Plenty of newbies and plenty of passion for the game was on show last Saturday in Levin Domain where the women’s Super Rugby Aupiki season kicked off with a game between Hurricanes Poua and Chiefs Manawa. Fans of both sides were vocal initially and there was a good local crowd.
While the Hurricanes shot off the block from the start to be 21-5 ahead, after 20 minutes the much more clinical and patient Chiefs Manawa edged ahead to win 53-21, thanks to Black Fern Joanah Ngan-Woo, who set up two quick tries, avoiding rather a lot of tackles on the way.
A little rain came on to make ball and grounds a tad slippery, which did not help the Hurricanes.
![Chiefs Manawa opened the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki competition convincingly against Hurricanes Poua in Levin with a 53-21 win.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/PFUWWQJ5H5GLVFZS74SJANY2CU.jpg?auth=0246e023614676e55253f4ae3e6283f3ead33f1bf93bd3d94ea12e63ec667774&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Manawa’s powerful forward pack reigned supreme, especially in the second half. Manawa Captain Kennedy Simon said the first 10 minutes had come as a bit of a shock to them.