SOUTH ISLAND MATATU

SOUTHERN PRIDE AND ANZAC SPIRIT

The newly formed Matatu - club brings together the very best players from the Crusaders and Highlanders regions, with some exciting talent from Australia added to the mix.

CAMPAIGN PREVIEW: South Island’s Matatu will not lack experienced players that are used to winning titles. The squad is made-up of mostly Canterbury players who know a thing or two about being champions, with the province having claimed four of the past five Farah Palmer Cup titles. Matatu head coach Blair Baxter is also coach of the Canterbury team. The Matatu squad includes seven current Black Ferns with forwards Pip Love, Georgia Ponsonby, Amy Rule and Alana Bremner joined by backs Kendra Cocksedge, Renee Holmes and Grace Brooker. Australian Wallaroos first-five Arabella McKenzie and lock Michaela Leonard add even more international expertise. McKenzie was the 2021 Super W Player of the Year and Leonard captained the Brumbies. The balance of the squad are players predominantly from the South Island, with Otago’s Kilisitina Moata’ane, Greer Muir and Julia Gorinski joining 18 Canterbury provincial players. Players from other parts of New Zealand are Natalie Delamere (Bay of Plenty), Moomooga (Ashley) Palu (Hawke’s Bay) and Renee Holmes (Waikato). “The inaugural Matatu squad features some familiar faces and the addition of some exciting international players, who will help to mentor emerging talent in the South Island and set our team up for the future,” says head coach Blair Baxter. “It’s going to be special to see Matatu come together and develop a unique brand of rugby in 2022, and I’m especially looking forward to seeing how this particular group of wa hine will inspire the next generation to pick up a rugby ball in years to come.” Baxter says the key consideration when assembling his squad was setting athletes up for success at Super Rugby level. “When building this squad, we focused on putting the best possible group together to compete in a professional competition. Alongside this, we have the goal of inspiring young females to be the best they can be and ultimately, setting young players up on a viable pathway in the professional rugby environment. “It has been exciting to build a squad from both established and emerging talent in the South Island, and to be able to include the experience of the likes of Kendra (Cocksedge) and Steph (Te Ohaere-Fox) means that we have some exceptional leaders within the group from the outset to help drive our standards. “As well as the contracted squad, we’re currently going through the process of identifying development players from the Tasman and Otago high performance programmes, who will also join our environment. An important part of what we do will be supporting these young players and getting them on the pathway to professional rugby, alongside our elite athletes.” Recruiting two of Australia’s best players in Leonard and McKenzie adds greatly to the playing depth in the squad. “We’re really excited about what Michaela and Bella will bring to Super Rugby Aupiki,” says Baxter. “We’ve been following the Super W competition in Australia and both have been stand-out performers there. Lock and first five-eighth are two positions where we will need to build some depth over time across the Matatu region, but we know these two athletes will come in and be very competitive at this level.”

Matatu general manager women’s professional rugby, Sarah Munro, says the values that form the foundation of Matatu speak to unity, connection, determination and legacy. “We know this squad will represent these values with a lot of pride and will help us bring them to life in 2022, both on the rugby field and in the communities we represent.”

MATATU -

Coach: Blair Baxter Captain: TBC

Home ground:

Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch Website: www.matatu.co.nz Tickets: www.matatu.co.nz

Contact:

PO Box 755, Christchurch. Phone 03 379 8300 Email: hello@crusaders.co.nz

INSPIRATIONAL: Canterbury and Black Ferns halfback Kendra Cocksedge is a key leader for Matatu .

MATATU SQUAD

FORWARDS: Alana Bremner, Chelsea Bremner, Natalie Delamere, Julia Gorinski, Lucy Jenkins, Michaela Leonard, Pip Love, Moomooga (Ashley) Palu, Marcelle Parkes, Georgia Ponsonby, Amy Rule, Stephanie Te Ohaere-Fox. BACKS: Kendra Cocksedge, Lucy Anderson, Grace Brooker, Amy du Plessis, Terauoriwa Gapper, Di Hiini, Renee Holmes, Rosie Kelly, Martha Mataele, Liv McGoverne, Arabella McKenzie, Kilisitina Moata’ane, Greer Muir, Grace Steinmetz.