Black Ferns star Ruby Tui will return to Super Rugby Aupiki in 2024 after skipping its last season while in the middle of wrangling negotiations over her future in the game.

The 31-year-old will rejoin the Chiefs Manawa, who she played for in 2022 in the first season of the elite domestic women’s competition.

To have someone of Tui’s stature playing in Super Rugby Aupiki is a major boost for the young competition, as it tries to expand and attract a new audience to women’s rugby.

Few Kiwi players in the game – men or women – are as recognisable as Tui. She has a big profile following her success in sevens and with the Black Ferns through to last year’s storybook Rugby World Cup win at Eden Park.

The 13-test winger returned from her sevens sabbatical in the United States to play for the Black Ferns last month and made a seamless comeback in their three tests in the inaugural WXV1 in New Zealand.

Chiefs coach Crystal Kaua said Tui “is probably the best winger in the world”, who returns after commentating on Super Rugby Aupiki for Sky Sport in 2023.

“I thought I’d be happy with that, but it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, watching the competition,” Tui said.

Holding the microphone, Tui’s playing future was uncertain at that point, but drawn-out negotiations with New Zealand Rugby were settled when she re-signed with the Black Ferns last April through to 2024.

“We’re really pushing to grow the [Aupiki] competition. It doesn’t always mean money. It’s support, resources, and it wasn’t easy for all the franchises to get behind that.

“The effort the Chiefs are putting into Aupiki, I had to come home.”

The main change in Super Rugby Aupiki’s next campaign is the increase of minimum player payments for non-Black Ferns, rising by more than double to at least $17,000, but the maximum matches the four teams can play only increases to seven from five.

There will also be player payments for individual training programmes ahead of the four-week pre-season. Players and coaches expressed concerns about the lack of a genuine pre-season and their readiness for the last competition.

Tui seemed happy with the progress NZ Rugby was making with Super Rugby Aupiki, with its latest expansion in place for the next two years ahead of the 2025 World Cup in England.

“I wouldn’t be signing if big changes hadn’t been made. I’m proud to be standing here today,” she said.

Tui hasn’t yet confirmed whether she will extend her contract with NZ Rugby through to the next World Cup after she played a huge part in the Black Ferns’ victory in 2022.

“I’ll do my due diligence, focus on myself, and make sure I’m up to par and make sure those who say they’re going to support us are actually going to support us,” Tui said.

“I’m not saying give me more money. I hope people don’t take this the wrong way. I’m saying ‘are you resourcing us, are you supporting our competitions and making us feel like you’re part of our team’.

“That’s what I want to make sure everybody is doing, then we can chat about ’25.”

Tui said she was grateful for the sabbatical she was granted and is as committed as ever to developing the women’s game in New Zealand.

Allan Bunting’s Black Ferns need the best preparation possible at home for their next test season after recent defeats to England and France in WXV1.

Tui said: “Super Rugby Aupiki, it’s crucial we get this right and are playing high-quality footy.”

The Chiefs finished top of the standings in 2023 but lost 33-31 in the final to Matatū in Hamilton.