Women’s provincial rugby returns to New Zealand this weekend as the Farah Palmer Cup (FPC) gets underway, featuring numerous Hurricanes Poua across the country.
Up to 20 Poua players are set to take part this season, which begins tomorrow afternoon with three matches spread across the FPC Premiership and Championship.
In the Championship division, prop Lavinia Lea, utility forward Jackie Patea-Fereti, and wing Harmony Kautai will all feature for the Wellington Pride, who head to Nelson to face Tasman in their season-opener at Trafalgar Park on Saturday afternoon.
Poua star Ayesha Leti-I’iga, who was farewelled from Wellington and Hurricanes headquarters yesterday as she travels with the Black Ferns for the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, has also been included in the 2025 Pride squad.
Leti-I’iga departs next Tuesday alongside Poua teammates Iritana Hohaia, who has been included in the 2025 Taranaki Whio squad, and Layla Sae, a member of this year’s Manawatū Cyclones setup.
Sae’s absence from the Cyclones has been offset by the inclusion of six other Poua players in this season’s squad.
Loose forward Elinor-Plum King and lock Sam Taylor headline the Poua contingent in the Manawatū side after returning from the Black Ferns XV tour of South Africa earlier this week.
They join sisters Kahurangi and Rangimarie Sturmey, halfback Paige Lush, and prop Ngano Tavake in the green-and-white hoops this year.
King, Lush, Tavake, and the Sturmey siblings have all been named to start as the Cyclones open their Premiership campaign against last year’s finalists Canterbury – featuring Poua playmaker Te Rauoriwa Gapper – in Christchurch on Sunday afternoon.
Kahurangi Sturmey will captain the side at Rugby Park, and will be assisted by vice-captains King and Rangimarie Sturmey.
Earlier that morning, the Bay of Plenty Volcanix face the Counties Manukau Heat at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe. Poua hooker Natalie Delamere will captain the Volcanix, while prop Angel Mulu is set to appear off the bench.
Hawke’s Bay have a first week bye, meaning the five Poua in the Tui squad – Black Ferns XV midfielder Leilani Hakiwai, props Denise Aiolupotea and Nina Poletti, halfback Raedeen Blake, and loose forward Olioli Mua – will open their season against Canterbury at McLean Park in Napier next Saturday.
The Farah Palmer Cup regular season runs for seven rounds, with the top-ranked Championship side promoted at the expense of the last-placed Premiership team.
The Premiership playoffs then runs for two weeks, featuring two semi-finals followed by a final to determine the 2025 Farah Palmer Cup champion on 4 October.
Be sure to catch your Poua in action next season when memberships go on sale from 1 September!
HURRICANES POUA IN ACTION IN THE 2025 FARAH PALMER CUP
Wellington
Ayesha Leti-I’iga
Lavinia Lea
Jackie Patea-Fereti
Harmony Kautai
Manawatū
Layla Sae
Elinor-Plum King
Sam Taylor
Kahurangi Sturmey
Rangimarie Sturmey
Paige Lush
Ngano Tavake
Hawke’s Bay
Leilani Hakiwai
Denise Aiolupotea
Nina Poletti
Raedeen Blake
Olioli Mua
Bay of Plenty
Natalie Delamere
Angel Mulu
Taranaki
Iritana Hohaia
Canterbury
Te Rauoriwa Gapper
