{"id":466123,"date":"2026-06-08T01:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T01:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/466123\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T01:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T01:04:09","slug":"super-rugby-aupiki-matatu-chase-record-crowd-as-one-nz-stadium-te-kaha-sellout-streak-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/466123\/","title":{"rendered":"Super Rugby Aupiki: Matat\u016b chase record crowd as One NZ Stadium Te Kaha sellout streak continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

And they want the sellouts to continue.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe stadium has been packed out so far. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens when people believe in the power of community, when they support Matat\u016b to achieve great things, and when they rally our girls to make history, that\u2019s what\u2019s important to this group,\u201d Matat\u016b head coach Blair Baxter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t do this without our people, and we would love to have them behind us to kick off our campaign the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 4.05pm kickoff will make it viable for the next generation of players to attend.<\/p>\n

\"Matat\u016bMatat\u016b loose forward Grace Brooker in action for the Black Ferns against England in 2021. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen our young fans come along, it shows them what you can achieve if you commit to something and chase your goals. It gives them role models they can connect with, and moments they can hold on to. This could be the day that sparks something for the next generation,\u201d Matat\u016b captain Grace Brooker said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know what one game can mean. It could be the moment someone starts believing in themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Matat\u016bMatat\u016b teammates celebrate Kaea Nepia’s try during the Super Rugby Aupiki rugby match against the Hurricanes Poua at Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch in 2025. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

The South Island franchise won the title in 2023 and were edged in a thrilling final by the Blues at Eden Park last season. They\u2019ll have six current Black Ferns to call on across the short season.<\/p>\n

Matat\u016b general manager Sarah Munro says the team hope the city rallies behind their w\u0101hine in the same way it has for rugby in the past.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Crusaders have sold out One New Zealand Stadium five times in a row this season. Imagine what it would mean to see that same energy and support behind our team, to make history together at our new home and show these athletes just how much their region is behind them,\u201d Munro said.<\/p>\n

\"Matat\u016bMatat\u016b are hoping to plug into the wave of support shown for the Crusaders since the new stadium opened. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding the possibility of the Super Rugby Aupiki final being held at One NZ Stadium, this will be the only game that Matat\u016b will play there this season. Their remaining two home games are scheduled for Fraser Park in Timaru and Ng\u0101 Puna Wai in Christchurch.<\/p>\n

Ticketing has been designed to make the day accessible for families and range from $20 for adults to $5 for kids. Under-5s are free. Family passes are $40 and cover two adults and two children.<\/p>\n

Mike Thorpe<\/a> is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And they want the sellouts to continue. The stadium has been packed out so far. Photo \/ Photosport…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[54170,28440,806,216073,9436,13982,74059,15441,56380,4731,3011,2070,14724,2273,83686,33450,40437,13085,111,43,139,69,5270,2847,1864,1974,18833,29689,6327,24035,15440,7811,16674,8147,313,8690,1529,80],"class_list":["post-466123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-april","tag-arena","tag-as","tag-aupiki","tag-chase","tag-continues","tag-covered","tag-crowd","tag-crusaders","tag-days","tag-four","tag-full","tag-further","tag-houses","tag-kaha","tag-known","tag-matat","tag-matches","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-one","tag-only","tag-opened","tag-record","tag-round","tag-row","tag-rugby","tag-selling","tag-sellout","tag-since","tag-stadium","tag-streak","tag-super","tag-te","tag-three","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}