The five performers of the week from Super Rugby Pacific round eleven

“Super Round” was a stunning success with a sold-out Te Kaha/One New Zealand Stadium every day and a buzzing Christchurch.

The Crusaders kicked off the party with a 35-20 win over the Waratahs to stay inside the top six. The Hurricanes and Chiefs confirmed their title credentials. The Hurricanes overpowered the Brumbies 45-12 while the Chiefs were too slick for Fijian Drua 42-22.

The Blues edged the Queensland Reds 36-33 in golden point extra time. The Highlanders kept their faint playoff hopes alive by consigning a gallant Moana Pasifika to their ninth consecutive defeat.

Who were the performers of the week in Round 11 of Super Rugby?

Leicester Fainga’anuku (Crusaders)

The rampaging winger turned openside flanker was more lost than a Jaffa on Manchester Street, gifting Sid Harvey the first points on the new turf in the third minute.

Thereafter, Fainga’anuku personified the spirit of ingenuity that has prevailed in Christchurch since Richard Pearse used irrigation pipes to build an engine to fly an aeroplane.

He ranked just behind orthodox flanker Dom Gardiner in carries, meters gained, tackles, and turnovers as the Crusaders outmused the plucky visitors. It’s worth noting that Gardiner secured half of the Crusaders’ 14 spotless lineouts. By contrast, the Waratahs were a lolly scramble.

Meanwhile, Fainga’anuku’s try, tenaciously squirming over in the 49th minute, gave the Crusaders a scoreboard cushion they never lost.

Waratahs coach Dan McKellar praised the Crusaders’ audacity in emulating a Springboks-style “hybrid” player but ruled out a “cut and paste” solution for his side, currently outside playoff contention.

Swapping a winger to flanker isn’t without precedent in New Zealand. On June 9, 1956, crafty coach Dick Everest deliberately selected flanker Rex Pickering on the wing for Waikato’s match against the formidable 1956 Springboks. Expecting a physical onslaught, the experiment worked. Pickering, educated at Nelson College six decades before Fainga’anuku, scored a vital try in a 14-10 Mooloos win. Pickering later became an All Black.

Fehi Fineanganofo (Hurricanes) 

The Hurricanes bounced back from their Chiefs collapse with a rollicking 45-12 win over the Brumbies. It was their biggest win in this 35-game fixture since a 56-21 victory in Napier in 2017.

In that game, rampaging winger Vince Aso scored three of the Hurricanes’ eight tries while the only survivor from the McLean Park, Napier romp, Jordie Barrett, kicked seven conversions.

Fehi Fineanganofo, 23, was the demolition merchant this time, joining Ben Lam (Melbourne Rebels, 50-19, 2018), Ngani Laumape (Blues, 42-24, 2018), and Bailyn Sullivan (Chiefs, 35-17, 2025) as a Hurricane who scored four tries in a single Super Rugby match.

Fineanganofo crossed in the 7th, 20th, 38th, and 58th minutes to boost his season tally to 14 tries in eight games. He is two short of the Super Rugby record set by Ben Lam in 2018.

His first try, in the seventh minute, was created by All Blacks centre Billy Proctor flinging a wide pass that skipped two after a break by All Blacks first five-eighth Ruben Love. The second came from tidy lineout work and a clinical pass from Jordie Barrett.

The Brumbies were mediocre, kicking poorly and making uncharacteristic errors. Veteran prop James Slipper, stranded on the wing while defending Fineanganofo, is cause for alarm. Worse was two-time John Eales Medal winner Rob Valetini throwing a wayward pass that Fineanganofo smartly collected to score his fourth.

Du’Plessis Kirifi became the 19th Hurricane to celebrate 100 games. The co-captain performed with typical zeal, topping the tackle count with 19 and poaching a turnover.

The Hurricanes broke 51 tackles compared to 16 and won 15 of 16 lineouts compared to the Brumbies’ 9 of 12. Lock and Japanese captain Warner Dearns had another explosive game, claiming six lineout catches and making 14 tackles and nine carries. Hooker Raymond Tuputupu made 17 tackles alongside his precise lineout work. For the Brumbies, Corey Toole was lively, charging for a game-high 203 meters and scoring a 69th-minute intercept try. Rory Scott made 19 tackles.

The Hurricanes achieved their 250th win. Only the Crusaders (321) and Brumbies (263) have more.

 

Bradley Slater (Blues)

It was another productive night for the rugged and reliable Blues hooker. In the 63rd minute, he rumbled over for a trademark rolling maul try as the Blues comfortably led 35-21. The Blues hit all ten lineout throws. Slater topped the Blues’ carry count with 11 and made 17 tackles, one behind Dalton Papali’i as the Blues’ top tackler.

Jock Campbell and Zarn Sullivan are two fullbacks whose stocks are rising. Between them, they scored three tries and ranked inside the top two in meters carried for their sides.

Reds openside Fraser McReight topped the tackle count with 22 but conceded the penalty that won the Blues the game. In 176 Super Rugby games, Beauden Barrett has won 116 times and scored 1,613 points. His 220th penalty was literally golden.

Adam Lennox (Highlanders) 

Started his NPC career at fullback for Taranaki, moving into halfback but also occasionally covering wing, a role he reprised in this game with Folau Fakatava replacing Xavier Tito-Harris in the second half. Lennox scored the Highlanders third try running down a well-placed grubber from returning fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens in the 58th minute.

Lennox clears the ball rapidly and appears to be the first-choice nine now with his increasingly authoritative displays. Both No.8s, Nikora Broughton for the Highlanders and Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa for Moana Pasifika, were rampant at times. Tupou Ta’eiloa topped the tackle count with 13, and both players featured in the top six for most carries and meters gained.

Daniel Sinkinson (Chiefs) 

After just six appearances in three years for the Hurricanes, Daniel Sinkinson has found his feet at the Chiefs. The Waikato winger who’s scored 19 tries in 32 games for the Mooolos has been elevated from the wider training group and thrived scoring tries in consecutive matches.

His strike, finishing a fluid movement sparked by Wallace Sititi, Cortez Ratima, and Damian McKenzie, stretched the Chiefs’ lead to 35-10 after 43 minutes. Sinkinson remained livley throughout, making three line-breaks and gaining the most meters with possession.

While the “hybrid” player is all the rage, it’s worth noting that Sinkinson is a converted openside flanker. While he may lack the raw size of Leicester Fainga’anuku, it is potentially another string to his bow.

St Bede’s College and New Zealand Under-20s product Isaac Hutchinson had a memorable debut with the tackle of the round to stop a certain try for Fijian Drua halfback Frank Lomani.

Twice, he went within inches of scoring a try with sabre-like thrusts. Hutchinson had torn his ACL, MCL, and both meniscus, leading to a harrowing assessment from the surgeon. “He said it looked like I’d been in a car crash,” Hutchinson recalled.

”It was not great to hear, but I was confident he knew what he was doing and that he could fix me.”