The South Islanders had to battle in slippery conditions to grind out an 18-15 win over the Hurricanes Poua.
The Poua had won just one of their previous 13 Super Rugby Aupiki games but, perhaps inspired by their rampant male counterparts, they played with spirit and made Matatū look rattled at times.
Bullocking winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga was the best player on the park but the Hurricanes women needed some more around her to step up, and while Matatū generally looked the stronger side, they wasted a heap of opportunities.
It was an unimpressive first half from both teams.
Both showed plenty of attacking intent, which is to be lauded, but were let down badly by execution as ball after ball was spilled or flung away wildly.
Matatū started to exert some dominance through their forwards and got a great chance to capitalise when the home side copped back-to-back yellow cards, leaving them with 13 players for eight minutes.
While dangerous winger Binky Muamua saw her first effort at crossing the line ruled out due to a toe in touch, she could not be denied a second time as she gave Matatū the lead.
Somehow, the Poua survived for another 10 minutes or so despite offering little cohesion in attack and having gaps everywhere.
Finally, the Matatū loose forwards took it on themselves to get the job done.
Elinor-Plum King did some good work and Kaipo Olsen-Baker rocketed off the side of a ruck to score a nice try.
A 12-0 lead at halftime did not really reflect Matatū’s dominance, and they made a poor start to the second spell when prop Pip Love got sin-binned and classy halfback Iritana Hohaia — who dominated her battle with Maia Joseph — ducked over to score the Poua’s first try.
The Poua seemed to have some momentum but they could not make it count, partly due to some excellent Matatū defence.
The second half ebbed and flowed, and after Hannah King and Renee Holmes traded penalties, it was 15-10 to Matatū with 10 minutes to play.
Holmes kicked another three-pointer to create some breathing space but that nearly evaporated when reserve prop Angel Mulu crashed over for the Poua.
An upset was on the cards but Matatū managed to wind down the clock.
They will need to be a lot better if they are to challenge for the title this season.
‘‘They are a physical team and we knew they were going to come out firing,’’ Matatū captain Grace Brooker told Sky Sport.
‘‘We made it hard for ourselves. We got in our heads a little bit, I reckon. In the end, we figured out our territory game was what was going to win it for us.’’
• The defending champion Blues had to dig deep to beat the Chiefs Manawa 27-26 in Hamilton on Saturday.
The Chiefs led 21-7 at one stage but the Blues closed that up to 21-17 at halftime and scored a crucial late try through winger Jaymie Kolose.
Super Rugby Aupiki
The scores
Matatū 18
Binky Muamua, Kaipo Olsen-Baker tries; Hannah King con, 2 pen
Hurricanes Poua 15
Iritana Hohaia, Angel Mulu tries; Renee Holmes con, pen
Halftime: Matatū 12-0
