Poi Stories / Poi Takitini

As seven of New Zealand’s international rugby players, known as the Black Ferns, remember both the taste of victory and the poi phenomenon from the 2021 Rugby World Cup, played in 2022, they attempt to master the art of poi and perform as a group, on stage.

The series follows their challenging poi training in parallel with their rugged rugby season – travelling to the Paris Olympics for three Sevens players, and to rugby’s holy grail, the former Twickenham stadium in England now known as Allianz, for the four 15s players, then onwards to Canada.

In an in-depth look into their lives, each player recalls their individual rugby journeys and challenges they’ve faced in the past, then several unexpected twists take their toll as the reality of life as a female professional athlete is revealed. And they all have different reasons for wanting to master the Māori art of poi.

It is a big year on the rugby field for all the players as they defend their Tokyo Olympic gold in Paris and the 15s players will take on an end of year tour to England to meet arch-rivals England who are still smarting from their World Cup final loss and then to Canada for this year’s WXV competition – all in the build-up for next year’s Rugby World Cup. And, after all of that, there is the finale performance of their poi journey.