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Five rookies join five Black Ferns in 2025 Hurricanes Poua squad
By Ned Lester
New Hurricanes Poua head coach Fusi Feaunati has unveiled a new-look squad for the Super Rugby Aupiki season.
In announcing the 2025 squad, the club have also officially bid farewell to 15 of their 2024 players, including 20-year-old Black Ferns playmaker Hannah King.
With a new-look squad and a new coach comes a new direction and Feaunati outlined that vision for the 2025 season when announcing the squad.
“The Poua are prioritizing connection and growth this year. The focus is on making improvements in our on-field performance and raising expectations around performance culture.
“We’re building a team with an exciting mix of fresh talent and experience, that I believe will be fundamental in growing our performance culture. These women are already performing in FPC and have proven themselves to be hard-working, focused and ready to excel at a high-performance level.”
Jackie Patea-Fereti returns to captain the team for the third time and expressed her pride at another appointment as leader.
“It’s a huge honour to represent my Aiga in the swirl again,” remarked Patea-Fereti.
“This role isn’t something I take lightly, and my decision to continue this journey took a lot of reflection and conversations with loved ones. I’m excited about continuing this journey with Fusi (Head Coach) and the rest of the crew for 2025.”
The front row promises to be a strength for the club as former Black Fern hooker Natalie Delamere joins the ranks, along with fellow hooker Jayme Nuku. Props Esther Faiaoga-Tilo and Angel Mulu have also been named in the squad, lending further international experience to the pack.
The five Aupiki rookies named are Raedeen Blake and former Black Fern Forne Burkin ( Hawke’s Bay), Lavinia Lea (Wellington), Payton Takimoana (Bay of Plenty) and former Manusina Samoa player Cassie Siataga (Tasman).
Hurricanes Poua Squad for 2025
Te Rauoriwa Gapper – Canterbury
Isabella Waterman – Canterbury
Denise Aiolupotea – Hawke’s Bay
Forne Burkin – Hawke’s Bay
Olioli Mua – Hawke’s Bay
Leilani Hakiwai – Hawke’s Bay
Teilah Ferguson – Hawke’s Bay
Raedeen Blake – Hawke’s Bay
Iritana Hohaia – Taranaki
Ngano Taveke – Manawat?
Samantha Taylor – Manawat?
Elinor-Plum King – Manawat?
Layla Sae – Manawat?
Paige Lush – Manawat?
Rangimarie Sturmey – Manawat?
Kahurangi Sturmey – Manawat?
Jayme Nuku - Manawat?
Payton Takimoana – Bay of Plenty
Natalie Delamere – Bay of Plenty
Angel Mulu – Bay of Plenty
Lavinia Lea – Wellington
Jackie Patea-Fereti – Wellington
Joanah Ngan Woo – Wellington
Shakira Baker – Wellington
Monica Tagoai – Wellington
Harmony Kautai – Wellington
Ayesha Leti-I’iga – Wellington
Esther Faiaoga-Tilo - Waikato
Cassie Siataga – Tasman
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The thing that really impressed me about him in this rugby championship was his role as the last line of defence especially in the South Africa games. He scrambled exceptionally well and forced errors out of several SA attackers right before the line saving a few tries. He does have really good speed and is great on the counter. A really exciting player to watch and good to see him progress. Needs more work on his aerial game and tactical kicking though which may see him under pressure in this Northern tour which will certainly see him receiving a lot of high kicks and having to get into territorial battles. Still he is not bad in those areas and quite proficient but this tour will really test his skills especially if its wet and cold
Go to commentsMarler is intentionally a clown and somewhat of a provocateur. No news there.
The haka is harmless enough as a marketing gimmick, but it would be better if other teams also appropriated and performed stylized customs from minority communities.
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