Rob Penney lists eight Crusaders players to watch in 2026

After a poor 2024 season in Super Rugby Pacific, Rob Penney and the Crusaders bounced back the only way they know how, beating the Chiefs in the final of the 2025 competition to win another title.

Now, with a new stadium on the horizon in Christchurch, Penney’s side will be looking to continue their momentum into the new season starting in February.

This week, all of the Super Rugby Pacific franchises started their pre-season, without their international stars who will be on an extended break until after Christmas.

But for Crusaders fans, who might be looking towards the next generation of athletes in the red and black jersey, Penney lists some of the exciting talents they have at their club.

“I’m loath to do it because it’s such a team game, so I would say there’s a string of players we’ve already mentioned, Macca Springer on the on the wing, Chay Fihaki, who’s really emerged as a quality footballer, and someone that’s destined for a black jersey at some point,” Penney told Millsy and Guy on Sport Nation.

“And there’s a group, like Liam Jack, Oli Mathis, Johnny Lee, I guess, people that aren’t so well renowned yet, but will soon become household names.

“There’s a group there that we’re very excited about, and Taha Kemara, Aki Tuivailala and Xavier Saifoloi as well. The emergence of some of those names will come to the fore, over the next 18 months.”

Penney, who says he’s enjoyed watching the NPC in the off-season, is ready to kick off another season as head coach of the Crusaders.

“We’ve had a pretty hectic, cold day. We’ve had a lot of meetings with the new blokes. Obviously the New Zealand 15 and All Blacks aren’t in yet and they won’t be until after Christmas, but we’ve had a great day, and looking forward to a bit more activity tomorrow,” Penney told Sport Nation.

“Start applying the trade, is what we’re doing and we’ve had a really incredible off season, really. There’s been some great discussions on how we can build and the players have been heavily engaged in where we’re going.

“It’s exciting now to be able to sort of implement a few of those things and see how it all involved in a practical sense over the next few weeks.”

When asked about what elements he took from the disappointing campaign in 2024, the 61-year-old head coach admits that there’s multiple things that they just didn’t get right in that specific campaign.

“There’s always elements of the game that, we want to challenge the best players in the world, which we do have in some positions, to be better, and for the players that are emerging, we want to make them international class.

“So I don’t think you repeat back on 2024, there’s a number of small things that we didn’t get right and that didn’t go for us. But I think learning the whole group from the on field leadership connections to ensuring that you can play your best for you when you need to.”