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One breakout player from each NZ Super Rugby Pacific team for 2025

Leroy Carter and Caleb Tangitau. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images and Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

It’s that time of the year, when Super Rugby Teams are underway putting the hard yards in during pre-season, gearing up for what will be another competitive season.

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In 2024, Super Rugby fans were treated to many breakthrough players from the New Zealand franchises. We saw Chiefs loose forward Wallace Sititi go from unknown, to World Rugby Breakthrough 15’s Men’s Player of the Year. Hurricanes props Xavier Numia and Pasilio Tosi burst onto the scene, putting themselves in All Blacks contention.

Who will it be in 2025? 

Here’s one breakthrough player from each NZ Super Rugby franchise for 2025.

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Chiefs: Leroy Carter (Winger)

The former New Zealand sevens player had a standout year for the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the Bunnings NPC competition. 

If the reports and rumours are true, Shaun Stevenson will be moving to Japan, leaving his NZ contract a year early in search of foreign opportunities. When one door closes, one door opens, and this could be just the opportunity Leroy Carter needs to push himself for higher honours. 

Carter has blistering pace, a strong fend, and smartness around the field that makes him a perfect asset for Clayton McMillan’s side in 2025. 

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His fitness from sevens and finishing ability showcased in the 2024 Bunnings NPC season, promise to bring a slightly different proposition to the power game of Etene Nanai-Seturo and Emoni Narawa respectively.

Honourable mention: Malachi Wrampling (Loose forward)

Blues: Che Clark (Loose forward)

Another former New Zealand sevens player on this list, Clark was a schoolboy star out of King’s College and has always been in and around professional squads, playing in the New Zealand U20s in 2023. 

The barnstorming loose forward has the game style perfectly suited for Vern Cotter and the Blues. Clark’s ball carrying ability and power with ball-in-hand is his major strength, which will be music to the ears of hard-nosed Blues head coach Vern Cotter. 

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Akira Ioane has moved on to Japan, creating space for a strong, tall, powerful blindside flanker for the Blues this season. There’s a possibility Anton Segner will play, but he has a completely different play style from the one we saw the Blues implement last season in their title-winning run. If Clark can make a jump this year, the Blues pack might become an even bigger worry for opposition teams.

Honourable mention: Payton Spencer (Utility Back)

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Hurricanes: Lucas Cashmore (First five)

The Hurricanes needed a first five for the 2025 season, and they definitely got one that’s on the rise. 

Son of former Bay of Plenty halfback Blair Cashmore, and nephew to All Black fullback Adrian Cashmore. The genes are there, and Cashmore is paving his own path at the Bay of Plenty Steamers where he was impressive in a near title-winning campaign in the Bunnings NPC competition. 

Cashmore was part of the Blues squad last year, but never really got any opportunity behind Harry Plummer and Stephen Perofeta.

Cashmore is light on his feet, a smart runner of the ball and is handy with the boot. The Hurricanes have X-factor all across the park, so he doesn’t need to shine too much with the ball in hand, instead just drive the game and get the Hurricanes on the front foot.

He will have competition from former Crusaders first-five Riley Hohepa, Harry Godfrey from Hawkes Bay and maybe even Ruben Love when he comes back from injury, but if Cashmore can hit the ground running in pre-season, the position is his to lose.

Honourable mention: Siale Lauaki (Prop)

Crusaders: Kyle Preston (Halfback)

The Crusaders have got a good one. Kyle Preston was one of, if not the best halfback in the Bunnings NPC in 2024. The one-two punch of Hotham and Preston will be hard to top in Super Rugby Pacific. 

Noah Hotham will start most games, but having a backup as capable as Preston will be a huge asset to Rob Penney this year. 

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Preston’s running game as a halfback is effective, and like every good nine, he’s there at the right time to finish off tries from line breaks. 

The 25-year-old has a knack for scoring tries, something he’s picked up over time in becoming a professional rugby player, after being convinced to take the sport up as a career instead of being a roofer.

Honourable mention: Jamie Hannah (Lock)

Highlanders: Caleb Tangitau (Winger)

Caleb Tangitau is one of the brightest up-and-coming wingers that we have on our shores. The former New Zealand sevens player has shown his talent in various teams and codes. It just hasn’t all come together yet for Tangitau, who’s moved down south from the Blues in search of more playing time. 

Tangitau was part of the NZ U20s in 2023, as well as the past couple of Blues and Auckland campaigns. 

Tangitau is the type of player who possesses abilities we’ve yet to fully see, which is why his move to the Highlanders should hopefully unlock his full potential.

He’s dangerous in the air, an absolute handful to tackle when he has the ball and someone who’s not afraid to try something different on the best of occasions. An X-factor player who might just help Jamie Joseph bring some happiness and energy back to the Deep South.

Honourable mention: Michael Manson (Winger)

Moana Pasifika: Kyren Taumoefolau (Utility Back)

Kyren Taumoefolau was a bright spark on the left wing for the Tasman side who held the shield for large parts of 2024. Taumoefolau was often seen on the end of well-worked backline moves, where all that was left was the finish

Taumoefolau has express pace and when given an opportunity with the ball close to the line, Moana Pasifika will enjoy his quality finishing in a side that hopes to grow with one of the world’s best in their squad, Ardie Savea.

Once given an opportunity, Taumoefolau is bound to make that position his own. He represented Tonga at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, an impressive feat at the age of 20.

If Moana Pasifika can get the ball to Taumoefolau in space, the other Super Rugby franchises will need to watch out. 

Honorable mention: Losi Filipo (Winger)


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Comments

12 Comments
Y
YeowNotEven 83 days ago

2025 will see the rise and domination of the game by Ollie Mathis.

A
Andrew Nichols 81 days ago

Signed to play 7s...so no it wont happen.

G
GP 83 days ago

Interesting discussion going on regarding the Crusaders captaincy. Scott Barrett , an outstanding lock and captain has rightfully been left to concentrate on the All Black captain's job. David Havili and Codie Taylor are 2 obvious candidates.Both would be great choices. Personally Codie Taylor would be my choice. It is often forgotten that when he rejoined the Crusaders last year after his sabbatical, he was the captain and the teams form markedly improved. That was a launch pad for his outstanding All Black year. Tom Christie is a real leader too. Who ever gets it I will be happy , as they are all outstanding rugby players and men.

J
Jordon 84 days ago

MP are now defined as an NZ super rugby team.

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Head high tackle 84 days ago

Reporters just keep writing that Stevenson could have his contract cut short so he can go to Japan. Well Japan is now 3 games into there season and they have very short seasons so when is this supposed move going to take place? Post season?

G
GP 85 days ago

Jamie Hannah gets mentioned. He debuted for the Crusaders in 2023 before even playing for Canterbury. He played well last year for both teams, like others injury has played its part thus far. But he is bulking up and will only get better,being a lock , longevity is the key. I recently read Sam Whitelocks outstanding book co written with Dylan Cleaver and you realize that long careers , even the great ones have there winding turns. Every team has its unsung heroes with the team I support the Crusaders , the likes of Tom Christie, Cullen Grace , just play so consistently year in year out. Corey Kellow after an outstanding 2024 is one whose star is on the rise.

S
SC 85 days ago

If Jamie Hannah is going to have any shot at becoming a long-term starting Crusader or at All Black selection, he needs to switch to blindside flanker as he is far too short to play SRP or test rugby at lock at only 1.95m (6'5").

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GP 86 days ago

Great article. I think Kyle Preston was a great choice re Crusaders. Played so well for Wellington. It will be a great battle for the Crusaders 9 jumper with him and Noah Hotham. Noah should have been in the AB squad at the end of year tour, he was brilliant for the Crusaders at the latter end of the campaign. Noah's form in the wins over the Chiefs and the Blues here in CHCH were startling. Then there is the under rated , but so good Mitchell Drummond, keeping them honest.

I
Icefarrow 86 days ago

Cashmore hasn't got any competition from Love. Laidlaw said he views him as a Fullback who can play First Five-Eight, and that his injury has ruled him out of getting a shot at 10 this year due to not being around to learn the ropes. Basically Love is either gonna start at 15, or sit on the bench as 10/ 15 cover.

S
SC 85 days ago

Harry Godfey is very likely going to start ahead of Cashmore at 10.

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I
IkeaBoy 1 hour ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“Why are you so insistent on being wrong? Man United won in 2008 (beating Chelsea in the final). In 2009 Barcelona won, beating United.”

Good lad, just checking. So you’re not a bot! Chelsea bombed the 2008 final more than United won it. John Terry… couldn’t happen to a nicer fella.


“The gap between wins ignores the finals contested. 2 in 2 years with his City Triumph. The most recent put him in the elite company of managers to have won it with multiple clubs. Yet more late career success and history.”

Again - you’re not correct. City won the CL in 2023, and made the final in 2021. Those are the only two CL finals they have made.”

So the difference between 2021 and 2023 would of course be TWO YEARS. 24 months would account for 3 different seasons. They contested ECL finals twice in two years. The first in 2021 - which they lost - was still the first elite European final in the clubs then 141 year history. Explain clearly how that’s not an achievement? Guess what age he was then…


“I think your take on Gatland is pretty silly. Gatland was without Edwards in the 2013 and 2017 Lions tours and managed to do alright.”

I thought you don’t care what certain managers did 10 years ago…

Why would I address Eddie Jones? Why would he be deserving of a single sentence?


“I am aware Les Kiss has achieved great things in his career, but I don’t care what he did over ten years ago. Rugby was a different sport back then.”

So you haven’t watched even a minute of Super Rugby this year?


“lol u really need to chill out”

Simply frightful! If you’re not a bot you’re at least Gen-Z?

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f
fl 2 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“Pep didn’t win the ECL in 2009. It was 2008 with Barca”

Why are you so insistent on being wrong? Man United won in 2008 (beating Chelsea in the final). In 2009 Barcelona won, beating United.


“The gap between wins ignores the finals contested. 2 in 2 years with his City Triumph. The most recent put him in the elite company of managers to have won it with multiple clubs. Yet more late career success and history.”

Again - you’re not correct. City won the CL in 2023, and made the final in 2021. Those are the only two CL finals they have made. With Barcelona, Pep made the semi final four consecutive times - with City he’s managed only 3 in 8 years. This year they didn’t even make the round of 16.


To re-cap, you wrote that Pep “has gotten better with age. By every measure.” There are some measures that support what you’re saying, but the vast majority of the measures that you have highlighted actually show the opposite.


I am aware Les Kiss has achieved great things in his career, but I don’t care what he did over ten years ago. Rugby was a different sport back then.


I think your take on Gatland is pretty silly. Gatland was without Edwards in the 2013 and 2017 Lions tours and managed to do alright. You’ve also not addressed Eddie Jones.


I agree wrt Schmidt. He would ideally be retained, but it wouldn’t work to have a remote head coach. He should definitely be hired as a consultant/analyst/selector though.


“Look at the talent that would be discarded in Schmidt and Kiss if your age Nazism was applied.”

lol u really need to chill out lad. Kiss and Schmidt would both be great members of the coaching set up in 2025, but it would be ridiculous to bank on either to retain the head coach role until 2031.

171 Go to comments
I
IkeaBoy 2 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

Pep didn’t win the ECL in 2009. It was 2008 with Barca. The gap between wins ignores the finals contested. 2 in 2 years with his City Triumph. The most recent put him in the elite company of managers to have won it with multiple clubs. Yet more late career success and history.


His time with City - a lower win ratio compared to Bayern Munich as you say - includes a 100 PT season. A feat that will likely never be surpassed. I appreciate you don’t follow soccer too closely but even casual fans refer to the sport in ‘pre and post Pep’ terms and all because of what he has achieved and is continuing to achieve, late career. There is a reason that even U10’s play out from the back now at every level of the game. That’s also a fairly recent development.


How refreshing to return to rugby on a rugby forum.


Ireland won a long over due slam in 2009. The last embers of a golden generation was kicked on by a handful of young new players and a new senior coach. Kiss was brought in as defence coach and was the reason they won it. They’d the best defence in the game at the time. He all but invented the choke tackle. Fittingly they backed it up in the next world cup in their 2011 pool match against… Australia. The instantly iconic image of Will Genia getting rag-dolled by Stephen Ferris.


His career since has even included director of rugby positions. He would have an extremely good idea of where the game is at and where it is going in addition to governance experience and dealings. Not least in Oz were many of the players will have come via or across Rugby League pathways.


Gatland isn’t a valid coach to compare too. He only ever over-achieved and was barely schools level without Shaun Edwards at club or test level. His return to Wales simply exposed his limitations and a chaotic union. It wasn’t age.


Schmidt is open to staying involved in a remote capacity which I think deserves more attention. It would be a brain drain to lose him. He stepped in to coach the ABs in the first 2022 test against Ireland when Foster was laid out with Covid. They mullered Ireland 42-19. He was still heavily involved in the RWC 2023 quarter final. Same story.


Look at the talent that would be discarded in Schmidt and Kiss if your age Nazism was applied.

171 Go to comments
f
fl 4 hours ago
Why Les Kiss and Stuart Lancaster can lead Australia to glory

“He won a ECL and a domestic treble at the beginning of his career.”

He won 2 ECLs at the beginning of his career (2009, 2011). Since then he’s won 1 in 15 years.


“He then won 3 leagues on the bounce later in his career”

He won 3 leagues on the bounce at the start of his career too - (2009, 2010, 2011).


If we’re judging him by champions league wins, he peaked in his late 30s, early 40s. If we’re judging him by domestic titles he’s stayed pretty consistent over his career. If we’re judging him by overall win rate he peaked at Bayern, and was better at Barcelona than at City. So no, he hasn’t gotten better by every measure.


“You mentioned coaches were older around the mid-2010’s compared to the mid-2000’s. Robson was well above the average age you’ve given for those periods even in the 90’s when in his pomp.”

Robson was 63-64 when he was at Barcelona, so he wasn’t very old. But yeah, he was slightly above the average age of 60 I gave for the top 4 premier league coaches in 2015, and quite a bit above the averages for 2005 and 2025.


“Also, comparing coaches - and their experiences, achievements - at different ages is unstable. It’s not a valid way to compare and tends to torpedo your own logic when you do compare them on equal terms. I can see why you don’t like doing it.”

Well my logic certainly hasn’t been torpedoed. Currently the most successful premier league coaches right now are younger than they were ten years ago. You can throw all the nuance at it that you want, but that fact won’t change. It’s not even clear what comparing managers “on equal terms” would even mean, or why it would be relevant to anything I’ve said.


“You still haven’t answered why Kiss could be a risker appointment?”

Because I’ve been talking to you about football managers. If you want to change the subject then great - I care a lot more about rugby than I do football.

But wrt Kiss, I don’t agree that 25 years experience is actually that useful, given what a different sport rugby was 25 years ago. Obviously in theory more experience can never be a bad thing, but I think 10 years of coaching experience is actually more than enough these days. Erasmus had been a coach for 13 years when he got the SA top job. Andy Farrell had been a coach for 9 when he got the Ireland job. I don’t think anyone would say that either of them were lacking in experience.


Now - what about coaches who do have 25+ years experience? The clearest example of that would be Eddie Jones, who started coaching 31 years ago. He did pretty well everywhere he worked until around 2021 (when he was 61), when results with England hit a sharp decline. He similarly oversaw a terrible run with Australia, and currently isn’t doing a great job with Japan.

Another example is Warren Gatland, who also started coaching full-time 31 years ago, after 5 years as a player-coach. Gatland did pretty well everywhere he went until 2020 (when he was 56), when he did a relatively poor job with the Chiefs, before doing a pretty poor job with the Lions, and then overseeing a genuine disaster with Wales. There are very few other examples, as most coaches retire or step back into lesser roles when they enter their 60s. Mick Byrne actually has 34 years experience in coaching (but only 23 years coaching in rugby) and at 66 he’s the oldest coach of a top 10 side, and he’s actually doing really well. He goes to show that you can continue to be a good coach well into your 60s, but he seems like an outlier.


So the point is - right now, Les Kiss looks like a pretty reliable option, but 5 years ago so did Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland before they went on to prove that coaches often decline as they get older. If Australia want Kiss as a short term appointment to take over after Schmidt leaves in the summer, I don’t think that would be a terrible idea - but NB wanted Kiss as a long term appointment starting in 2027! That’s a massive risk, given the chance that his aptitude will begin to decline.


Its kind of analagous to how players decline. We know (for example) that a fly-half can still be world class at 38, but we also know that most fly-halves peak in their mid-to-late 20s, so it is generally considered a risk to build your game plan around someone much older than that.

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