Quinn Tupaea crowned 2026 Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year

The 2026 Super Rugby Pacific Award winners have been revealed, with star Chiefs midfielder Quinn Tupaea the big winner, named Player of the Year.

The powerful No.12 enters Saturday’s 2026 final with the fifth-most carries in the competition, the most of any back – when counting Leicester Fainga’anuku as a forward – with the sixth-most run metres and ninth-most tries. Defensively, Tupaea has won 15 turnovers in 14 games, the fourth-most of any player, and leads all backline players in tackles completed by a wide margin.

The 27-year-old was crowned via Super Rugby Pacific’s 3-2-1 voting system, where each coach and captain nominates the best (3 points), second-best (2 points), and third-best (1 point) players from the opposing team following the final whistle of each game. This season also saw the introduction of a media panel, which distributed an additional set of 3-2-1 votes among the best players in the game as a whole.

Once the votes were tallied, Tupaea was on the exact same number of POTY points as fellow All Blacks midfielder Timoci Tavatavanawai of the Highlanders, but was given the nod by having more games with the full three points awarded.

“I was actually very surprised,” Tupaea reacted, acknowledging the fact that he only played three games after voting went behind closed doors following round 10. He went on to say he was “stoked” to win the award.

Tupaea’s efforts are especially impressive as he has emerged as the best player on one of the two best teams, with the Chiefs now heading into their fourth final in the last six seasons.

Joining the All Black as an award-winner in 2026 is the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific Rookie of the Year, Sid Harvey. The young Waratahs flyer ran away with the award in a stellar rookie season in Sydney, scoring six tries and emerging as one of the competition’s most accurate goal-kickers while splitting his time between the left wing and fullback.

Just a year removed from his impressive Australia U20 campaign, Harvey’s season points tally of 98 is the fourth-most of anyone in the 2026 competition, trailing only Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs (135), Ruben Love of the Hurricanes (113), and Ryan Lonergan of the Brumbies (107).

“Quinn Tupaea is a most deserving winner of the Player of the Year Award, having been one of the competition’s most consistent star performers and playing a leading role in the success the Chiefs have enjoyed in 2026,” Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley said.

“I would also like to congratulate Sid Harvey on becoming the inaugural Rookie of the Year. In his breakthrough season with the Waratahs we saw the skill and confidence to suggest he has a very bright future ahead of him.”

2026 Super Rugby Pacific Awards

Player of the Year

WINNER – Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs) – 43 votes
Timoci Tavatavanawai (Highlanders) – 43 votes
Anton Segner (Blues) – 41 votes
Max Jorgensen (NSW Waratahs) – 39 votes
Ben Donaldson (Western Force) – 39 votes

Rookie of the Year

WINNER – Sid Harvey (NSW Waratahs) – 27 votes
Lucas Casey (Highlanders) – 18 votes