Super Rugby Pacific expands awards program with new categories and panel

Having established an official competition MVP award in 2025, Super Rugby Pacific has expanded its awards program for 2026, evolving the MVP voting process and introducing two new categories.

Rookie of the Year and Team of the Year are the two new awards, recognising the best newcomer and the best in each position across the competition. Both new awards will be determined by Player of the Year votes, tallied at the season’s end.

Rookies have been defined as players with four or fewer Super Rugby caps or an equivalent top-flight professional rugby competition, while competition management will navigate any murky waters arising from player versatility in the Team of the Year selections.

In 2025, Player of the Year votes were awarded on a game-by-game basis by opposing captains and coaches, and in 2026, a media panel will also deliver 3-2-1 votes on assigned games. The selected media panel is:

Tim Horan (Stan Sport), Jeff Wilson (Sky), Jason Pine (NewsTalk ZB), Jordan Oppert (TVNZ), Chris Reive (New Zealand Herald), Iain Payten (The Sydney Morning Herald), Ben Smith (The West Australian), Murray Wenzel (AAP), Caden Helmers (The Canberra Times), Sam Wykes (ABC), Ned Lester (RugbyPass), Nigel Yalden (MediaWorks NZ), Guy Heveldt (Sport Nation NZ), Jamie Wall (RNZ) and Rohit Deo (Fiji Times).

“These new accolades represent a significant step towards delivering a robust awards program that recognises the world-class talent on display in our competition each season,” Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley said.

“Rookie of the Year will shine a spotlight on the emerging players who make an immediate impact, while the Team of the Year will allow us to recognise consistency and excellence across every position on the field.”

As was the case last season, Player of the Year votes will be updated and announced every Tuesday. Round 10 will see the voting go behind closed doors.