players will once again set the rugby landscape alight in 2026 with the return of Super Rugby Aupiki.
With Aupiki translating to mean “the ascent to the upper most realm,” Super Rugby Aupiki represents a crucial stepping stone between the Farah Palmer Cup and the Black Ferns. The competition sees The Blues (Auckland, Northland, Counties Manukau), Chiefs Manawa (Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki), Hurricanes Poua (Wellington, Manawatu), and Matatū (Te Wai Pounamu/South Island) play a six round home and away regular season before a final between the two top qualifying teams.
As announced in 2025, Women's Rugby Calendar reshape has seen Super Rugby Aupiki moved to later in the year.
Previously played through March and April, Super Rugby Aupiki will now take place between June and August, with six regular season games and a Grand Final. The winner of Super Rugby Aupiki will take on the winner of Australia’s Super Rugby W in the Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final too, which will take place in Australia in 2026.
New Zealand Rugby Head of Women’s High Performance Hannah Porter commented;
“We are ambitious in our plans to expand Aupiki and having a clear window in the middle of the year allows for a longer preseason and the option to extend the season moving forward. It’s important for our players to spend more time in those team environments, so they have more exposure to the coaching, training, preparation and habits of a full-time professional athlete,” Porter said. “We are already investigating how this would work for future seasons.”
The draw for 2026 will be released early in the new year.
Previous Winners:
2025: Blues
2024: Blues
2023: Matatū
2022: Chiefs Manawa