Three lost finals, then a perfect season: Canterbury lift the Farah Palmer Cup

For three years running, Canterbury's women had got to the last day of the Farah Palmer Cup and gone home without the trophy. On Sunday 11 October, under the roof of Christchurch's new One NZ Stadium, they finished the job in style: Canterbury 50, Auckland Storm 24, and a season without a single defeat.

A final that turned after half-time

It did not look like a rout early on. Auckland, who had beaten Waikato 36-31 at Eden Park to reach the final, took the game to the home side and led 14-7. Canterbury's reply came from their halfback Kelsyn McCook, who took a quick tap close to the line just before the break and put her side 19-17 up at half-time.

The second half belonged to the red and blacks. Maisy Allen scored in the 54th minute, and winger Lialani Muamua, known to everyone as Binky, scored twice, the second from an intercept she carried the length of the field. Five tries to one after the break settled it.

The numbers behind a perfect season

Canterbury went through the five round-robin games unbeaten, scoring 249 points, then beat the Manawatū Cyclones 57-7 in their semifinal. Muamua finished the campaign with 13 tries and Louise Blyde with 12. The title is Canterbury's first since 2022 and the first silverware of any kind lifted on the turf of the new stadium.

Head coach Solomona Paraki kept it simple afterwards: "I'm incredibly proud of this group and what they've been able to achieve."

Wellington Pride go up

A day earlier in Wellington, the Pride beat Northland Kauri 39-15 to win the Championship final, the second division of the competition, which brings promotion to the Premiership next season. The Pride's only loss all year had been to Hawke's Bay Tui, whom they beat in the semifinal. Several of the Pride's players will be familiar from Super Rugby Aupiki, among them Arene Landon-Lane, Faythe Finau, Valini Vaka, Keira Su'a-Smith and Fia Laikong.

Why it matters for the game here

The Farah Palmer Cup is the competition every girl playing club or school rugby in New Zealand can see herself in: provincial colours, local grounds, and a direct line to Super Rugby Aupiki and the Black Ferns. A Canterbury side that turned three painful finals into an unbeaten season is a good story to tell at training this week, and Wellington's promotion means two more top-flight home games in the capital next year.