1
Former All Black names his Super Rugby Aotearoa 'Hype XV' on eve of new season
The 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season is just three days away from kick-off, leaving fans, players and pundits across New Zealand brimming with excitement for the campaign ahead.
ADVERTISEMENT
With the new season comes the emergence of new talent and the return of familiar faces plying their trades for new teams.
Players of both backgrounds have attracted significant public interest in the lead-up to the new season, and recently-retired Blues hooker James Parsons has taken it upon himself to formulate a XV made up of the most hyped players throughout pre-season.
Naming his fictitious side on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, the two-test All Black, who announced his retirement from all rugby last month, said the team was based on those who have garnered the most media attention over the off-season and during pre-season.
“The point of the Hype XV is that not always a player is as good at the end of the season that people were talking about them at the start,” Aotearoa Rugby Pod host Ross Karl clarified.
Parsons added a Form XV would be selected at the end of the season to see if anyone from his Hype XV had lived up to expectation throughout the Super Rugby Aotearoa season.
James Parsons’ 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa Hype XV
1) George Bower (Crusaders)
The Hype XV was kicked-off with the selection of Crusaders prop George Bower, who Parsons said has grown in stature following his call-up to the All Blacks squad for last year’s Tri Nations.
ADVERTISEMENT
Whether or not the uncapped 28-year-old will receive much game time remains to be seen given the presence of veteran loosehead prop Joe Moody at the Crusaders, but that didn’t stop Parsons from picking Bower in this team.
“No. 1, another Crusader, George Bower. Got into the All Blacks and there’s a bit of hype around him living up to that. He didn’t play for them, but he’s been in and around that [environment],” Parsons said in explanation of his selection.
2) Kurt Eklund (Blues)
Blues hooker Kurt Eklund rose in prominence last year after establishing himself as the franchise’s starting No. 2 with a strong of strong displays.
So good was the 29-year-old that he was picked for both the North Island and the Maori All Blacks in last year’s North vs South and Maori All Blacks vs Moana Pasifika clashes.
ADVERTISEMENT
He also earned himself a reputation as a jokester after downing a bottle of Powerade during a post-match interview on live TV.
“No other gets more hype than this man in the hooking jersey, Kurt Eklund. He’s got a lot of hype,” Parsons said.
“Should I boof it?” – @BluesRugbyTeam hooker Kurt Eklund ???
??: @skysportnz + @KirstieStanway #BLUvCHI pic.twitter.com/pPdz0TlZNT
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugbyNZ) July 26, 2020
3) Nepo Laulala (Blues)
Despite the impressive gym work of Crusaders rookie Fletcher Newell, who broke the Crusaders academy squat record with a 255kg effort last year, Parsons opted for All Blacks prop Nepo Laulala due to his move to Auckland from the Chiefs.
“Tighthead prop’s a hard one. There’s that Fletcher Newell from the Crusaders because there’s big hype around him squatting about 290 kilos or something and breaking Owen Franks’ record or something,” Parsons said.
“But, I’ve gone with Nepo Laulala because he’s got more hype around him because he’s moved to the Blues.”
4) Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs)
An unheralded prospect who didn’t even have a full-time contract with the Chiefs when he made his debut in the first-ever Super Rugby Aotearoa match last year, Tupou Vaa’i is now one of the most highly-regarded locks in New Zealand.
From obscurity on the professional rugby scene at the beginning of the year, Vaa’i was a four-test All Black by the end of it as he helped alleviate New Zealand’s shortage at lock.
It was, however, his rapid ascent to test rugby and the emotional video of him telling his family that he had made the All Blacks for the first time that made Vaa’i a household name, and it’s for that reason he is in Parsons’ side.
“Obviously a lot of hype around him. Sort of the unknown last year, now the known. Big talking point is the Chiefs lineouts, stepping up there.”
View this post on Instagram
5) Quinten Strange (Crusaders)
Named in the All Blacks but robbed of a chance to debut for the national side due to injury, Parsons suggested there is a weight of expectation on Quinten Strange’s shoulders this season as he looks to regain his place in Ian Foster’s squad.
“Quinten Strange re-signing to 2023, just made the All Blacks, got injured, pulled out, so a lot of hype around Quinten Strange stepping up for the Crusaders.”
6) Liam Squire (Highlanders)
Returning to the Highlanders after a year away to recuperate from the mental and physical toll of professional rugby in New Zealand, Liam Squire is back in Dunedin and ready to reclaim his place in the All Blacks set-up.
Despite being unsure of how often the 23-test All Black will play after he missed both of the Highlanders’ pre-season matches against the Crusaders and Hurricanes, Parsons said the amount of media attention Squire has received validates his inclusion.
“Liam Squire, again, there’s a lot of hype around him. I don’t know if he’s going to play, but there’s a lot of articles.”
7) Lachlan Boshier (Chiefs)
One of Super Rugby Aotearoa’s best players last year, Lachlan Boshier was the subject of plenty of media attention when he was continually omitted by the All Blacks in favour of bigger, more physical flankers.
That is exactly why Parsons picked Boshier in his side, as well as the fact he felt there are few other openside flankers in the public spotlight because of Sam Cane’s All Blacks captaincy.
“No. 7, really hard. There’s just been no talk because the All Black captain’s 7, I feel, so I’ve gone with Lachlan Boshier because he got left out of the All Blacks and there’s always that talk about why is he not in there,” Parsons said.
“He probably won’t play at 7, he might play at 6, I don’t know, but he’s got an opportunity. He’s in the Hype XV.”
8) Ardie Savea (Hurricanes) – captain
It’s long been known that Ardie Savea has played an integral role in the Hurricanes set-up due to his immense ability on the field as well as his influence off it.
His stature in the squad became official last week when he was appointed Hurricanes captain for the 2021 season, which is why Parsons named him as his team’s captain.
“The new skip for the Hurricanes at No. 8, Ardie Savea – and he’s captain of the Hype XV.”
9) Folau Fakatava (Highlanders)
A tightly-contested position in Parsons’ book, controversy erupted when the podcast was led to believe Blues halfback Sam Nock had been given the nod, with Karl pointing to Chiefs rookie Xavier Roe as a frontrunner for this spot.
However, Parsons clarified his stance and said that while Roe was a credible contender, Folau Fakatava had been handed a place in this side due to his growing reputation as Aaron Smith’s potential long-term successor for the Highlanders and All Blacks.
“Folau Fakatava took it, because [he won the] Duane Monkley [Medal], there’s been a lot of comparisons to Aaron Smith and I just think there’s more hype around him and, potentially, he’ll get more game time, so he’s got more opportunity to live up to it.”
10) Bryn Gatland (Chiefs)
In the wake of his move from the Highlanders to the Chiefs, Parsons opted to pick Bryn Gatland as his first-five, even if Karl mocked the selection, quipping: “Most of the hype has happened in the last 15 minutes.”
Nevertheless, Parsons stuck to his guns and picked his ex-North Harbour teammate, citing minimal media scrutiny of No. 10s across New Zealand in recent times.
“Bryn Gatland at 10. There’s no other. There’s a lot of talk about him obviously moving to the Chiefs.”
11) Caleb Clarke (Blues)
Another one of the more controversial selections on Parsons’ XV, as fellow panellist and Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall expressed outrage that his teammate and rising star Leicester Fainga’anuku was snubbed from this position.
However, Parsons was adamant his former Blues teammate Caleb Clarke warranted a place in the team after his breakout year in 2020, even if it meant one of the standouts of the Super Rugby pre-season missed out.
“It was a toss-up. Jona Nareki, who was obviously performing really well in the pre-season, there wasn’t a lot of hype. I was creating a lot of hype because he just seemed to be stepping everyone,” Parsons said.
“But, Caleb Clarke’s taken out the No. 11 jersey, just because there’s a lot of hype around him, just backing it up [from last year]. There’s a lot of hype, so Caleb Clarke’s gone to 11.”
12) Ngani Laumape (Hurricanes)
Parsons conceded there weren’t an array of candidates that stood out to vacate the No. 12 jersey in the Hype XV, but he landed on hard-running All Blacks midfielder Ngani Laumape due to discussions about his desire to refine his all-round game.
“Ngani Laumape at 12 because he spoke about finding that balance in his game in linking and kicking, so there’s been a bit of talk around that.”
13) Michael Collins (Highlanders)
A surprise selection in this side, Parsons selected his former Blues teammate Michael Collins at No. 13 given the Otago captain may have to fill that role for the Highlanders after Fetuli Paea limped from the field against the Hurricanes last week.
“Michael Collins has got a lot of attention around his midfield spot after his success with the Otago team,” Parsons explained
“So, he’s in at 13, which works out really well because the centre, [Fetuli] Paea, got a little niggle, so Michael Collins might slip into the 13 jersey Friday night.”
14) Julian Savea (Hurricanes)
Along with Squire, former All Blacks wing Julian Savea is one of the biggest signings of the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season, returning to the Hurricanes following a tumultuous spell abroad in France.
His arrival back in the capital led Parsons to include him in this side, as did his performance against the Highlanders in a pre-season fixture last Friday.
“He was exceptional the other day, his work off the ball. He was living up to the hype already.”
15) Solomon Alaimalo (Highlanders)
Another fiercely-contested position, Parsons said the fullback position came down to three players, who all warranted inclusion for different reasons, but it was eventually Solomon Alaimalo who came out on top following his move south from the Chiefs.
“At 15, we had three guys in the running because there were a lot of articles,” Parsons said. “One guy came in late – Connor Garden-Bachop was getting a lot of hype during the pre-season games.
“Will Jordan obviously was getting heaps around cricket [due to his involvement in the T20 Black Clash game] more than rugby, but there’s a lot of hype.
“But, Solomon Alaimalo, when he signed with the Highlanders, he’s taken out the 15 spot.”
Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:
Comments on RugbyPass
Hope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
1 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
39 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
9 Go to comments