Rugby: Auckland and Canterbury look to return to provincial peak in Farah Palmer Cup premiership final

Auckland and Canterbury will clash for the Farah Palmer Cup title. Photo / Photosport

Auckland are no strangers to Farah Palmer Cup glory.

Since the women's national provincial championship started in 1999, no team has won more titles than Auckland, who picked up 15 in the first 16 seasons of the competition's existence.

However, their most recent title came in 2015. Since that point, Canterbury have been the dominating force in claiming four straight titles from 2017 to 2020, before relinquishing their throne to Waikato in 2021.

On Saturday, the two titans of New Zealand women's rugby will clash in the hopes of beginning a new dynasty.

"Everyone's absolutely buzzing," Auckland loose forward Shannon Leota told Newstalk ZB. "For a few of us, it's been a few years since we've been in a FPC final, so everyone's really excited."

Their roads to the final have been vastly different. Canterbury will ride into the match on home turf with six wins from as matches in pool play, before decimating Wellington in their semifinal.

Auckland managed just a 50 per cent winning record in their six regular season games, with losses to Canterbury, Bay of Plenty and Waikato seeing them enter the semifinals as the third seed. Of those losses, only one wasn't close and that was their 41-5 loss to Waikato.

As it played out, their opportunity to avenge that loss came in the semifinal, and they played well to take a comeback 26-21 win – buoyed by the timely return of Black Ferns stars such as Ruahei Demant, Maia Roos and Sylvia Brunt.

"A bit of a rollercoaster season, it definitely hasn't been a fairytale season, but it's just shown our girls we are really resilient," Leota said. "We've had a couple of comebacks in our games, so it gives us confidence we can get the job done this weekend.

"It's those sorts of games that make you really enjoy rugby. It's not the thrashings that you're going to remember; it's those close games where you have to work really hard to get that win at the end.

"When the Black Ferns come in, they really challenge the rest of us to try lift to their level. They keep us honest and keep us accountable, so it's been really good for the growth of women's rugby in general."

For Canterbury, the final will be long-time halfback Kendra Cocksedge's 100th match for the province, while it will also be her last as she has announced her retirement from the game at the conclusion of this year's World Cup.

"They've got their own legacy going on," Leota said of the Canterbury side. "We know it's going to be a tough job, but the girls showed last weekend – especially with our Black Ferns coming back in – they really lifted to another level. We just need to bring back that intensity and execute a few more things than we did on the weekend and I think we should be able to get the job done."

Otago host Hawke's Bay earlier in the day in the championship final.

Farah Palmer Cup premiership final
Christchurch, Saturday, 3.05pm.

Canterbury: Rosie Kelly, Martha Mataele, Amy du Plessis, Charntay Poko, Grace Steinmetz, Te Rauoriwa Gapper, Kendra Cocksedge, Marcelle Parkes, Lucy Jenkins, Alana Bremner, Chlesea Bremner, Stacey Niao, Amy Rule, Georgia Ponsonby, Pip Love.

Reserves: Atlanta Lolohea, Stephanie Te Ohaere-Fox, Lucy Anderson, Emma Dermody, Easter Savelio, Dianna Hiini, Isabella Waterman, Karla Wright-Akeli.

Auckland: Kiritapu Demant, Mele Hufanga, Sylvia Brunt, Patricia Maliepo, Katelyn Vaha'akolo, Ruahei Demant, Melanie Puckett, Charmaine McMenamin, Tafito Lafaele, Liana Mikaele-Tu'u, Maia Roos, Eloise Blackwell, Sophie Fisher, Cristo Tofa, Chryss Viliko.

Reserves: Alakoka Po'oi, Cilia-Marie Po'e, Chey Tuli, Shannon Leota, Maama Vaipulu, Jade Bowen, Theresa Fitzpatrick, Daynah Nankivell.