Hurricanes Poua are a New Zealand women's professional rugby union team based in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

that competes in the

Super Rugby Aupiki Super Rugby Aupiki is a professional women's rugby union club competition in New Zealand. Its inaugural season was held in March 2022. It is a stepping stone between the Farah Palmer Cup and the Black Ferns. Aupiki translates as ‘''the asce ...

competition. Hurricanes Poua cover the same catchment area as the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

including the

Farah Palmer Cup The Farah Palmer Cup (formerly known as Women's Provincial Championship until 2016), is the highest level domestic women's rugby union competition in New Zealand and is named after the former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer. It is held annual ...

teams of

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

, Manawatū, and

History

Team name

On 7 February 2022, The

revealed the new name of their women's team – Hurricanes Poua. The new team identity was developed collaboratively by a select committee that included past and present Black Ferns. They drew from preexisting Māori narratives, the team's identity has a connection to both the Hurricanes region and their people. The name Poua was derived from the Māori narrative of Ranginui (sky father) and Papatūānuku (earthmother).

Super Rugby Aupiki announced

New Zealand Rugby New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

announced that an elite women's competition, consisting of four teams, 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 squad and coaching team named

Hurricanes Poua released a list of players that had signed for the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki season. Wesley Clarke was appointed as Head Coach of Hurricanes Poua. Former Black Fern, Victoria Grant, and Manawatu Cyclones Head Coach, Fusi Feaunati, were named as his assistant coaches. Sarah Hirini was named to captain the side for their maiden season.

Inaugural season

The Hurricanes Poua were forced to withdraw from their opening match against the Blues Women due to COVID cases and isolation requirements within the team. The teams shared the competition points as the match had been cancelled. After missing out on their opening game, Hurricanes Poua finally got their much awaited debut. They faced

Chiefs Manawa The Chiefs Manawa are a New Zealand women's professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand, that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. Chiefs Manawa won the inaugural season of the Super Rugby Aupiki competition. They w ...

in the second round of competition but were beaten 29–8. Hurricanes Poua recorded their first win in the final round after defeating Matatū 18–6.

2023

Victoria Grant was appointed as the new Head Coach of Hurricanes Poua for the 2023 Sky Super Rugby Aupiki season. Grant was absent for the

2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season The 2024 Super Rugby Aupiki season was the third season of Super Rugby Aupiki (known as Sky Super Rugby Aupiki for sponsorship reasons), a professional women's rugby union club competition organised by New Zealand Rugby. The competition ran from 2 ...

and was expected to return as head coach in 2025. Ngatai Walker will be head coach for the 2024 season.

2024 haka incident

In early March 2024, the Hurricanes Poua attracted media attention after they used an altered

haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

(ceremonial dance) before a match with the

on 2 March. The haka contained the

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

line "karetao o te Kāwana kakiwhero" or "puppets of this

redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term mainly applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ''Dictionary of American ...

government," which referred to the incumbent National-led coalition government. The haka also made references to Toitu te Tiriti, a political movement that had criticised the Government's policies towards the Māori language and perceived breaches of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

. The Poua lost 46–24 to the Chiefs Manawa. Following media attention, Hurricanes Poua prop and haka leader Leilani Perese claimed that the

' management had approved the altered haka but this was disputed by Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee, who said he was not consulted. Lee announced that the Hurricanes would apologise to the Government.

also announced that it would investigate the matter, while the New Zealand Rugby Players Association (NZRPA) confirmed it would speak with the Hurricanes Poua team members. The Hurricanes Poua were criticised by

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Winston Peters Winston Raymond Peters (born 11 April 1945) is a New Zealand politician. He has led the political party New Zealand First since he founded it in 1993, and since November 2023 has served as the 25th Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), ...

and

ACT party ACT New Zealand (; ), also known as the ACT Party or simply ACT, is a right-wing, classical liberal, right-libertarian, and conservative political party in New Zealand. It is currently led by David Seymour, and is in coalition with the Nationa ...

leader

David Seymour David Breen Seymour (born 24 June 1983) is a New Zealand politician who has served as the 21st deputy prime minister of New Zealand since 2025 and as the 1st minister for regulation since 2023. A member of the ACT Party, he has served as its ...

, who said that the team was more interested in politics than in winning the match. By contrast, Kaihaka (performer) and Māori language expert Mataia Keepa defended the Hurricanes Poua, stating that it was "absolutely humbling ... and absolutely heroic" to witness the team's haka.

Current squad

On 30 October 2024, the squad for the 2025 Super Rugby Aupiki season was announced.

Coaches and management

* Head Coach: Fusi Feaunati * Assistant Coach: – * Skills Coach: * Resource Coach: Matt Sexton * Team Manager: Mary-Jane Durkin * Doctor: Dr. Lincoln Wharetohunga * Physiotherapist: Kara Fowke * Performance Analyst: Matt Healey * Strength & Conditioning Coach: Luke Vasu

Captain

Coaches

Notes:

Official

competition matches only, including finals.

References

External links

Official website
{{Hurricanes (rugby union) 2021 establishments in New Zealand Super Rugby Aupiki Rugby union teams in New Zealand Rugby clubs established in 2021 Sport in Wellington Women's rugby union teams Women's rugby union teams in New Zealand Hurricanes (rugby union)