The five best performers from the opening round of Super Rugby Aotearoa
The opening round of Super Rugby Aotearoa marked the return of professional rugby following a three-month hiatus, and the two matches in New Zealand didn’t disappoint.
A boisterous crowd at Forsyth Barr Stadium cheered the Highlanders on to a dramatic 28-27 victory over the Chiefs thanks to a 79th-minute drop goal from Bryn Gatland against his dad Warren’s side.
Beauden Barrett, meanwhile, made his debut for the Blues as the Auckland franchise outclassed his former franchise, the Hurricanes, in a 30-20 win in front of a sold-out Eden Park.
While Gatland and Barrett stood out as two of the key talking points both before and after their respective fixtures, there were plenty of other individuals who shone as rugby made a welcomed and highly-anticipated comeback in New Zealand.
Of those individuals, here are five of the best who churned out some of the best performances over the weekend.
Caleb Clarke (Blues)
The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics until next year proved to be a blessing for the Blues, who benefitted hugely from acquiring the services of Caleb Clarke following his return from the All Blacks Sevens squad.
Fielding the No. 11 jersey, the sizeable 21-year-old made an almost immediate impact in his first outing for the club this year, finishing off a scintillating Rieko Ioane break by busting two tackle attempts following a defensive mistake by Vince Aso.
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Clarke’s pace and power was devastating when he had ball in hand, as he ended the round as the competition’s leading metre-eater having run the ball for an astounding 105 metres.
Add to that a total of five defenders beaten, two clean breaks, two turnovers won and a 100 percent tackling success rate, it’s clear to see the youngster had a faultless display, and he beckons as a significant offensive threat in the coming weeks.
Marino Mikaele-Tu’u (Highlanders)
Few players caught the attention of the masses in the first weekend of Super Rugby Aotearoa like Highlanders No. 8 Marino Mikaele-Tu’u did against the Chiefs.
Viewed as the franchise’s long-term replacement for recently-departed All Blacks loose forward Luke Whitelock, Mikaele-Tu’u built on the strong form he mustered in the initial Super Rugby competition with a dominant attacking display in Dunedin.
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The Wellington-born, Hastings-raised powerhouse produced the equal-most running metres of any forward in the competition, carrying the ball for 51 metres from 13 carries.
Mikaele-Tu’u’s industrious performance also saw him beat five defenders, make two line breaks and secure a turnover for his side, while his work at the lineout didn’t go amiss either as he claimed two of the Highlanders’ 14 throws.
Dillon Hunt (Highlanders)
Rugby’s return on New Zealand shores have led to many hyping up the attacking talents that are set to go on show throughout the coming months, but the defensive output of Highlanders flanker Dillon Hunt can’t be overlooked.
The one-test All Black put in a mammoth shift without the ball, registering a competition-high 19 tackles from 20 attempts to sit at a spectacularly high 95 percent success rate.
Adding to Hunt’s defensive prowess are the three turnovers he won for the Highlanders, a figure that was only matched by Dalton Papalii of the Blues.
With Matt Todd’s departure to Japan’s Top League opening a space for a new No. 7 to enter the national set-up, All Blacks head coach Ian Foster will undoubtedly be eager to see how Hunt follows this effort up when the Highlanders return to action against the Blues next Saturday.
Hoskins Sotutu (Blues)
One of the standout players in the original iteration of Super Rugby earlier this year, Hoskins Sotutu has returned to action with the same impact that lifted the Blues to play-off contenders prior to the league’s suspension in March.
With no play-offs to aim for this time round, the 21-year-old played a prominent role in helping the Auckland side to the top of the Super Rugby Aotearoa standings with a stunning showing on attack.
Equalling Mikaele-Tu’u’s mark of 51 running metres with ball in hand, Sotutu’s attacking exploits were evidenced by figures that read two offloads, one defender beaten and one line break.
The youngster didn’t shy away from his defensive duties either, recording a total of 12 tackles from 14 attempts and snatching two turnovers, as well as stealing a lineout throw from the Hurricanes for good measure.
Shaun Stevenson (Chiefs)
Although he ended up on the losing side, Chiefs wing Shaun Stevenson still managed to put pressure on the Highlanders defence throughout the entirety of his side’s one-point defeat.
Posting 61 running metres to finish as the match’s second-best ball carrier behind Sean Wainui, the 23-year-old was a constant threat as he beat six defenders – the second-highest figure of the round – and broke the line four times, the most of any player over the weekend.
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Stevenson’s discipline was faultless as he ended the game with no penalties conceded, while he recorded three tackles from four attempts to establish himself as a firm candidate to hold onto his place in the Chiefs’ starting lineup.
Whether or not he stays there is another question as head coach Gatland has a wealth of talent – including Wainui, Etene Nanai-Seturo and Solomon Alaimalo – at his disposal, but it’s a selection headache of the good kind as the Chiefs prepare to host the Blues in Hamilton this weekend.
Comments on RugbyPass
Bold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
8 Go to comments