Super Rugby Pacific performers of the week for round 4

There are no unbeaten teams after a month of Super Rugby Pacific, with all 11 franchises having won at least a single game. The Brumbies top the table with three wins and 14 points, but would be devastated to lose at home 34-31 to the Reds after leading by 11 points with two minutes to go.

Despite another pair of tries by magnificent Max Jorgensen, the Waratahs were embarrassed by an ominous Hurricanes 59-19 in Sydney.

The defending champion Crusaders dropped their third game in four starts, falling 29-13 to the Blues. The Highlanders foiled the Force 39-31 in a Dunedin shootout while the Chiefs pounded Moana Pasifika 57-24 in Hamilton.

Who were the performers of the week in Round 4 of Super Rugby Pacific?

Damian McKenzie (Chiefs)

Is there a first five-eighth anywhere in the world more fun to watch than Damian McKenzie in full flight? Scotland’s Finn Russell might have a case, but few rival McKenzie’s flair and manic energy. He tore Moana Pasifika apart in his first rugby game since scoring 17 points for the All Blacks in their 52-26 win over Wales in Cardiff on November 22, 2025.

The Chiefs’ backs scored eight of the hosts’ nine tries, with McKenzie directly involved in half and converting six.

In the first half, McKenzie made a ridiculous zigzag run after retrieving a clearing kick that created a hole for Jahrome Brown, who offloaded to Emoni Narawa. Then came an improbable chase and deflection from a Cortez Ratima kick, ending with a first Chiefs try for former Wallaby Lalakai Foketi.

McKenzie added to the visitors’ misery in the second half with a skip pass that opened a gap for Liam Coombes-Fabling, leading to All Blacks winger Leroy Carter completing a second hat-trick against Moana Pasifika. He then supplied the final pass for Kyle Brown’s first Chiefs try.

McKenzie’s dizzying exploits were not confined to attack. In the 26th minute, he made a try-saving tackle on lock Allan Craig, who had charged down a Ratima kick and was surging for the corner. The smaller pivot, conceding 30kg, bundled Craig over the sideline.

In eight games, the Chiefs have outscored Moana Pasifika 459-138, but Moana can take some solace from the strong rearguard of No.8 Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa and tenacious fullback Glen Vaihu. Tupou Ta’eiloa scored two tries and topped Moana’s tackles (16), carries (15), and meters gained (115) tally. Vaihu, who played league after 28 appearances for the now-defunct Melbourne Rebels, scored a cracking try and beat 11 defenders, double that of McKenzie.

Billy Proctor (Hurricanes)

There wasn’t a bad player on the field for the Hurricanes in their 59-19 slaying of the Waratahs in Sydney. The visitors won the second half 42-7, absorbing an early physical onslaught and then ruthlessly outflanking the locals’ feeble defence, which had more holes than a colander. This secured a ninth consecutive victory against the Waratahs. The Hurricanes also recorded their largest winning margin in Sydney, surpassing the 33-12 win in 2012.

All Blacks centre Billy Proctor atoned for his lousy Lautoka performance a week ago with a second-half hat-trick, also topping the Hurricanes in carries (11), metres gained (65), linebreaks (3), and defenders beaten (4). Proctor’s first try at 24-12, collecting a Jordie Barrett kick after a trademark Du’Plessis Kirif turnover, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Proctor joined Kini Naholo as a Hurricane to score a hat-trick against the Waratahs, who sorely missed their Wallabies centre Joseph Sua’ali’i.

In 2021, when the Hurricanes beat the Waratahs 64-48 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Proctor scored two tries in that game. Procter scored four tries for the All Blacks XV in a 41-27 win over Japan on July 15, 2023.

Fellow midfielder Jona Rova ran rampant in the last quarter after replacing Jordie Barrett. The former New Zealand Under-20s midfield back, who played three games in 2024 for the Crusaders and was part of the Canterbury NPC-winning team in 2025, scored a try, set up a try for Ere Enari, and should have passed to the replacement halfback after another slashing run left the Samoan international with the tryline at his mercy. Rova will be relieved to leave the Hurricanes Development side, who have performed poorly, losing to the Crusaders (55-38), the Blues (57-54), and the Chiefs (40-28).

All Blacks halfback Cam Roigard celebrated his 50th match for the Hurricanes while Lucas Cashmore made his debut. His uncle, Adrian Cashmore, was an All Black who won two Super Rugby titles with the Blues in 1996 and 1997.

Veveni Lasaqa (Highlanders)

In his first start of the season, the Bay of Plenty openside was brilliant, offering a dynamism that regular option Sean Withy may lack. Lasaqa scored the first try with a scything charge and made useful incisions leading up to the first of two tries by centre Jonah Lowe.

Defensively, Lasaqa trailed only TK Howden as the top tackler in the game with 15. He pilfered two ruck turnovers and smashed 95-Test Wallaby Kurtley Beale in the Highlanders 22 close to full time as the visitors urgently pressed.

There were five lead changes in a lively contest where Lasaqa’s opposite, Wallaby Carlo Tizzano, tried to steal the headlines. He forced two turnovers before scoring his fourth try of the season from a rolling maul as the Force closed to 29-26 in the 64th minute. Two minutes later, he made a bustling run that sparked a George Bridge try, putting the visitors in front. Wallaby lock Jeremy Williams dominated the lineout for the Force with 11 catches as the hosts’ lineout crumbled.

Fortunately, the Highlanders had more potency in the back three, which made the difference in stopping the Force from winning consecutive matches in New Zealand for the first time since 2008. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens executed two cross-kicks, resulting in two tries for winger Caleb Tangitau. A chip, chase, regather and break by Jona Nareki triggered the fifth and final lead change, earning the Highlanders their second win in 2025.

Cody Vai (Blues)

All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke made history as the first player from a New Zealand franchise to score a hat-trick against the Crusaders. Mark Gerrard also scored a famous hat-trick for the Brumbies in the 2004 final. However, right winger and former All Blacks Sevens representative Cody Vai was the lightning rod in just the fourth Blues victory over the Crusaders since 2014.

Vai acrobatically finished a Beauden Barrett cross-kick and almost scored a couple more tries with determined bursts. Though not error-free, Vai delivered a 48th-minute pass to Clarke that led to his hat-trick. He was also the Blues’ top tackling back with nine stops and a ruck turnover.

It was perhaps inevitable that Vai would follow a rugby pathway. His father, Kitiona Nanai Vai, was a Manu Samoa international who played in the famous 1991 Rugby World Cup team. Older brothers Melani Nanai, who played 64 games for the Blues, and Kitiona Vai, an All Blacks Sevens player, are accomplished athletes. His sister Corina has played for Auckland in the Farah Palmer Cup.

The spark from Clarke and Vai was a highlight in an otherwise bumbling spectacle, plagued by directionless kicking. Tellingly, the Blues’ top tacklers, Josh Beehre, Sam Darry, Hoskins Sotutu, Dalton Papali’i, and James Mullan combined for 73 tackles with only three misses. The Crusaders scored their only two tries when Clarke was in the sin bin. A hat-trick and a yellow card? Duhan van der Merwe also did that in Scotland’s unforgettable 30-21 Calcutta Cup win over England in 2024.

Carter Gordon (Queensland Reds)

It’s the stuff of legends. Following a 90-minute delay due to a storm, the Reds rallied from 31-20 down with two minutes remaining to topple the unbeaten Brumbies with an 83rd-minute try, achieving just their second win in the last 13 trips to GIO Stadium in Canberra. Furthermore, the winning try was scored by a promising talent whose confidence was previously shot.

First five-eighth Carter Gordon swerved past Tane Edmend and sprinted to the line after a breakout by fullback Jock Campbell and precocious debutant Treyvon Pritchard. Gordon was playing just his second game for the Reds after quad and hip injuries from the Wallabies’ 26-19 loss to Italy in November 2025 kept him sidelined at the start of the season.

Gordon’s heroics were not limited to his try. In the first half, he was influential in creating a try for centre Josh Flook. A skip pass in the second half opened up the Brumbies’ defence, but the opportunity was narrowly missed by lively winger Filipo Daugunu. Gordon’s defensive channel was targeted by the Brumbies with little success. He was the top tackling back in the game with 15 tackles and just one miss.

Gordon had a nightmare Rugby World Cup in 2023, starting in the Wallabies’ hapless 22-14 loss to Fiji, which eliminated the two-time champions from quarter-final contention. He switched to rugby league in 2024, but his 18-month stint with the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL was even worse. He played just one game, a 36-28 win against the West Tigers in September 2025. Gordon was mostly sidelined by a career-threatening cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak. The injury caused severe headaches and back spasms requiring months of bed rest, surgery, and rehabilitation.

Down a dozen after eight minutes, Wallabies captain Harry Wilson sparked an initial Reds resurgence with a hand in two tries. He made 17 tackles without a miss.

Brumbies No.8 Charlie Cale had another prolific night with two tries as well as topping the Brumbies tackle (15), turnovers (2) and lineouts (8) count. In the first month of the competition, Cale has been Super Rugby’s best player. He tops the tackles and tries count and ranks inside the top ten for lineout catches and carries.