Wāhine Māori celebrated, Colin Cooper made Life Member at New Zealand Māori Rugby Board AGM

English translation to follow below

I whakanuia te whai wāhitanga o ngā wāhine Māori ki te whutupōro i te Hui ā-Tau o te Poari Whutupōro Māori (NZMRB), i tū ki Te Whanganui-a-Tara i te pō nei.

I whakanuia ngā whetū o te Kapa Mamaku a Braxton Sorensen-McGee (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai) rāua ko Portia Woodman-Wickcliffe (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whaingaroa, Ngāti Porou) mō ā rāua whakawhiwhinga i te 2025 i tēnei motu, i tāwāhi hoki. I tana tau tuatahi i te kapa, i whakaingoatia a Sorensen-McGee hei Kaitākaro Wahine Whanake Hou Toa o te Kēmu 15 o te Ao, me te whiwhi anō i te Kaitākaro Toa o te Tau mō ngā Mamaku, me te Kaitākaro Rangatahi Toa o te Tau i te Tohu Tākaro Whutupōro o Aotearoa.  Ko Woodman-Wickliffe i eke hei kaiwhiwhi piro maha rawa o Aotearoa i te Kapu o te Ao, ā, i whakawhiwhia ki te Tohu Kaitākaro Māori Toa o te Tau a Tom French, me te Kaitākaro Toa o te Whakataetae o Sky Super Rugby Aupiki. I uru hoki a Sorensen McGee ki te te Kapa Moemoeā 15 ā-Ao o te Tau, rāua tahi ko Kaipo Olsen-Baker (Ngāti Porou).

I angitu hoki te whutupōro i ngā Tohu Tākaro Māori 2025, tae atu ki a Sorensen-McGee i whakawhiwhia ki te Te Tamāhine-a-Papatūānuku, Te Rangatahi Wahine Toa o te Tau, me te kapa o Ngā Māreikura Tau 18, i toa i a rātou te taonga o Ngā ika ā Whiro, mō te Kapa Toa o te tau. Ka tohu tēnei i te rua tau karapīpiti i angitu tētahi kapa whanake Māori i tēnei tohu, otirā i toa i te Kapa Whanake Māori tēnei tohu i te 2024. Ko Tara Buckley-Fangatua te wahine tāpua ki te angitutanga o te kapa māreikura i ngā tau tata nei, otirā i whakanuia hoki a ia.

Hei tā Anne-Marie Jackson, (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Kahu, Te Roroa) te Upoko o te Poari Whutupōro Māori:

"Kua roa te Māori e whai wāhi ana ki te angitutanga o te whutupōro o Aotearoa i te pae o te ao, otirā ko ō tātou wāhine te pūtake o ngā tutukitanga mahi a ngā Kapa Ōpango i ngā marama 12 kua hipa. Ka mihi au ki a Braxton rāua tahi ko Portia i ā rāua mahi. I whakaatu Ngā Māreikura i te ekenga tiketike o ngā wāhine Māori i ngā huarahi whutupōro Māori, otirā e rikarika ana ki te whai haere i ā rāua ara tākaro i a rāua e whanake ana.

I whakatūturutia ko Colin Cooper (Ngāti Pūkenga), te Kaiako Ōpango Māori o mua, hei Mema Pūmau o te Poari Whutupōro Māori. He mea kopou a ia e te Ūniana Whutupōro Māori me te Ūniana Whutupōro o Taranaki, i whakanuia a Cooper mō te roa o āna mahi ki te kēmu i ngā kaupae katoa, hei kaiako karapu, ā-rohe, Super Rugby me ngā kapa ā-motu.

Hei tā Arran Pene, te Upoko o te Komiti Whutupōro, (Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Pākehā), i hurō a ia i te kitenga o te whakamanatanga o te kopounga o Cooper.

"He tangata whai mana a Colin hei tangata i roto i te ao whutupōro. I pā ōna mōhiotanga ki ia kaupae o te kēmu i Aotearoa, inakoa rā tana whakaaweawe i ngā rangatahi Māori e pihi ake ana, tae noa ki te Ōpango Māori. Kātahi te hōnore nui ko tēnei, i ana pūkenga kaiako, te roa o āna mahi mā tana iwi, otirā ko tana whakamanatanga hei Mema Pūmau."

I whakanuia te haerenga o te Kapa Ōpango Māori i te 2025, inakoa rā ngā mahi a te kapa i te wiki katoa i Whangārei, i mua o tā kēmu ki a Kōtirana, ko te manaakitanga tērā a ngā iwi o Te Taitokerau me te hautūtanga o te Poari Whutupōro o Te Taitokerau. I pōhiritia te kapa ki te Marae o Terenga Paraoa, ā, i tū ētahi kaupapa ā-hapori, hei whakaatu i te tūranga hirahira ki te hāpai i te oranga o te Māori, me te whakarākei i te iwi mā roto i te whutupōro.

I tae ā-tinana te kaiako hou o te Kapa Māori a Tamati Ellison (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Whakaue) rātou ko tāna whānau,  kia whakatauhia ia ki tana tūranga hou. Ka whakataetae te Kapa Ōpango Māori ki te Japan XV i Nagoya, ā te Hune.

Mai i te tirohanga mana hautū, i whakanui te Hui nei i ngā mahi ki te piringa tata ki te poari o NZR, te whakawhanake i tētahi rautaki hou mō te whutupōro Māori, ka mana hei te 2026, te whanaketanga o tētahi tūranga Kaihautū i roto i te Whutupōro o Aotearoa (NZR), te angitu o te kaupapa pairete o tētahi hōtaka Mana Hautū Whutupōro Māori, i te taha o te NZR me te Institute of Directors, me te kī atu o te hiahia kia hanga tētahi pūtea hou arā te Māori Rugby Fund ki 2027.

Hei tā Merewakaana Kingi, te Upoko o te Komiti Pūtea, (Ngāti Awa)

“Ka tautoko tēnei pūtea i ngā kaupapa maha o te whutupōro Māori. E whakapiki ana te kaupapa o whutupōro i te hauora o te tangata, ā, ka aro tēnei pūtea kia whakawhānui aua hua. Ka tautoko hoki i ngā kaupapa o ngā ara o te poutama o whutupōro Māori, ā, mō ngā whakatipuranga kaitakaaro Māori hou."

Hei tā Jackson:
“Ka āwhina ēnei whakatutukitanga i te 12 marama kua hipa, ā, ka anga whakamua hoki, me kawau mārō mātou, me matua ngā kaupapa o te whutupōro Māori me te tikanga Māori ki te ngako o te whutupōro. I te wā, e noho tonu mātou ki te Poari, me mahi pono tonu, he kaitiaki o whutupōro Māori, ā, me kaha ake ai mō te hunga e whai ana i tēnei kaupapa”.

He kōrero whakamutunga tā Jackson ki te Hui, i mihia e ia ki te mahi me ngā whakapau kaha o te whānau katoa o whutupōro Māori, mai i ngā kaitaakaro, ki ngā kaimahi, ki ngā kaiāwhina, me ngā mema o ngā poari katoa i Murihiku ki Taitokerau.

“Nā koutou te manawapou o te kaupapa nei - Ara mai he tētēkura”

Ki te tirotiro i te Pūrongo ā-Tau o te Poari Whutupōro Māori, tēnā pāwhiri ki konei:

Ngā mema o te Poari Whutupōro Māori o Aotearoa i te 2025
Anne-Marie Jackson – Upoko
Rob Clark - Upoko o Te Hiku o te Ika
Stewart Whyte – Upoko o Te Tini a Māui
Dayveen Stephens - Upoko o Te Waipounamu
Dr Daryn Bean – Mema Kopounga
Arran Pene – Mema Kopounga
Warren Alcock – Mema Tūhake
Merewaakana Kingi – Mema Tūhake
Grant Jarrold – māngai o te Poari Whutupōro o Aotearoa

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The contribution of wāhine Māori in rugby was celebrated at the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board (NZMRB) Annual General Meeting, held tonight in Wellington.

Black Ferns stars Braxton Sorensen-McGee (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai) and Portia Woodman-Wickcliffe (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu ki Whaingaroa, Ngāti Porou) were honoured for their 2025 achievements both domestically and internationally. In her debut year, Sorensen-McGee was named as World Rugby’s Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year, as well as claiming both the Black Ferns Player of the Year and Age Grade Player of the Year of the New Zealand Rugby Awards. Woodman-Wickcliffe, who became New Zealand’s all-time Test try-scorer at the 2025 Rugby World Cup, was awarded the Tom French Memorial Māori Player of the Year and Sky Super Rugby Aupiki Player of the Year. Sorensen-McGee was joined in the World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team by Kaipo Olsen-Baker (Ngāti Porou).

Rugby once again enjoyed great success at the 2025 Māori Sports Awards, including Sorensen-McGee claiming the Te Tamāhine-a-Papatūānuku Junior Māori Sportswoman of the Year Award, and the Ngā Mareikura Under 18 Wāhine team winning the Ngā Ika ā Whiro Māori Sports Team of the Year category. This marks two years in a row that a Māori development side has won this award, following the NZ Māori Development team taking out the category in 2024. Tara Buckley-Fangatua who has been integral to the success of the māreikura team in recent years was also celebrated.

New Zealand Māori Rugby Board Chair Anne-Marie Jackson (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Kahu, Te Roroa) said:

“Māori have long been key contributors to the success of New Zealand rugby on the international stage, and our wāhine have been central to the performances of the Teams in Black over the past 12 months. I congratulate both Braxton and Portia on their successes. Ngā Mareikura showed that the next generation of wāhine Māori are excelling in Māori rugby pathways, and we look forward to following their careers as they continue to develop.”

Former Māori All Blacks Head Coach Colin Cooper (Ngāti Pūkenga) was confirmed as a Life Member of the Māori Rugby Board. Nominated by Taranaki Māori Rugby Football Union and Taranaki Rugby Football Union, Cooper was recognised for his length of service to the game at every level, having coached club, provincial, Super Rugby and national representative sides.

Chair of the Rugby Committee, Arran Pene (Ngāti Wairere, Ngāti Apakura, Ngāti Pākehā) was thrilled to see Cooper’s nomination passed.
“Colin has immense mana both as a person and within rugby. His expertise has touched every level of the game in Aotearoa, with particular influence on young Māori players emerging through the Māori All Blacks. It is a fitting acknowledge of his coaching abilities, tenure and service to his people that he joins our prestigious Life Members.”

The 2025 Māori All Blacks campaign was highlighted, with particular reflection on the team’s week in Whangārei ahead of their match against Scotland, and the manaakitanga shown by the rohe of Northland iwi and leadership of Te Taitokerau Māori Rugby. The team was welcomed on to Terenga Paraoa Marae and held many community engagements, demonstrating their important role in uplifting Māori lives and enhancing Māori through rugby.

Incoming Māori All Blacks coach Tamati Ellison (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Whakaue) was in attendance to be welcomed into his new role, along with his whānau. The Māori All Blacks will face the Japan XV in Nagoya in June.

From a governance perspective, the Meeting acknowledged the closer relationship to NZR, the mahi involved in developing a new strategy for Māori rugby effective from 2026, the development of an executive-level Kaihautū role within New Zealand Rugby (NZR), the successful pilot of a Māori Rugby Governance programme, in partnership with NZR and the Institute of Directors and the announcement of the intent to create a new Māori Rugby Fund to go live in 2027.

Chair of the Commercial Committee Merewakaana Kingi (Ngāti Awa) said

“To have this fund available will promote more Māori rugby initiatives. Being involved in the game is a boost to the hauora of participants, and this fund aims to further spread those benefits. It will also support programmes aimed at supporting pathways for Māori rugby development to bring through the next generation of emerging Māori talent.”

Jackson said:
“These achievements over the past 12 months with our eye firmly on the future help ensure Māori rugby and tikanga Māori is at the heart of rugby. By serving on the Board, we continue to be committed to acting as kaitiaki of Māori rugby and leaving it stronger for those who follow.”

Jackson concluded the Meeting acknowledging the mahi and efforts of all of the Māori rugby whānau, from players to management, volunteers and Board members from Murihiku to Taitokerau.

“You are the life blood of our kaupapa - Ara mai he tētēkura”.

To view the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board Annual Report, please click here. 

Members of the New Zealand Māori Rugby Board in 2025
Anne-Marie Jackson - Chair
Rob Clark - Te Hiku o te Ika Chair
Stewart Whyte - Te Tini a Māui Chair
Dayveen Stephens - Te Waipounamu Chair
Dr Daryn Bean - Appointed Member
Arran Pene - Appointed Member
Warren Alcock - Independent Member
Merewaakana Kingi - Independent Member
Grant Jarrold - New Zealand Rugby Board representative