The best Super Rugby XV to never win a title

Super Rugby turns 30 in 2026, while only nine clubs have ever won the title in the history of the competition.

All five New Zealand franchises have won at least one title, but not all the modern day greats have been able to call themselves a Super Rugby champion.

Who are the best players to have never won the title? Here is the best XV of players to never taste Super Rugby glory.

Philip Snyman thoughts ahead of Perth sevens

Philip Snyman thoughts ahead of Perth sevens

15. Christian Cullen (Hurricanes) 
The Hurricanes’ early motto was “Expect the unexpected,” and no one showed that better than Christian Cullen. Even though the Hurricanes only reached the playoffs twice during his eight-year career, in 1997 and 2003, Cullen set a Super Rugby record with 56 tries in 85 games. One of his most memorable moments was a length-of-the-field try against the Waratahs in Sydney in 1996. Veteran rugby commentator Grant Nisbett called Cullen the best player he’s ever seen.

14. Jeff Wilson (Highlanders)
The speedy Highlanders winger and fullback made the playoffs three times in his 72 games from 1996 to 2001, but never won the title. The Highlanders lost the 1999 final to the Crusaders at Carisbrook, known as the “Party at Tony Brown’s” place. Wilson scored 35 tries for the Highlanders and was known for his skill with the chip and chase. The Otago Daily Times wrote during the Highlanders’ 20th Anniversary in 2016, “Wilson had it all and seemed to rise to the occasion.”

13. Conrad Smith (Hurricanes)
Before the 2012 Super Rugby season, the Hurricanes lost several key All Blacks, including Ma’a Nonu, Andrew Hore, Neemia Tialata, Hosea Gear, and Piri Weepu. Smith stayed on as captain and was named Super Rugby Player of the Year as the Hurricanes won 10 out of 16 games and set a franchise record with 58 tries. His late try to secure a 26-25 win over the Blues at Eden Park is a famous Hurricanes moment. The team finished eighth but had as many wins as the three teams above them. When Smith retired in 2015, he had 35 wins as Hurricanes captain, breaking Rodney So’oialo’s record of 32.

Smith is best remembered for his formidable midfield partnership with Ma’a Nonu. The silky, cunning Smith appeared alongside the powerhouse Nonu 53 times in Super Rugby and won 32 games. The previously most-capped Hurricanes midfield pair was Jason O’Halloran and Alama Ieremia, with 28 games between them. In the All Blacks, Smith and Nonu combined 62 times and enjoyed 54 victories. Together, the pair helped the All Blacks lift the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and 2015. They were 14-5 with the Wellington Lions in the NPC.

12. Ma’a Nonu (Hurricanes/Blues/Highlanders)
Nonu played 174 Super Rugby games, including turbulent periods with the Blues and Highlanders, but his best years were outstanding. He reached the playoffs six times in 126 games with the Hurricanes and scored their only try in the 2015 final loss to the Highlanders. He also formed one of rugby’s greatest midfield partnerships with Conrad Smith.

11. Nemani Nadolo (Crusaders/Waratahs)
Jenny Clarke, a senior lecturer in biomechanics at the University of Canterbury, compared tackling the six-foot-five, 137kg Fijian beast as akin to stopping a slow-moving car. Nadolo was a wrecking ball for the Crusaders. In his first season in 2014, he was the equal top try scorer with Israel Folau, notching 12 tries in 14 games. He scored a try in both the semi-final and final, but it wasn’t enough to win the Super Rugby title, the Crusaders going down to Folau’s Waratahs by one point. Nadolo scored nine tries in 2015 despite the Crusaders missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001. He departed at the end of the 2016 season after scoring 27 tries in 39 games.

10. Damian McKenzie (Chiefs)
The Chiefs talisman is the fourth-highest points scorer in Super Rugby, with 1,456 points in 140 matches. He has helped the Chiefs reach the playoffs 11 times since 2014, winning 91 games, but despite finals appearances in 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025, he has yet to win a title.

9. Brad Weber (Chiefs)
As a long time captain, Brad Weber played 123 matches, scored 27 tries, and helped the Chiefs to 77 wins. Despite eight playoff appearances, he never won a title. He also formed a durable and exciting partnership with Damian McKenzie.

8. Gary Teichmann (Sharks)
The Sharks were South Africa’s most consistent team in the early Super Rugby years, losing the 1996 final to the Blues and making the semifinals in 1997 and 1998. Gary Teichmann, a tough and athletic loose forward, led the Sharks and had already captained Natal to Currie Cup wins in 1992, 1995, and 1996. He also captained the Springboks to 27 wins in 36 Tests.

7. David Pocock (Force/Brumbies)
The redoubtable openside flanker was a founding player for the Force in 2006 and played in 27 of their first 32 wins by 2012. In 2013, he joined the Brumbies and reached the Super Rugby final in his first season, narrowly losing to the Chiefs. He made four more playoff appearances and played 112 Super Rugby matches. Pocock won the John Eales Medal in 2010 and 2018 as Australian Player of the Year, and was nominated for World Rugby Men’s 15s Player of the Year in 2010, 2011, and 2015.

6. Jerome Kaino (Blues)
Kaino won the Blues Player of the Year Award multiple times and received the 2011 Kel Tremain Memorial Medal as New Zealand’s Player of the Year. He played 137 matches for the Blues from 2004 to 2018. Although the Blues made the playoffs only twice during his career, Kaino was known for his consistent, powerful play. He started 76 of his 81 All Blacks Tests and won two Rugby World Cups.

5. John Eales (Reds)
The freakish goal-kicking lock is still the highest points-scoring forward in Super Rugby history, with 402 points from six tries, 66 conversions, and 80 penalties for the Reds between 1996 and 2001. Eales reached the Super Rugby playoffs three times and captained the Wallabies to Rugby World Cup victory in 1999.

4. Nathan Sharpe (Reds/Force)
Sharpe joined the Reds senior squad at 18 for the 1996 Super 12, the first year of professional rugby, alongside Wallabies locks John Eales and Garrick Morgan. He made his Reds debut in 1998 and played 71 games until 2005, then moved to the Western Force, where he made 92 appearances from 2006 to 2012. The Force won 32 games during that time, with Sharpe playing in 31 of them. He played 116 Tests for Australia and won the John Eales Medal as Australian Player of the Year in 2007 and 2012.

3. Frans Malherbe (Stormers)
Malherbe anchored the Stormers scrum for a decade, making five playoff appearances between 2011 and 2020. He made more tackles than any other South African tighthead prop during that time. He won 54 of his 76 Tests for the Springboks, including Rugby World Cups in 2019 and 2023.

2. Malcolm Marx (Lions)
The dynamic 2025 World Rugby Player of the Year helped the Lions reach the final in 2016, 2017, and 2018, winning 46 out of 68 matches. Marx scored the second-most tries (30) of any forward in Super Rugby between 2010 and 2020. He also had the most turnovers (80) of any hooker and the second-most successful lineout throws (598) among South African hookers in his Super Rugby career.

1. Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks)
Known as “The Beast,” Mtawarira holds the record for most Super Rugby games won (96) without a title. The two-time Rugby World Cup winner with the Springboks played in seven Sharks teams that made the playoffs, including the 2007 and 2012 sides that lost in the finals.