With the inaugural women's Super Rugby Aupiki season done and dusted and a world cup on the horizon, 2022 is a historic year for New Zealand women's rugby and the game's growth shows no signs of slowing.
Aupiki means 'to ascend to the uppermost realm', reflected in the competition providing an aspirational pathway for young female rugby players to become professional rugby players. In the spirit of that aspiration, 2degrees is offering $50,000 in grants to support secondary girls rugby, allowing younger players a pathway to climb to the heights of competition.
"We have been long-term supporters of the men’s New Zealand Super Rugby Clubs, so when the Super Rugby Aupiki competition was created, we were super keen to support the four Clubs who competed in the inaugural season, '' says 2degrees CEO Mark Callander.
"Being able to extend this partnership and support to secondary school girls rugby is fantastic for us, and matches our company values. All sports teams struggle to get funding, and schoolgirl rugby is no exception. We are stoked to be able to help here and look forward to these players realising their rugby potential."
Secondary school girls rugby is the focus for the allocation of grants, because in some schools there are real challenges in resourcing teams and girls rugby programmes, and this can lead to players missing opportunities to continue playing the game they love. With ten $5000 grants making up the total, Callander hopes the extra funds foster growth in this age bracket and ensures young players today can train into the champions of tomorrow.
"The grant will help to support and enable Kiwi girls playing secondary school rugby to continue developing their skills, creating more opportunities and a bigger pool of talent for the future of women's rugby. This can pay for all the things teams need - from uniforms to equipment, and to transportation."
Like so much of our sport over the past two years, Super Rugby Aupiki was heavily impacted by the pandemic, truncating the original tournament plan down from a planned three matches and final over the course of a month to a three-match round robin over two-and-a-half weeks.
But determination from both players and organisers saw the competition continue despite COVID complications and Waitomo Chiefs Manawa delivered an emphatic 35-0 bruising to the nib Blues in the final to be crowned inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki champions for 2022.
Now eyes turn to 2023 which Callander hopes will be even bigger for Super Rugby Aupiki, allowing a full competition with supporters cheering for their homeside on their own turf.
"We are looking forward to bigger crowds and more games! For Super Rugby Aupiki, we hope it can take place as planned – over four weeks in hometowns, and that will allow fans to get along and support the teams."
Driven by the incredible mahi of players, coaches and fans alike, the number of female rugby players nationwide has surged over the past decade, from nearly 15,000 to more than 26,000 according to the latest numbers from New Zealand Rugby.
But Callander says this is just the beginning and 2degrees will continue supporting wahine in the game as part of the company's wider mission of 'fighting for fair'.
"Rugby is New Zealand's national sport, and the female professional game is growing massively. 2022 has been an epic year for female rugby and 2degrees wants to help ensure the competition grows and continues for years to come."
Apply for a grant or to learn more about Aupiki, check out the official website here.
This article was created for 2degrees.