Super Rugby Pacific performers of the week for round 2

The second round of Super Rugby Pacific saw the Brumbies belt the Crusaders 50-24 in a historic Christchurch hiding. The Chiefs and Waratahs also made it two from two with victories over the Highlanders and Fijian Drua. The Blues rallied from 17-14 behind to foil the Force 42-32, while the Hurricanes started their campaign with a resounding 52-10 mauling of Moana Pasifika.

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

Callum Harkin (Hurricanes)

One game into the season, the Hurricanes already have a first five-eighth crisis with Harry Godfrey, Ruben Love, and Brett Cameron all succumbing to injuries and no return date provided.

Godfrey fell over in 2025, Love in pre-season, while Cameron lasted only 24 minutes in the 52-10 thrashing of Moana Pasifika at Sky Stadium.

Cameron’s departure meant fullback Callum Harkin had to fill the void at ten. With five defenders beaten, three line breaks, and three try assists, Harkin acquitted himself with poise and panache.

That was made easier by the old firm of Jordie Barrett and Billy Proctor running amok in midfield. Can anyone recall a single cut-out pass Barrett threw during the international season? Delightful. Proctor replaced Cameron and had four line breaks and a try in a vibrant display.

Wingers Fehi Fineanganofo and Josh Moorby combined for five tries and handled the ball 27 times, though a few dropped balls were irritating.

The Hurricanes have outscored Moana Pasifika 272-78 in five games at Sky Stadium. In their latest defeat in the capital, Moana Pasifika fielded eight debutants, perhaps suggesting they have targeted other fixtures as more achievable victories.

Max Jorgensen (Waratahs)

The swift, agile winger has scored four tries in two games. In the Waratahs’ 36-13 win over the Fijian Drua in Sydney, he delivered another attacking masterclass with the most carries, metres gained, and defenders beaten.

In the 37th minute, Jorgensen pulled a rabbit out of his hat with a first try showing trickery Cosentino would have been proud of. With only a smidge of space, the 21-year-old beat his Drua opponent Taniela Rakuro with a bamboozling sidestep before outpacing fullback Ilaisa Droasese to score in the left corner. The Waratahs trailed 10-7 but did not fall behind again. They outscored the Reds and Drua by a combined 41-3 in the second half of their two victories to start 2026.

Jorgensen recently re-signed with Australian Rugby for five years. Another shrewd acquisition for the Waratahs was hooker Ioane Moananu. The 25-year-old nurse and former midfield back won two Super Rugby Pacific titles with the Crusaders, averaging 44 minutes per game across a dozen matches in 2025 despite competition from All Blacks Codie Taylor and George Bell.

On his Waratahs debut, he scored two tries, contributed to a faultless lineout, and made seven tackles in 32 minutes.

Samisoni Taukei’aho (Chiefs)

A record eighth consecutive victory by the Chiefs, 26-23 over the Highlanders in Dunedin, was built on their trademark forward power. It was not especially imaginative but effective enough to blunt a spirited Highlanders.

Powerhouse hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho, who started only three of his 12 All Blacks Tests last year, was coldly efficient with two close-range tries. He led the Chiefs in carries (15) and offloads (3), made 11 tackles, and contributed to a lineout that secured 12 of its 13 throws.

Taukei’aho has had consistency and injury issues, but should be hitting his peak at 28. Keith Wood was 29 and Malcolm Marx 31 when they won the World Rugby Player of the Year Award. Taukei’aho, who already has 43 Tests for the All Blacks and 108 games for the Chiefs, could reach that level with sustained accuracy.

Chiefs lock Josh Lord is another player whose stock is rising. Previously plagued by injuries, he produced his best performances for the All Blacks in their wins against Ireland (26-13) and Scotland (25-17) on the Northern tour. Against the Highlanders, Lord won the most lineout throws. His 50th-minute, 50-metre stampede resembled something out of a National Geographic documentary.

Highlanders’ blindside TK Howden led the team in tackles (19), carries (15), and lineout catches (5) in another productive display.

Josh Beehre (Blues)

The Blues lock was called into the All Blacks squad as injury cover on the 2025 northern tour and showed why with an industrious, punishing effort against the Force.

He made the second-most tackles with 16 for the Blues, including a missile blow on Darcy Swain in the second half that forced the imposing Wallaby to fumble. Beehre carries frequently and with a punch.

The 23-year-old made his Blues debut in his hometown of Whang?rei, in a 34-10 win against the Fijian Dura in February 2024. In the Blues’ first championship-winning season since 2003, he amassed 539 minutes in 13 appearances. In 2025, he played a longer than expected 764 minutes (15 matches), replacing the injured All Black Sam Darry.

When asked about his playing approach, Beehre said, “I enjoy the physical side of the game. I want to be a genuine power lock.”

Charlie Cale (Brumbies)

Following his two-try, 23-tackle display in the Brumbies 56-24 hiding of the Force in round one, Charlie Cale was even more superlative in the Brumbies historic 50-24 pummelling of the Crusaders at fortress Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch. It was the Brumbies’ first win in the Garden City in a dozen visits since 2000.

Cale made 15 carries, scored two tries, secured a game-high five lineouts, and made 16 tackles in a storming 80 minutes that perfectly complemented the familiar, damaging, world-class industry of Rob Valetini, who could have had a stunt double at centre. Big-haired, strapping rookie Kadin Pritchard from the Australian Under-20s in 2024 is an awesome prospect.

The Brumbies’ lineout proficiency and brutal close-quarter carries punched repeated holes near the rucks, enabling calculated and clinical expanse. This snuffed out what the local crowd thought might be a vintage, roaring comeback at 31-24.

The Crusaders have conceded 50 points on only five occasions, with the most being 58 in a 58-26 loss to the Sharks in Durban in 1996. In that game, Cabous van der Westhuizen and Joos Joubert each scored two tries, and Springboks first-five Henry Honiball (35 Tests, 27 wins) kicked 16 points. The biggest losing margin the Crusaders have suffered was a 52-16 loss to the Reds in Brisbane in 1996. Lock John Eales kicked 22 points, including conversions of fellow lock Garrick Morgan’s two tries. In 2001, the Brumbies beat the Crusaders 51-16 in Canberra. Owen Finegan, a try scorer in the Wallabies 1999 Rugby World Cup final win, scored three tries and Stirling Mortlock kicked 18 points. The 1996 champion Blues beat the Crusaders 49-18 in Christchurch, converting just three of their eight tries. All Blacks loose forward Andrew Blowers celebrated a double.

Meanwhile, Brumbies prop James Slipper joined Wyatt Crockett as the only players in Super Rugby history to play 200 matches. The most capped Wallaby with 151 Tests marked the occasion by scoring his first try in 11 games against the Crusaders. Slipper has beaten the Crusaders three times, with his first victory a 17-16 Reds win in Brisbane in 2011. That season, the Reds won their only title.