The Blues Women (known as the nib Blues Women for sponsorship reasons) is a New Zealand professional women's rugby union team based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. They played against a Chiefs women's side in the first-ever women's Super Rugby match in New Zealand in 2021. They won their first Super Rugby Aupiki title in 2024 and won it back-to-back the next season. The Blues also defeated the NSW Waratahs to claim the inaugural Super Rugby Women's Championship final in 2025.
History
Historic clash On 1 May 2021, the Blues and Chiefs women's teams created history when they played in the first-ever women's Super Rugby match in New Zealand. The Blues hosted the Chiefs women at Eden Park in a double header before the Super Rugby Aotearoa round 10 match between their men's teams. It was to be a one-off match in 2021, but both franchises expressed their commitment to developing a Super Rugby team for women in the future.
The teams played for the 'Waipuea Women's Rugby Taonga' trophy. The name was derived from the words Wai (for Waikato, Waitemata water, river and sea) and Puea (for winds that carry korero – a conversation or meeting – over land, mountains and sea). Eloise Blackwell, who was named the Blues captain for the historic match, unveiled the trophy with captain Patrick Tuipulotu on the Sky Tower.
Willie Walker was appointed to coach the Blues Women's team and named the match day squad on 29 April 2021. The Blues women lost the historic match 12–39.
Super Rugby Aupiki announced New Zealand Rugby announced on 6 October 2021, that an elite women's competition called Super Rugby Aupiki was confirmed for March 2022. The competition would run for four weeks and the women would be paid for their participation.
Inaugural season The Blues women released a list of player signings along with the other three teams in November 2021. Willie Walker was named as Head Coach, and his assistant coaches were Mel Bosman and James Semple.
The Blues Women's opening match was cancelled due to Hurricanes Poua forced withdrawal due to COVID cases and isolation requirements within their squad. The Blues and Hurricanes Poua shared the competition points with the match being called a draw. The Blues finally made their long-awaited Super Rugby Aupiki debut against Matatū, they ran in three tries in their 21–10 victory. The Blues final match was against the Chiefs Manawa, the two sides having last met in the historic clash the year before. The Blues were left scoreless as the Chiefs showed their dominance in the 35–0 outcome.
2024 onwards Blues Women made a come back from an 18–5 deficit to claim their first Aupiki title at Eden Park. They scored three tries within fifteen minutes to edge Chiefs Manawa 24–18 with Black Fern, Liana Mikaele-Tu'u, scoring the winning try. On 20 November 2024, it was announced that the 2025 Super Rugby Aupiki winners would play the champions of the Australian Super Rugby Women's competition at the end of their respective seasons. The new competition, which is setup similarly to a super cup, is called the Super Rugby Champions Final.
The Blues successfully defended their title against Matatū and won their second consecutive championship. On 17 April 2025, the Blues defeated the NSW Waratahs to claim the first-ever Super Rugby Women's Championship final in Auckland.
The Blues ahead of the 2026 Super Rugby Aupiki season are affiliated with the regions of Northland, Auckland and Counties Manukau.
Overall record +Blues Women Super Rugby Aupiki matchesCoachPeriodGWLDP%Matatū2022-1174064%Chiefs Manawa2022-963066%Hurricanes Poua2022-862075%(2022-present)*291910066%Updated to: 29 July 2026 Notes: Official Super Rugby Aupiki competition matches only, including finals.
Season standings A summary of Blues (Women) results in the regular season is shown below: +SeasonPosPldWLDFA+/-BPPtsNotes20223rd31112145 -2406Finished 3rd overall20233rd310295105 -1015Finished 3rd overall20241st6501194111 +83323Defeated Chiefs Manawa in the final20251st6501216123 +93424Defeated Matatū in the final20262nd6420200160 +40218Defeated Matatū in the final
Current squad The Blues Women squad for the 2026 Super Rugby Aupiki season is:
Props
Hookers
Locks
Loose forwards
Halfbacks (scrum-halves)
First five-eighths (fly-halves)
Midfielders (centres)
Outside backs
Current coaches and management Blues named their coaching group for the 2026 season of Super Rugby Aupiki.
Head Coach: Willie Walker Forwards Coach: Charmaine McMenamin Backs Coach: Carlos Spencer Scrum Coach: Census Johnston
Captain CaptainPeriodRefs Eloise Blackwell2021 Aroha Savage2022 Ruahei Demant2023 Ruahei Demant2024 Maia Roos Maia Roos2025–
Coach
+Blues Women coaches by date, matches and win percentage*CoachPeriod Willie Walker2022–2026312119%TBD2027–00000.00%Totals (2022–present)312119%Updated to: 16 August 2026 Notes: Official Super Rugby Aupiki competition matches and finals, including the Super Rugby Champions Final.
References
External links Official website