BLAIR BAXTER NAMED HEAD COACH

Blair Baxter ‘honoured’ to coach Matatū for Super Rugby Aupiki 2023

Matatū is more than a team competing at the highest level of women’s domestic rugby.

It’s the living legacy of generations of athletes who dreamed of the big stage. It’s people from vast regions coming together to represent their home. It’s the determination to fight and thrive in the face of stiff competition.

All this and more is on the mind of Blair Baxter, the recently reappointed Head Coach of Matatū.

“It’s pretty humbling to be given the chance to coach and lead the programme again,” Baxter said.

“It’s just an honour to work with the same coaching group, probably the best coaching group I’ve been involved with. 

Matatū competes in Super Rugby Aupiki and represents the South Island regions of Crusaders and Highlanders. It was founded ahead of the inaugural 2022 competition and is governed by the Crusaders’ off-field team.

Four key values underpin Matatū – Tūmanawa (determination), Tūaho (legacy), Tūtira (unity) and Tūhono (connection). Baxter said the team live and breathe them on and off the field.

“Those values were a big part of our narrative in 2022. In 2023 we’ll revisit how we bring those values into our daily, because it’s a new group with new athletes,” Baxter said.

For a lot of the squad, the 2022 Matatū season was their first time being classed as professional athletes. The 2023 season will be just the second time the team take the field in competition, and the first time in non-Covid impacted environment.

Baxter said he was looking forward to “the chance to properly showcase our brand, our athletes, and the style of rugby we play in the South Island”.

“We look to have really athletic players who can perform at a high tempo, move the ball around, showcase their skillset under pressure and show accuracy in our set piece,” he said.

Sarah Munro, General Manager Matatū, said the team and wider Crusaders family were “absolutely delighted to have Blair on board again”.

“Super Rugby Aupiki 2023 is set to be a great showcase of the women's game, especially in a non-Covid impacted environment,” Munro said.

“Not only is Blair a highly respected and talented coach, building off an outstanding FPC season with Canterbury, he’s also a true leader and champion of the wāhine game as it moves from strength to strength.”

Matatū’s opening season didn’t deliver the results they wanted, Baxter said.

“We’re really happy with the technical and tactical stuff but our execution under pressure wasn’t good enough,” he said.

“We didn’t achieve some of the stuff we set out to, so there’s definitely some great learnings that we’ve captured, and it’s made us really hungry as a coaching group to ensure the girls get a chance to actually showcase how good they are.

“We have a chance now to really establish that cohesion early on in our campaign to enable us to go out there and just thrive.”