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Everything you need to know: Super Rugby Pacific pre-season fixture list
By Henry Lee
It’s not long now until the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season kicks off, but before round one, we have a set of pre-season fixtures to watch all of the new and returning talent ahead of the new campaign.
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The Crusaders’ first pre-season game against the Blues at Kirwee Rugby Club has been announced as sold out by the two clubs, with hopefully a high quality matchup in front of a strong community-based crowd on the 31st of January. The matchup between familiar foes will be the first game for Blues head coach Vern Cotter since the title winning triumph last June.
Moana Pasifika will take on the Highlanders at North Harbour stadium on the 31st of January, which will be Jamie Joseph’s first game returning to head coach of the Highlanders for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific Season.
The 2024 Super Rugby finalists, the Chiefs, will be looking to go one better in 2025. Clayton McMillan’s side will be without Shaun Stevenson and Wallace Sititi for a chunk of the campaign, so the pre-season matchups against the Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika will be crucial in finding replacements for the two key absences.
The Waratahs will take on the Brumbies at Bowral Rugby Club on Saturday, February 1. This could possibly be the first outing for Wallabies midfielder and former Rugby League star Joseph Suaalii in a NSW Waratahs shirt.
The Queensland Reds will travel to the UK to take on Ulster and the Bristol Bears, to gain a different experience in pre-season heading into an important 2025 campaign under Les Kiss.
Here is the full set of Super Rugby pre-season fixtures.
- Fijian Drua v Rugby FC Los Angeles – Churchill Park, Lautoka – 24th January 2025
- Sat 25 Jan NSW Waratahs v NSW Pacifica Eric Tweedale Stadium
- Fri 31 Jan Moana Pasifika v Highlanders The Oval, North Harbour Stadium, Albany
- Fri 31 Jan Crusaders v Blues Kirwee Rugby Club, Kirwee
- Fri 31 Jan QLD Reds v Bristol Bears Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
- Sat 1 Feb NSW Waratahs v ACT Brumbies Bowral Rugby Club
- Sat 1 Feb Chiefs v Hurricanes Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
- Thur 6 Feb Highlanders v Crusaders Rugby Park, Invercargill
- Fri 7 Feb ACT Brumbies v Western Force Marist College, Canberra
- Fri 7 Feb QLD Reds v Ulster Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
- Fri 7 Feb Hurricanes v Blues William Jones Park, Wainuiomata
- Sat 8 Feb Chiefs v Moana Pasifika Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
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Pre season games mean little as only really practice matches and teams won't reveal their full hand just yet.
Hopefully I am going to go the Crusaders -Blues pre season match at the Kirwee Rugby Club. Kirwee is the club of Don Hayes. He was captain of Canterbury's most successful Ranfurly Shield team 1982-85. James O'Connor, Kyle Preston others will debut for the Crusaders, ( all going well). Stand out young provincial players likely get a game too. The likes of Canterbury "Break Through" Player of the year Isaac Hutchinson and his team mate James White and promising Tasman loose forward Johnny Lee , should see game time. Blues will have similar players , among them Canterbury hooker James Mullan.
Wdym hopefully? It's sold out, isnt it? You're either going, or you aren't.