Super Rugby's winners and losers in the cannibalistic New Zealand conference
Super Rugby is back. Well, almost.
While all the buzz in the Northern Hemisphere surrounds England’s triumph over Ireland in Dublin, the folks in the south are licking their lips with Super Rugby only a week away.
The New Zealand franchises’ squads were officially announced back in October and some teams faired a little better in the off-season signings than others. Of course, gone are the days where the signings are kept under wraps until the official announcement of the squads. Most of the squads are relatively predictable now due to the fact that the major signings are all announced well in advance to get fans excited about the years to come, but there were still a few surprises here and there. Below we run down how each of New Zealand’s franchises fared in the transfer market for the upcoming 2019 season.
Blues
Two new All Blacks returning to the region is the highlight of the 2019 Blues team. Karl Tu’inukuafe, a rising force in World Rugby and a nominee in 2018 for breakthrough player of the year, will help sure up their scrum, and Ma’a Nonu, heading back to NZ from France, will offer plenty of experience for the Blues’ young backs.
The Blues have a strong starting lineup, but the back-ups they have on hand are still very unproven. This is no more obvious than in the front row, where Tu’inukuafe, Ofa Tu’ungafasi and James Parsons form a formidable starting trio – but behind them, only Sione Mafileo has any real experience at Super Rugby level. Marcel Renata is a promising young prop who has spent time at the Hurricanes – the Blues will be hoping he can blossom into a strong impact player.
Between Akira Ioane, Blake Gibson, Dalton Papali’i and Jimmy Tupou, the Blues can send out a loose forward trio rivalling the best in the country, but some questions may be raised about their understudies. Glenn Preston, Kara Pryor and Murphy Taramai have all been dropped from last year’s squad – instead the Blues will be relying on new recruits such as Tasman import Jed Brown (no doubt a pick up of new assistant coach Leon MacDonald, who coached Tasman in last year’s Mitre 10 Cup) as well as local boys Tom Robinson and Hoskins Sotutu. Gone too is the influential Jerome Kaino – meaning that the Blues will be vulnerable if injury hits their loose forward stocks.
Bryn Gatland has defected to the Highlanders, which means there’s room for young Auckland five-eighth Harry Plummer. Plummer has shown lots of promise for Auckland, guiding them to the Premiership title in 2018, but, to be quite frank, the Blues don’t need any more ‘promising’ first fives. Both Stephen Perofeta and Otere Black are already in the squad based more on what they could bring to the table rather than on the back of the performances they’ve given in the past, and the Blues could once again find themselves rudderless unless one of these players step up.
The midfield is certainly an area of strength for the Blues with TJ Faiane coming of age for Auckland this year. He will likely be paired in the midfield with either Sonny Bill William or Nonu – simply based on who is injury free at any given point in the season. The Blues have also signed two more giant sized centres in the form of Levi Aumua (selected in the Chiefs last year but was out injured for most of the season) and young Aucklander Tanielu Tele’a.
Biggest victory – Keeping it homegrown. In years gone by the Blues have been criticised for letting some of their top players leave the region. By promoting from within for 2019 (over 90% of their squad hail from Auckland, North Harbour and Northland) that hopefully shouldn’t happen again.
Biggest failure – The second row leaves much to be desired, and who gets the 10 jersey is no clearer now than it was this time last year.
Chiefs
The Chiefs have lost quality players across the park. Karl Tu’inukuafe has transferred to the Blues, Dominic Bird, Liam Messam and Charlie Ngatai have left for France and Toni Pulu has relocated over the ditch to the Brumbies.
Tu’inukuafe is a big loss – but the Chiefs are stacked in the front row, such that they’ve also had to let go Mitchell Graham. Between All Blacks Kane Hames, Nepo Laulala, Angus Ta’avao, Atu Moli and new man Reuben O’Neill (plus Aidan Ross, who was earmarked to slot into the All Blacks last year before a bad injury ended his season), the Chiefs have plenty of firepower in the front row.
Bird, though a great player, has not featured significantly for the Chiefs for the last two years due to injury and has been replaced with young Waikato lock Laghlan McWhannell. He and ex-U20 player Fin Hoeata will be called upon to back up likely starters Brodie Retallick and Canadian Tyler Ardron – though don’t be surprised to see loose forwards Taleni Seu and Mitchell Brown also pop up in the second row as injuries inevitably strike. Messam is a loss, given his form last year, but the Chiefs are well stocked to cover his absence, providing that the Chiefs don’t endure quite as difficult an injury run as last year.
In the backs, the Chiefs have somehow left Waikato pair Fletcher Smith and Jack Stratton out of the squad. Smith, arguably the best performing first five in this year’s Mitre 10 Cup, has been picked up by the Hurricanes whilst Stratton is unsigned by any franchise for 2019. Instead, the Chiefs have signed ex-Rebel Jack Debreczeni and persisted with Jonathan Taumateine. The third halfback is likely to get little game time as it is, with All Blacks pair Brad Weber and Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi battling it out for the starting jersey.
Looking at the midfield, signing Tumua Manu is a coup for Colin Cooper, though you have to wonder whether it would have been better to offer local boy Quinn Tuipaea a contract. Tupaea was a standout for Waikato and, although he has a few development points, he would be a great partner for Anton Lienert-Brown. Remarkably, Tupaea has not been signed by any team – though he will likely feature in the Chiefs development squad. We will probably see Lienert-Brown pairing with Bailyn Sullivan to kick the year off.
Biggest victory – Securing the signatures of young backs Tumua Manu and Etene Nanai-Seturo. Both could be absolute superstars.
Biggest failure – Missing out on some quality local talent.
Hurricanes
Although Brad Shields will be a big loss to the men from the capital, the majority of their turnover comes in the form of backup players.
The front row is almost completely unchanged for the Hurricanes. Traditionally it has been a sore spot for the team and, although it is certainly not as flaky as it has been in the past, it is still the weakest of the New Zealand teams. Of course, with Dane Coles, Ricky Riccitelli and Asafo Aumua there’s still plenty of pace to burn. Journeymen second rowers Murray Douglas and Michael Fatialofa have moved overseas with young players Geoff Cridge and Liam Mitchell coming into replace them. Altogether, the tight five for the Hurricanes looks fairly underwhelming – but that has never stopped them from performing in the past.
Heiden Bedwell-Curtis has moved up the country from the Crusaders to replace Brad Shields and his experience with the Super Rugby champions will be invaluable. Still, the Hurricanes will rely on the superb trio of Gareth Evans, Ardie Savea and Vaea Fifita to provide them front-foot ball but behind the four mentioned players there’s not too much to be excited about. Du’Plessis Kirifi has signed from Wellington after a solid season in the Mitre 10 Cup but he and his fellow loose forwards, Sam Henwood and Reed Prinsep are light on experience at this level.
The first five position will have plenty of depth in 2019, with Beauden Barrett, Fletcher Smith and the returning James Marshall all great players. It would not be a surprise to see either Smith or Marshall turn out elsewhere in the backline throughout the season so that the Hurricanes can utilise the dual playmakers tactic that the All Blacks look to be opting for going forward.
Julian Savea, though struggling to crack the first fifteen at the end of last season, will be a loss for the Hurricanes. In his place comes Auckland wing Salesi Rayasi (though originally from Wellington), who managed nine tries for the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership winners. Rayasi will find it difficult to accrue game time, of course, with Nehe-Milner Skudder, Wes Goosen, Ben Lam, Jordie Barrett and Marshall on the books – but he looms as a player with incredible potential.
Biggest victory – Strengthening the first five stocks by bringing home Fletcher Smith and James Marshall.
Biggest failure – There don’t look to be any new, genuine competitors for the top lineup next year, it’s going to be more of the same (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you).
Crusaders
Although the Crusaders haven’t had the biggest off-season, when you look through the squad you realise that there really aren’t a lot of places that need improvement. Wyatt Crockett and Seta Tamanivalu are the biggest losses – retiring from Super Rugby and heading to France, respectively, but the Crusaders already have so much depth and there are ample players ready to step up in their absence.
With Crockett gone, the Crusaders can still field two All Blacks looseheads in the form of Joe Moody and Tim Perry. The tighhead side of the scrum is equally as strong with Owen Franks and Michael Alaalatoa. Traditionally, the Crusaders have had the strongest tight five of the New Zealand squads and it looks like nothing has changed there with All Blacks Codie Taylor, Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett and Luke Romano all returning from 2018.
Heiden Bedwell-Curtis and Pete Samu have left the Crusaders for other Super Rugby franchises, but once again the squad has so much depth that neither of these losses will significantly impact the quality lineup the team can field. Ethan Blackadder looks destined for great things and cult figure Whetu Douglas has returned from a short stint in Italy to back up the likes of Tom Sanders, Jordan Taufua, Matt Todd and Kieran Read.
Seasoned pro Mike Delany has been let go for 2019 – evidently the Crusaders coaches are comfortable that Richie Mo’unga and Mitchell Hunt bring enough experience to the squad in order to sign new All Black Brett Cameron. Whether Cameron is now ahead of Hunt in the eyes of coach Scott Robertson is up in the air, given how well Hunt has performed for the Crusaders in the past (remember that drop goal against the Highlanders in 2017?).
Will Jordan is not a new signing for the Crusaders, but injury prevented him from taking the field in 2018. He will be competing for game time in the outside backs with the more experienced George Bridge, Israel Dagg, David Havili and Manasa Mataele as well as new signing Leicester Fainga’anuku – but his future is bright.
Biggest victory – The return of Whetu Douglas is a boon, even if his playtime may be restricted given the depth of the Crusaders’ loose forwards.
Biggest failure – It’s hard to see anything to criticise. It hasn’t been a very exciting offseason for the Crusaders, but that’s what happens when your team is already oozing talent.
Highlanders
Similar to the Hurricanes, the Highlanders haven’t lost or signed any superstars – with one obvious exception. Lima Sopoaga, who has run the cutter for a number of years, is now in England with Wasps. His vacancy will be plugged by a couple of key signings, but elsewhere it looks like more of the same for the Highlanders.
Waikato props Josh Iosefa-Scott and Ayden Johnstone have earned themselves contracts with the Highlanders for 2019. They’ll be replacing Guy Millar and Aki Seiuli (who is unavailable due to injury) and will battle with stalwarts Daniel-Lienert Brown and Siate Tokolahi for game time, along with fast-rising figure Tyrel Lomax. Though the Highlanders props are unlikely to strike fear in the hearts of many opposition front rows, they’re all able scrummagers who won’t let the team down – no matter which of their props they’re fielding on any given day.
The Highlanders have unquestionable depth at lock and loose forward with fringe All Blacks Tom Franklin, Jackson Hemopo, Shannon Frizell, Dillon Hunt, and Luke Whitelock all battling for a place in next year’s World Cup squad. Liam Squire, Elliot Dixon, and James Lentjes will all hope to make it through the season injury free because there is ridiculous competition for places in this Highlanders forward pack.
Much of the talk since the 2018 season concluded has centred around who would fill Sopoaga’s boots in 2019. Bryn Gatland was signed from the Blues and appealed as the likely replacement, but in a surprise move, the Highlanders unveiled that talisman Marty Banks will be returning to the team after a year away. Between Gatland and Banks, the Highlanders should be sorted at first five with Banks likely to have the best chance of unlocking the backline’s potential, which has remained unchanged in the midfield and outside backs.
Biggest victory – Bringing Marty Banks back to help steer the classy backline.
Biggest failure – Like the Hurricanes, the Highlanders haven’t really recruited anyone that will challenge the top team for a starting spot.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
6 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
44 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
6 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
44 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
44 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to commentsThis is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
35 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
4 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
44 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
44 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to comments