Wāhine XV teams welcomed to Wellington ahead of opening weekend

The WXV 1 captains during the WXV1 Tournament Welcome Event, Rongomaraeroa Marae, Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand. Photo / Marty Melville / Action Press

The world’s leading women’s rugby players were officially welcomed to Aotearoa New Zealand yesterday for the inaugural WXV 1 tournament, set to kick off in Wellington this weekend.

Players from England, France, Wales, Canada, Australia and host country New Zealand were among the guests welcomed by local iwi Te Atiawa with a traditional pōwhiri at Rongomaraeroa Te Marae in Te Papa.

Students from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna put on a stunning cultural performance, which showcased their expertise in poi, before gifting each of the six captains with their own set of poi, created by the school pupils in each of the team’s colours.

With the WXV 1 trophy on display, event master of ceremonies, Ken Laban said, “Right here, right now, is the start of a new chapter. We have seen matches over the weekend in South Africa and Dubai with WXV 2 and 3 getting under way, and this weekend is your turn – the teams in this room will write themselves into the history books as a new era of high-performance women’s rugby gets under way.”

Players, coaches, hosts and guests then took part in a poi lesson with England captain Marlie Packer blown away by the skill of the local students.

“It was fun, but the bit where we were twirling [our poi] left, but moving to the right and coming back around, that’s when I found it quite a bit harder and it didn’t quite sit right for me, but we got there in the end.”

When asked who had won the poi challenge, New Zealand co-captain Kennedy Simon said, “I think it was Bunts actually [New Zealand coach Allan Bunting]. It made me really smile up there when he was trying so hard.”

Dame Farah Palmer. Photo / Mark Coote / www.photosport.nz

New Zealand Rugby deputy chair and former Black Ferns captain and three-time Rugby World Cup winner, Professor Dame Farah Palmer addressed the guests and remarked what a special event the WXV 1 tournament promised to be.

“Across the globe right now we have 18 teams in action across WXV 1, 2 and 3 – a new concept that is set to accelerate the international game at a time when it is already capturing the imagination of sports fans around the world.

“This event will further ignite the passion for women’s rugby that we saw spark to life here in Aotearoa during last year’s Rugby World Cup.”

The WXV1 match schedule highlights how exciting the tournament will be for the top six women’s teams in the world – with little separating the best of the Six Nations and the best of the World Rugby Pacific Four Series teams.

Heavyweight match-ups begin this weekend with the opening match between England v Australia kicking off at Sky Stadium in Wellington at 7pm on Friday, October 20, with a double-header Saturday featuring Canada v Wales at 4pm before New Zealand and France square off at 7pm.

Following the first weekend in Wellington, the tournament moves to Dunedin on October 27 and 28, and finishes off in Auckland on November 3 and 4.