Wellington, with Asafo Aumua, Ardie Savea and TJ Perenara on duty, were expected to have too much firepower for Waikato. In fact, it was Perenara’s opposite, 21-year-old Xavier Roe, who sparked the home side to their highest ever points scored against Wellington.
‘Something old, something new’ could be the strategy for how Waikato head coach Andrew Strawbridge assembled his squad for the upcoming Mitre 10 Cup.
Carter returned from neck surgery to play his first match in 12 months as the Steelers opened the Top League season with a 50-16 over the Canon Eagles.
Waikato have announced their Mitre 10 Cup squad for 2019, just days before the competition kicks off, and there's plenty for fans to get excited about.
One of the All Blacks' key players has been ruled out of action for at least a month at a difficult time for his Super Rugby franchise.
It’s difficult to envisage another team denying the Crusaders a second-ever three-peat, not when they have got such an array of quality players, such a breadth of depth in their squad, and largely the same core of players who went back-to-back.
Four Wallabies will make their first appearance in Queensland colours as Reds coach Brad Thorn names his side for their final pre-season clash of the year against the Chiefs at Ballymore.
While all the buzz in the Northern Hemisphere surrounds England’s triumph over Ireland in Dublin, the folks in the south are licking their lips with Super Rugby only a week away.