For all the strides Super Rugby Aupiki has achieved in its three-year infancy, having this year’s final overlap with other sporting codes could be seen as a misstep.
The Blues and Chiefs Manawa will battle for the Aupiki crown at 4:05pm on Saturday at Eden Park, with the former claiming the rights to host after topping the table after six rounds.
The early afternoon start is consistent with how the competition has been scheduled for most of the season, except this time the pinnacle of women’s franchise rugby will have to contend with the Warriors and the ANZ Premiership for viewership.
Blues chief executive Andrew Hore defended the move, pointing to several factors behind the decision.
“The final time and date are set by the national body and the broadcaster at the very beginning or when the schedule’s set out and that’s often in advance of the NRL.” Hore said. “We can’t really change things based on what other codes are doing.”
It’s unlikely the event will draw many fans to the 50,000-seat Garden of Eden, particularly given Mt Smart has announced another sell-out for the hottest show in New Zealand sport, kicking off at 5pm.
Hore said the Aupiki timing owed to Eden Park being unavailable until after 3pm. The Blues have only played at the venue once this season, as part of a double-header with the men’s team.
“There were limited options around venue and the next thing you probably would’ve said is, ‘Why are our athletes not playing at Eden Park for a final?’
“There’s an element here too that Eden Park is where our athletes wanted to play. They said the end of their season - to be able to play at Eden Park - was important to them.
“It offers really good high-performance facilities, and ultimately, this is a high-performance programme and so we gave them that choice.”
The Blues women have played their other two home games at Pakuranga’s Bell Park – an intimate setting that’s helped bring the community closer to the team.
That was initially off-limits due to the Auckland women’s club rugby competition getting underway. But the city’s rugby union, along with North Harbour and Counties Manukau, have agreed to bring their games forward to allow those players to attend.
Hore believes there isn’t much of an overlap between fans of Super Rugby Aupiki and the Warriors, pointing to those involved in the Auckland club rugby scene as a huge part of the fan base.
“The female rugby space is supportive and wanted to be a part of this. There’s a Warriors game at 5pm, but what actual impact is that going to have? Is that more about us responding to what it looks like, as opposed to your actual fan base?
“Our fan base has come to us and said look we’re prepared to move our fixtures and accommodate this.”
So, with the club games brought forward, does that open up Bell Park and other community venues to host the Aupiki final? Not so fast.
“If we had looked at options such as Takapuna for example, the built-in cost can be prohibitive. But the other point was we wanted this to be broadcast on TikTok, and for all that you need a lot of viewing platforms,” Hore said.
The decision to broadcast the final on the social media platform – thanks to funding from 2degrees – is part of New Zealand Rugby’s effort to be “fan-centric”, Hore said.
Hore outlined the importance of building Aupiki’s fanbase as the competition continued to find its feet.
“The TikTok/social media element is becoming more important, particularly to the fans that we’re looking to introduce to this competition. Our metrics say that young people are engaged – they see it as exciting and there are some really good role models in there.
“We know we’re in our infancy with the tournament. We know there’s the potential for growth. We have to find a new audience and appeal to them.”
Moving the game to the following day is also an issue, with Aupiki players only contracted from Thursday to Sunday due to players juggling full-time work and family commitments.
With ticket sales “creeping up to around a couple of thousand”, there’s hope that Eden Park’s grey seats will be filled with blue or black to watch the Blues and Chiefs Manawa in a highly competitive fixture.
“It’ll probably make it one of the most well-attended finals,” Hore said. “Anything in a big stadium, that may get lost on people, but the actual numbers we’ll assess against other finals to make sure there’s growth in this competition.”
