After trailing 8-0 to the Chiefs Manawa at halftime, Matatu produced an entertaining second half to run away with a 31-25 win in Hamilton this afternoon.
Centre Amy du Plessis was her usual hard-running self and was rewarded with two tries.
She put them in the right parts of the park, directed traffic and most importantly was accurate with the boot.
Matatu lost their opening four games of the 2024 season, so head coach Whitney Hansen will be pleased with their start.
Matatu started with a hiss when halfback Maia Joseph banged a 50-22.
But Manawa’s defence was strong and Matatu were unable to make anything from their early possession.
Penalties and errors mounted for both teams, stunting any real flow in a frustrating opening half.
Eventually, Manawa struck first.
Black Ferns sevens star Kelly Brazier, making a welcome return to rugby union, shifted it out to winger Ruby Tui to finish off.
Neither team really made much from their set piece and the error count continued to rise.
Renee Holmes slotted a penalty to extend Manawa’s lead 8-0 at halftime.
Matatu took all of 45 seconds to finally get on the board in the second half.
King spotted a gap and shimmied through, putting an inside ball to lock Laura Bayfield who finished off.
King added the extras for Matatu to trail 8-7, but Manawa bounced back.
Brazier again put Mererangi Paul into space up. She shifted it out to winger Reese Anderson to score.
Holmes converted to extend to a 15-7 lead.
Matatu fullback Kaea Nepia opened up Manawa’s defence on debut.
She got the legs pumping, dragging several players with her and offloaded a lovely ball to Winnie Palamo to score.
They closed the gap to 15-14.
Matatu looked like they had switched on for the second half, making the most of their opportunities and had some nice heads up play.
That came in the form of Joseph, who produced a great line ball for du Plessis to charge on to and score.
King made no mistake and put Matatu in front for the first time, leading 21-15. She extended that again with a penalty.
Manawa had to wait until the 67th minute before they could finally break Matatu’s defence.
Black Ferns captain Kennedy Tukuafu (nee Simon), with No 8 Mia Anderson on her back, charged through the defence and slammed over.
Holmes pushed the conversion wide for Manawa to trail 24-20.
Du Plessis added another and Tui scored late for Manawa.
Super Rugby Aupiki
The scores
Matatū 31
Amy du Plessis 2, Laura Bayfield, Winnie Palamo, tries; Hannah King 4, cons; King pen 1
Chiefs Manawa 25
Ruby Tui 2, Reese Anderson, Kennedy Tukuafu, tries; Renee Holmes 1 con; Holmes 1 pen.
Halftime: Manawa 8-0.
