U20 graduates, omissions, transfers: Six takeaways from the Kiwi Super Rugby squads

Last Wednesday, all 10 Super Rugby club announced their 38-man squads for the 2027 season. Then, on Thursday, the New Zealand clubs named their 12-man wider training groups, confirming the full picture of how the competitive landscape will shape up in the coming season.

In what is typically a mild New Zealand transfer market, there were some major moves, headlined, of course, by Ardie Savea joining the Blues and Richie Mo’unga returning to the Crusaders. On the flip side, Warner Dearns left the Hurricanes, three All Black midfielders left the Crusaders, and the Blues lost a handful of club stalwarts.

Now that we’ve sat with the squads and wider training groups for seven days, we can see the big changes and storylines that could define the 2027 season.

Here are six takeaways.

The Highlanders rebuild 

Are the Highlanders finally back? After largely failing to fire while navigating huge roster instability for much of the 2020s to date, Jamie Joseph’s recruitment drive over the past three years looks to have finally built a well-rounded squad ready to compete.

The headline additions are Josh Jacomb and Shannon Frizell, but the 2027 squad has more quality and depth across the park. Ioane Moananu and Benet Kumeroa will help the front row, and Patrick Pellegrini is a Test-level game-driver and a wizard with the boot.

Fabian Holland’s return from injury will add plenty to the tight five, and one of New Zealand’s brightest prospects, Dylan Pledger, will have the opportunity to make his mark in his debut season after an ACL tear ended his 2026 season before it began.

There’s also been promotion from within, with young talents such as Josh Tengblad and Mika Muliaina ready to claim their first minutes of Super Rugby after impressive stints with the New Zealand U20s.

Timoci Tavatavanawai and Saula Ma’u are sure to gain plenty from their time with the All Blacks this season, and Lucas Casey is well-placed to continue his emergence as a star in the loose forwards.

The U20 graduates

Of the different positional groups in the 2026 New Zealand U20 squad, only two have a perfect success rate in stepping into Super Rugby in 2027.

Both well-renowned first five-eighth prospects, Auckland’s Cohen Norrie and Southland’s Mika Muliaina, will spend the coming season with the Blues and Highlanders, respectively. Norrie was signed to the Blues’ wider training group during the NPC season, and Muliaina has been elevated from a National Development Contract to a full squad member at just 19 years of age.

The other area of success is the second row, where all three New Zealand U20 representatives from this year’s team have been picked up in wider training groups. Max Fale and Jake Frost were both signed by the Crusaders during the NPC season, and Johnny Falloon was drafted by the Hurricanes.

Few other 2026 U20 graduates have earned call-ups to Super Rugby, but halfback Charlie Sinton, also just 19, has earned his place in the Chiefs’ official squad. Loose forward Caleb Woodley was drafted into the Blues’ wider training group, and fellow loosie Patrick Mauga was the Hurricanes’ first pick in the draft. Elsewhere, the clubs have looked to more established talent.

The omissions

A handful of U20 players also put their names forward in the wider training group draft but missed the cut. Perhaps the biggest name among the omissions was Waikato loose forward Micah Fale, but teammates David Lewai and JD van der Westhuizen were also overlooked in the draft in favour of more established players.

However, a Super Rugby resumé is no guarantee of squad selection; just ask Jackson Garden-Bachop, who has played 68 games across stints with the Hurricanes, Rebels and Moana Pasifika and led Wellington to two NPC titles.

James Arscott and Lewis Ponini have featured across various Super Rugby seasons but went undrafted, as did New Zealand Sevens talents Kitiona Vai and Joe Webber, the latter having since decided to unretire from the Sevens game and successfully returned to the national team.

The first-five reshuffle

In an ideal world, each of New Zealand’s best players in each position would be evenly distributed across each of the five different Super Rugby Pacific clubs, and the best of the rest would also be evenly distributed behind those stars. In 2027, after a rare burst of transfers, that’s exactly the case at first five-eighth.

Richie Mo’unga has returned to the Crusaders, Taha Kemara has subsequently left the Crusaders to return home to the Chiefs, and he replaces Josh Jacomb, who moved south for a starting gig at the Highlanders. As a result of Jacomb’s move, Cam Millar headed north to start an apprenticeship under Beauden Barrett at the Blues, who also lost Stephen Perofeta to Japan.

Meanwhile, Patrick Pellegrini joined the Highlanders as the club also promoted New Zealand U20 playmaker Mika Muliaina to the official squad, and the Hurricanes got both Harry Godfrey and Brett Cameron back from injury.

After all of that movement, the chips have fallen perfectly for New Zealand Rugby.

Every club has an All Black No.10. Every club has at least one aspiring playmaker behind that All Black. The scales are as evenly weighted as Dave Rennie could have hoped. And for Super Rugby, it lends credibility to all five clubs’ prospects this season.

The injuries

Unfortunately, four players announced in the 2027 New Zealand squads will either miss the entire season due to injury or have cover coming in during what are expected to be extended absences.

Jermaine Ainsley’s Highlanders return has been put on ice after a shoulder injury he sustained while playing for Canterbury two months ago. The club have called in Southland prop Jack Sexton as cover. Sexton played six games for the Crusaders last season.

Tamaiti Williams is making progress in his ongoing recovery from a back infection, posting clips of him returning to the gym and running on social media. However, his timeline remains unconfirmed, and in the meantime the Crusaders have called in Cléments Castets. The 30-year-old Frenchman has played four seasons with Toulouse and another four with Paris in the Top 14, claiming a couple of titles in the process. He recently spent the NPC season with Hawke’s Bay.

Tyrone Thompson of the Chiefs and Ngani Punivai of the Hurricanes are expected to miss the coming season with injuries, but no injury cover has been named for them.

Meanwhile, perhaps the most intriguing injury story of the squad namings was the lack of an asterisk next to Caleb Tangitau’s name in the Highlanders’ squad. The All Black-in-waiting ruptured his Achilles in round 14 of the 2026 season, an injury that carries roughly a 12-month rehabilitation timeline. His recovery will be one to watch ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.

The Moana Pasifika migration

Of the former Moana Pasifika players who were in need of a new home after the club’s collapse this year, eight have transferred to other Super Rugby clubs.

Tonga playmaker Patrick Pellegrini has joined the Highlanders along with ex-Samoa Sevens speedster Tuna Tuitama, while Tongan prop Paula Latu joined the Chiefs and promising Manawatu tighthead prop Feleti Sae-Ta’ufo’ou was snapped up by the Crusaders. Veikoso Poloniati is the only one to head across the ditch, joining the Waratahs.

The Hurricanes have come away with the most Moana talent, though, headlined by new All Black loose forward Semisi Ta’eiloa. Prop Tito Tuipulotu and lock Ale Aho have also headed south from Albany to the Kiwi capital.