Super Rugby Pacific performers of the week for round 1

The first round of the 30th edition of Super Rugby is in the books. The Brumbies sit atop the table after crushing the Force 56-24 in Perth. That result was not a surprise. The Brumbies have won 24 of their 31 encounters with the Force, with a third of those victories by 15 or more points.

The Highlanders knocking over the defending champion Crusaders 25-23 in Dunedin was a genuine upset. The Waratahs’ 36-12 win over the Reds was a blowout few expected, built on an outstanding display from the Waratahs loose forward trio and electric finishing from Max Jorgensen.

The Chiefs edged the Blues 19-15 in a gritty Eden Park scrap. Moana Pasifika’s 40-26 victory over the Fijian Drua at Churchill Park in Lautoka was possibly the most impressive display by any team in round one.

Who were the individual performers of the week in round one in Super Rugby Pacific?

Timoci Tavatavanawai (Highlanders)

A strange and spluttering start to 2026. The Highlanders led for 67 minutes but conceded 60% of possession and territory as the Crusaders, despite electric moments from All Blacks Noah Hotham and Will Jordan, repeatedly dropped the ball.

The defending champions coughed up 22 turnovers and were left to rue a clumsy 77th-minute penalty by 106-Test All Black Codie Taylor, when he impeded a chase from a kick by Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens. As in the NPC semi-final for Otago against Waikato in 2025, Cam Millar kicked a match-winning 45-metre penalty.

On May 23, 2025, the Highlanders lost 15-12 to the Crusaders in Christchurch. They missed out on 14 points from goal kicks, including a crucial miss by Millar as he tried to tie the game at the end.

It was a match of a few big moments, rusty early-season fare, and incessant, usually awful kicking: 80 in total, including 31 by the halfbacks. That is more than the 2025 final, which had 73 kicks, 26 by the halfbacks, on a dour, rainy day.

Timoci Tavatavanawai, celebrating his 50th Super Rugby match, rarely kicks and that’s a deliverance. His bump-aside of Braydon Ennor and magical offload to create a stunning Jonah Lowe try in the 49th minute took the score from 15-13 to 22-13 after a sideline conversion by Millar.

Things happen when Tavatavanawai is near the ball, and he handled it 15 times. He was tightly marked by the Crusaders, but even when making little headway, he attracted defenders, beating more than any player in the match with eight and delivering four offloads.

Additionally, Tavatavanawai contributed seven tackles, including a trademark jackal turnover. He led Super Rugby for turnovers last year and was involved in the match-winning tackle alongside Ethan de Groot on Taha Kemara.

There was a gusty and memorable Highlanders debut by 35-year-old replacement prop Angus Ta’avao. In his 23rd Super Rugby match against the Crusaders, he scored just his second try. His last try against the Crusaders was in a 7-20 defeat for the Chiefs in a 2022 semi-final. Ta’avao also contributed 11 tackles and battled gamely to hold together a creaky scrum.

The impact of the season-ending shoulder injury to All Blacks lock and World Rugby Most Promising Player of the Year Fabian Holland can already be seen. The Highlanders’ lineout was poor, except for two crucial takes by Oliver Haig in the lead-up to two tries.

Clem Halaholo (Waratahs)

The bruising Waverley College and Sydney University blindside, who plays piano in his spare time, was cut from the Waratahs senior squad midway through the 2025 Super Rugby season. With his career in limbo, he worked at a construction firm and studied business at the International Sports College of Australia.

He used the snubbing as motivation to improve. After a stirring Super Rugby AUS campaign, he scored tries in all of the Waratahs’ wins, including the final against the Force, where he was named man-of-the-match. He could not be ignored.

On senior debut against the Reds, Halaholo crashed over for the first try, made seven carries and five tackles, and provided an abrasive edge for 49 minutes.

This helped drive the Waratahs to their biggest win against the Reds since a 45-12 triumph in Sydney in 2020. The Waratahs had lost eight of their last nine matches against the Reds and only achieved one victory in their previous five Super Rugby outings.

If Halaholo can maintain similar consistency throughout the season, the Waratahs will have a formidable loose forward trio. Pete Samu is a 34-Test Wallaby who won 32 of 33 games with the Crusaders and 50 of 69 with the Brumbies, before a stint with Bordeaux Begles, runners up in the 2024 and 2025 French Top 14.

Openside flanker Charlie Gamble is among the busiest tacklers and most effective ruck turnover specialists in Super Rugby. He topped the Waratahs tackle count against the Reds and set up the second try for winger Max Jorgensen by overhauling what looked like an overcooked cross-kick.

Miracle Fai’ilagi (Moana Pasifika)

Miracle Fai?ilagi faces the toughest assignment in Super Rugby Pacific, replacing 2025 Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year and All Blacks centurion Aride Savea as captain of Moana Pasifika after their best season.

The bulky blindside began that unenviable task in the best way by scoring a hat-trick in a memorable Churchill Park conquest. Failagi powered over from close range in the 10th and 17th minutes as the visitors raced to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter.

Two minutes after halftime, he surged 30 metres down the wing to complete his second hat-trick for Moana Pasifika. He also scored one in a 40-31 victory over the Hurricanes in 2025.

Kyren Taumoefolau (Blues, 27-21, Eden Park, Auckland 2025) and Feleti Sae-Ta’ufo’ou (Crusaders, 45-29, Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch, 2025) are the other Moana Pasifika players to score a hat-trick.

When Fai’ilagi left the field after 48 minutes, he had gained more metres and beaten more defenders than any other player.

A more methodical Moana punished an erratic Dura. A key factor in their success was a faultless lineout, securing all 14 throws on their own possession and stealing five of Dura’s. Lock Alan Craig was a workhorse with 15 tackles and eight lineout catches.

The Dura suffered their heaviest home defeat since a 30-14 loss to the Blues in 2023.

Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs)

The Blues appeared to be gaining ascendancy over the Chiefs in a gritty arm-wrestle at Eden Park, leading 15-12 with ten minutes left and mounting pressure near the Chiefs’ 22.

A cunning turnover from a Blues lineout drive by All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i, who enveloped players into idle congestion, earned the Chiefs a relieving penalty. Another penalty followed, finally giving the Chiefs favourable field position.

In the 75th minute, Vaa’i delivered a deft pass that created a hole for Samipeni Finau to blast through. Cortez Ratima supported and surged ahead for what proved to be the match-winning try.

The Blues entered the Chiefs’ 22 one more time with two minutes remaining, but Vaa’i stole the lineout throw to complete a ruthless closing. Caught in a possible mire, Vaa’i showcased genuine leadership.

Earlier, Vaa’i scored the first try of the match by leaping over a ruck, also making a dozen tackles and claiming the most lineout catches with five.

The Blues were more ambitious than the Chiefs with possession, making twice as many linebreaks, but most came from broken play or expansive attacks because there was no way through Quinn Tupaea in midfield.

The second five-eighth, nominated for the Tom French Cup as Maori Player of the Year in 2025, was more solid than a fortified pa with a game-high 18 tackles and three turnovers.

Both teams combined for 31 turnovers and kicked the ball 55 times, often abysmally. The Blues have only lost four of their last 23 games at Eden Park. The Chiefs have won 26 of 46 meetings against the Blues, with 24 games decided by seven points or fewer.

One positive for the Blues was the debut of blindside flanker Torian Barnes. Despite a couple of blemishes, the 2025 Canterbury NPC winner, summoned from the Blues wider training squad, carried with raw gusto, topping the match with 14 carries, including two linebreaks, and adding a dozen tackles.