The 2025 version of Tremendous Rugby Aupiki concluded on Saturday night, the place Willie Walker’s Blues aspect gained back-to-back titles.
They adopted up their 2024 triumph with one other title, this time towards a powerful Matatu aspect that pushed the Blues to the tip in Auckland.
Walker’s aspect was helped by the expertise of final yr’s ultimate, with skilled gamers like Maia Roos, Ruahei Demant and Eloise Blackwell there to assist the Blues over the road.
Roos, who introduced up her twentieth Blues cap a few weeks again, was pleased with the way in which her workforce fought again in a sport they began slowly in.
“Matatu got here out of the blocks so quick, it was truly a little bit of a shock. We needed to work actually onerous for the ball that we did have,” Roos informed media post-match at Eden Park in Auckland.
“I’m sore proper now, it was so bodily, however I’m simply so pleased with our ladies. We performed collectively, even with the person down, and even when that occurred, I believe we had little doubt that we may nonetheless get the outcome.”
Roos defined that her workforce’s connection is what units them aside, calling it their ‘superpower’.
“One in every of our superpowers is our connection. That’s one among our values as properly and that simply confirmed within the large moments tonight.
“I’m getting goosebumps eager about these large moments, each time we had a break, we simply mentioned we have to win the following second.
“I believe we did that successfully, we had ladies step up in these moments. “I’m so pleased with each particular person individual, and I’m pleased with our system as a workforce.
Roos pinpoints their defensive effort to maintain Matatu quiet within the second half as one of many extra necessary moments, understanding that the strain was on.
“It was simply coronary heart, we wanted to defend with our coronary heart after we had one individual down, we knew we wanted to get off the road.
“We had a technique to carry them up over the road, and we executed that actually properly, I’m pleased with that.
“We simply knew that we needed to struggle for one another in these moments, and we executed.”
Walker couldn’t discuss extra extremely of two gamers at completely different ends of their careers, with each Woodman-Wickliffe and Braxton Sorensen-McGee impressing all through the season, particularly within the ultimate.
They’re generational gamers. We’re fortunate that we’ve bought a couple of of them on our aspect, to be honest. What Portia has executed speaks for itself—the expertise she has and people large moments that she’s had by means of her profession. After which Braxton, simply beginning, I believe she’s bought loads of these to return.” Walker informed media post-match.
“So it’s a reasonably cool factor, somebody as younger as Braxton, who grew up watching Portia play, and she or he bought a possibility to play alongside her and play very well and never look misplaced.”
