{"id":819834,"date":"2026-07-24T01:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T01:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/819834\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T01:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T01:17:12","slug":"former-netball-star-prepares-for-aupiki-rugby-final-te-ao-maori-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/819834\/","title":{"rendered":"Former netball star prepares for Aupiki Rugby final \u2013 Te Ao M\u0101ori News"},"content":{"rendered":"

He p\u016brongo t\u0113nei n\u0101 Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki, Tahu News. <\/a><\/p>\n

Former ANZ Championship winner Paris Lokotui and Black Ferns Sevens player Maia Davis are set for their first Super Rugby Aupiki final against the Blues. <\/p>\n

Wearing the Matat\u016b jersey, the pair are ready to go to battle and leave everything on the field in the championship decider.<\/p>\n

Matat\u016b will face the Blues in the 2026 Super Rugby Aupiki final. Despite their loss to the Blues last week, the team is focused on tightening up its defence and shutting down the Blues\u2019 attacking threats.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on that match, Lokotui said there is room to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast week was a hard game for us in terms of what we wanted to do and execute. But I think coming into this week, we\u2019ve brought the energy. We know what we wanted to work on in terms of our set piece. We know that we\u2019re ready to execute that and just be up front in the collision space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u016a ki te rautaki <\/p>\n

Former Manukura tauira and Black Ferns Sevens player Maia Davis knows the challenge ahead for her and her teammates this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess we just stick to our game plan. We can only do what we can do. So I back our forwards to do their mahi and then us back to our own mahi and hopefully finish it off for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"PUKEKOHE, NEW ZEALAND – JUNE 27: Maia Davis of Matatu
\n looks to pass during the round three Super Rugby Aupiki match between Blues Women and Matatu at Navigation Homes Stadium, on June 27, 2026, in Pukekohe, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall\/Getty Images) <\/p>\n

Despite it being her first Super Rugby Aupiki final, Davis, Matat\u016b\u2019s fullback, said she is focused on sharpening her kicking game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool to have another, I guess, skill under my belt with my kicking. So I think that\u2019s one of our game plans to win territory this weekend.\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Matat\u016b coach Blair Baxter, who was recently appointed Black Ferns head coach, said he is excited to see what both Lokotui and Davis bring to the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cParis, we\u2019ve seen her just thriving and shining week on week and we see the full personality of P and Maia\u2019s certainly growing in that space too. Both of those are super competitive and we know come finals footy, we absolutely need to bring that edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND – JUNE 13: Coach Blair Baxter of Matat\u016b looks on ahead of the round one Super Rugby Aupiki match between Matau and Chiefs Manawa at One NZ Stadium, on June 13, 2026, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison\/Getty Images) <\/p>\n

Whether the team wins or loses, Lokotui said she is committed to continuing her rugby career with Matat\u016b.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess at the moment I just want to enjoy my footy and what that looks like is me trying to be at my best and play for my team in terms of, you know, longevity in the sport. <\/p>\n

\u201cI guess the black jersey is a goal, but that\u2019s not something at the front of my mind. I guess time will tell and hopefully I can keep performing, keep putting my best foot forward and just executing for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Super Rugby Aupiki final will be played at Apollo Projects Stadium on Saturday. Before long, it will be decided whether the Super Rugby Aupiki trophy stays in \u014ctautahi or makes the trip back to T\u0101maki Makaurau.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"He p\u016brongo t\u0113nei n\u0101 Shakayla Andrews-Alapaki, Tahu News. Former ANZ Championship winner Paris Lokotui and Black Ferns Sevens…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":819835,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,281070,395020,395021,395018,395016,760,85,395015,395017,395019],"class_list":["post-819834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-defensive-strategy","tag-maia-davis","tag-matatu-vs-blues","tag-otautahi-christchurch","tag-paris-lokotui","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-super-rugby-aupiki","tag-women-s-rugby-new-zealand","tag-women-s-rugby-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=819834"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/819834\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/819835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=819834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=819834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=819834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}