Blues Women forge ahead in second quarter defeating Matatu in Rugby final

The Blues Women created history on April 12 by winning back-to-back consecutive titles after defeating Matatu 26-19 in the 4th Super Rugby Aupiki final held at Eden Park, Auckland.

The Blues Women, with rugby superstar Portia-Woodman Wickliffe, scored the final goal to seal the win for the Blues.

The Blues who were trailing 12-0 early on in the game, managed to come back strong in the second half.


Braxton Sorensen-McGee, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Katelyn Vahaakolo caused the Matatu defence problems with ball in hand.

Although Matatu came out short, centre Amy du Plessis and Kaipo Olsen-Baker stood out in the game and halfback Maia Joseph played well until a failed head injury assessment sent her packing before halftime.

Matatu came out strong in the first half of the game, with Maia Joseph making a great pass leaving Olsen-Baker to not find anyone to make the first try in the first half of the game.

Matatu, in fact, opened the scoring, with Winnie Palamo scoring after receiving a pass from Amy du Plessis.

The Blues who conceded eight penalties, gave Matatu all the confidence they needed. However, errors made by Matatu such as leaving gaps for the Blues Ruahei Demant put two teammates through a gap.

The first attempt from Demant led Wickliffe to score and the second was from Sorensen, who struggled but made the point.

Eventually, the Blues were leading 14-12 before halftime. Ten minutes after halftime, led the Blues to go on full steam and by the end stages, the Blues were leading.

In the first crossover match between New Zealand and Australia, the Blues face the Waratahs on May 31.