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SRP 2026: Who will be the new POTY, most improved and the best new signing?
By Henry Lee
The RugbyPass Round Table writers answer all the big questions ahead of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season. Finn Morton (FM), Henry Lee (HL) and Ned Lester (NL) weigh in with some predictions before the season gets underway.
Who will be the league’s new POTY come the season’s end?
Finn Morton: It’ll be a three-horse race for POTY honours this season, with Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard and the Queensland Reds’ breakdown-specialist Fraser McReight among those vying for the top individual prize that’s up for grabs this season.
Roigard and McReight will both stand out as some of the best players in Super Rugby once again in 2026, as the Hurricanes and Reds both qualify for the playoffs, but it seems nigh on impossible to overlook the sheer X-factor of Damian McKenzie.
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McKenzie topped the point-scoring charts last season with 209, which was almost double the total achieved by Beauden Barrett (112) in second. Aside from an unusually error-riddled night away to the NSW Waratahs in Sydney, ‘D Mac’ was a force to be reckoned with all season.
If we look ahead, the Chiefs certainly have a squad that’s capable of a fourth consecutive trip to the Final. Kyren Taumoefolau is a marquee recruit from Moana Pasifika, while Cortez Ratima and Quinn Tupaea are primed for headline-grabbing campaigns in red, black and yellow.
Infamously, the Buffalo Bills lost four-straight Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993 – if the Chiefs make Super Rugby’s big dance, they’ll avoid this same fate. But if the Chiefs are to snap their title-drought which dates back more than a decade, McKenzie has to led the way.
Henry Lee: With Ardie Savea, who ran away with the award in 2025, on a sabbatical, there will be a new Super Rugby Pacific POTY come the end of the season, and a huge season by Ruben Love could see him with a genuine shot at the award.
Jordie Barrett is back, Jason Holland is the new attack coach, and Love will be raring to go with a point to prove ahead of a huge year for the All Blacks. All the talk from Love has been about wanting to play No.10, and the Hurricanes were at their best with him at the forefront of everything they were doing on attack.
The Wellington-based franchise have a stacked squad ahead of the 2026 season, which could benefit what could be a front-foot, attacking-based style of play that Love will spearhead in the No.10 jersey.
Ned Lester: Few players have ever been as well suited to the Super Rugby game as Damian McKenzie. The moments of McKenzie magic fans have been treated to over the years are many and iconic.
In 2026, The playmaker faces pressure from multiple angles. The Chiefs have a final hoodoo to break, Richie Mo’unga is coming back into the All Black fold, and Ruben Love is sure to take another step in his quest for a spot in the national rotation.
McKenzie is an established talent, but coming up short at the business end of Super Rugby again would hurt, bad, and as a leader in the Chiefs environment, there’s a tone to be set. We should see a highly motivated Damian McKenzie in 2026 with a point to prove, and if that’s not a recipe for an POTY season, what is?
Who will be the most improved player at the end of the season?
FM: There’s something truly generational about teams like the Melbourne Storm, the New England Patriots and the ACT Brumbies, who almost always contend for some silverware or a playoff spot, even with high squad turnover.
While the Brumbies have been Australia’s best Super Rugby side for several years now, they bid farewell to some big-name stars after the 2025 campaign. Noah Lolesio, Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper won’t be suiting up in navy blue and gold this season.
Any club will feel the absence of front-line Wallabies such as those three, and the Brumbies will be no different, but they do have some players waiting in the wings. With Lolesio no longer with the Brums, Tane Edmed and Declan Meredith are both gunning for a starting spot.
Meredith captained the Brumbies against Rugby World Cup-bound Hong Kong China late last year, and the playmaker has been named in the run-on side to face the Western Force in the opening round of the season.
The 26-year-old started four of 12 appearances for the Brumbies last season, which included a run of three tries across as many weeks. There were signs of promise from Meredith, but 2026 will be remembered as a breakthrough campaign for the playmaker.
With Tom Wright sidelined for a bit longer as well, there’s a very real opportunity for Meredith to lock down a spot in the First XV at either fly-half or fullback. This will lead to Wallabies honours before the home Rugby World Cup, which starts in 20 months’ time.
HL: The Crusaders are no strangers to having young locks come through their ranks and on to higher honours.
Another exciting young player, who has started to bang the door down through performances for the Crusaders, Canterbury, and the All Blacks XV, is 23-year-old Jamie Hannah.
Hannah was picked by Jamie Joseph for the All Blacks XV in 2025, where he made two appearances, showcasing that he has what it takes at the next level. With Scott Barrett out for the majority of the Super Rugby Pacific campaign, Hannah will get time in the saddle to improve his game under Rob Penney.
The 196cm lock is a threat at lineout time, and has solid footwork at the line to get his arms free for an offload with the ball in hand. Hannah had four tries in the Bunnings NPC competition in 2025 and made 106 carries in just 676 minutes of rugby.
Hannah’s modern-day skillset is what sets him apart from other players, which is why he’s had the opportunities so early in his career. He’s definitely one to watch in 2026 for the defending champions.
NL: Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula is 22 years old heading into his third season of Super Rugby Pacific, with two seasons of Test rugby now under his belt, too.
In 2026, the youngster is likely to have the Fijian Drua’s No.10 jersey all to himself, given the departure of Caleb Muntz. An injury-riddled Drua career for Muntz saw Armstrong-Ravula claim the starting role more often than not, but the international arena has seen Armstrong-Ravula pushed to fullback or the bench with Muntz at 10.
The responsibility of being the full-time game-driver for a team can be a make-or-break challenge, but Armstrong-Ravula’s poise under the bright lights already in his young career suggests he’ll be up for it.
A similar sentiment could be shared about Cam Millar of the Highlanders, who was superb for Otago in last year’s NPC after an injury-troubled 2025 Super Rugby season. Millar is set to be joined in Dunedin by All Blacks XV first five Josh Jacomb in 2027, putting enormous emphasis on the coming four months.
Who will prove to be the best signing?
FM: Former France international Virimi Vakatawa has joined the Fijian Drua ahead of the 2026 season, with the club confirming the signing about two weeks ago. The 32-Test Les Blues powerhouse will officially debut as inside centre in the Drua’s round-one clash with Moana Pasifika in Lautoka.
While Vakatawa can be expected to star for the Drua this season, another new recruit will be especially impressive. Joji Nasova was named the HSBC SVNS Series Dream Team after the 2024/25 season and the flyer has since played Test rugby for the Flying Fijians.
Nasova debuted for the Fiji national team against Canada during the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup before earning a maiden start on the wing against Japan. The Olympic silver medallist also featured once during the November Internationals in a 41-33 win over Spain.
Fiji coach Mick Byrne has started Nasova on the wing in two of three international appearances, but the Drua have listed the former SVNS star as a centre on their website. Potentially, Vakatawa and Nasova could line up as the centre pairing for the Drua.
If that happens, the Drua will have one of the most destructive and dominant midfield combinations in Super Rugby Pacific. But Nasova’s versatility will be the difference, as it will lead fans to recognise the 25-year-old as the competition’s best signing.
Nasova has signed with the Newcastle Red Bulls on a two-year deal from next year’s Premiership season in England, but Drua fans can expect fireworks before that move.
HL: Let’s go with Tomas Lavanini, who will add power and grunt to a forward pack that was supposed to include the World Rugby Men’s 15’s Breakthrough Player of the Year, Fabian Holland, as well.
The Highlanders have a young and inexperienced squad all things considered, which is why the 33-year-old experienced lock will be an important signing if the Super Rugby Pacific franchise from the deep-south are hoping to be in the finals picture.
Lavanini’s 91 Test caps for Argentina tells you all you need to know about why Joseph and the Highlanders were after the tight-five forward. His combination with Holland would have become one of the best locking duos in the Super Rugby competition, but with the Dutch-born lock missing the whole campaign with a shoulder injury, more emphasis and pressure will be on the big Argentinian.
NL: Somehow, Benet Kumeroa, a Maori All Black and All Blacks XV prop, doesn’t have a single Super Rugby cap to his name.
Stuck behind a true embarrassment of riches at the Hurricanes, who have had All Blacks Tyrel Lomax, Pasilio Tosi, and Tevita Mafileo in addition to Xavier Numia, Pouri Rakete-Stones and the emerging Siale Lauaki on their books in recent seasons, Kumeroa is yet to be given a real crack in the big leagues. In 2026, he’ll get that shot with the Chiefs.
Aidan Ross has left a big hole in the Chiefs’ front row stocks, and Kumeroa is clearly in national selectors’ sights thanks to his form with Bay of Plenty. Ollie Norris and George Dyer are sure to be Jono Gibbes’ go-tos to start the season when healthy, but don’t be surprised if you see Kumeroa push his way up the pecking order with the ability to play on either side of the scrum.
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