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

The Super Rugby Pacific regular season finished with the Crusaders, the defending champions, highlighting their growing threat with a commanding 47-14 win over a weakened Hurricanes in Christchurch.

The Blues are set to travel to One New Zealand Stadium for the first round of the playoffs after losing 59-34 to the Chiefs.

The Reds finished strongly with a 45-24 victory over the Fijian Drua in Brisbane, the Force beat the Waratahs 31-25 in Perth, and Moana Pasifika possibly said a heartfelt goodbye with a 21-19 rousing win against the Brumbies in Canberra.

Who were the performers of the week in Round 16 of Super Rugby Pacific?

Sevu Reece (Crusaders)

Became the 26th Crusader to reach 100 appearances, marking the milestone with two tries, the first and the last, to extend his Super Rugby Pacific record to 73. He also nailed a sideline conversion and set up a try for Noah Hotham.

Reece was struggling with form earlier in the season, but has come alive for the defending champions, who have won four of their last five matches and defeated the top three New Zealand sides in that period.

The switch of Lescister Fainga’anuku from outside back to openside has been transformative, while backup Johnny Lee is no slouch either. With 13 tackles and three turnovers, he had a productive game.

The Hurricanes missed 42 tackles, lost three lineouts, and gave away 25 turnovers. By their lofty standards in 2026, it was woeful, but unless something drastic happens, relative unknowns Tom Allen, Josh Timu, Cooper Flanders, Taniela Filimone, Arese Poliko, Matolu Petaia, Jordi Viljoen, and Lucas Cashmore are unlikely to feature again this season.

Matt Faessler (Queensland Reds) 

Back from a knee injury, the 18-Test Wallaby hooker produced his best 65 minutes of the season, scoring two tries, making 16 tackles, and helping the Reds’ lineout (15/17) operate efficiently enough to subdue the Fijian Drua.

Though the visitors secured all their lineout possession, they struggled to contain the Reds’ maul. The hosts enjoyed success with direct attacks up the middle of the ruck.

The Reds loose forward trio were characteristically effective, with blindside Seru Uru topping the charts for carries, metres gained, and offloads. He added a try and 14 tackles. However, the try he conceded by getting isolated near his own posts was incredibly sloppy, given the playoffs are next week.

Five-time Super Rugby champion Manasa Mataele turned back the clock with a stunning hat-trick of tries, one from a halfway interception and another two gathering kicks. He joins Iosefo Masi in wins against Moana Pasifika and the Waratahs as the only Drua player to score a hat-trick.

But while nobody does “broken play” quite like the Drua, their limitations in other parts of the game and abysmal away record (2 wins in 37 matches) were too great to be genuine contenders. Flanker Kitione Salawa enjoyed a mammoth season. He topped the Drua tackle count, was their leading forward carrier, and ranked among the top five tackle busters in the competition. He snapped a 28-game streak without a try by scoring in consecutive games against the Waratahs and Western Force. He has played in 17 of Drua’s 22 all-time victories.

Patrick Pellegrini (Moana Pasifika) 

Two tries, three conversions, steady stewardship, Pellegrini fell just short of his own record for most points in a single Moana Pasifika game, which was 20 points in a 45-29 win over the Crusaders in Christchurch in 2025.

Moana might cease to exist after this match, but there is clearly a lot of heart among the unemployed squad. Down 19-14, the visitors overcame a Faletoi Peni red card in the 63rd minute to earn their 14th all-time victory. Pellegrini has featured in all eight wins over the past two seasons.

Powerhouse loose forward Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa hasn’t rated a mention in All Blacks squad speculation, but among the top ten tacklers and ball carriers in Super Rugby, the Kiwi-born, Southland-based 22-year-old is worth a shout.

The Brumbies will travel to Wellington and attempt to knock the Hurricanes out of the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Currently, they are a shadow of those sides, having lost four of their last six matches.

Reon Paul (Chiefs) 

The cousin of All Blacks halfback TJ Perenara from Rongotai College and 2022 Jubilee Cup-winning Norths in Wellington, struggled to gain traction at the Blues, often hindered by injuries. In his four appearances for the Chiefs, he’s demonstrated punch and guile in midfield.

Against the Blues, he scored a try, created another, and made a game-high 122 metres with 14 carries. He also made 14 tackles, with the Chiefs making 94 more tackles than the hapless Blues, who have now conceded 50 or more points in a game eight times and have lost three straight matches.

The most points the Blues have conceded were 63 against the Sharks in 2018, when Springbok Robert du Preez scored 38 at Eden Park. They also conceded 63 against the Chiefs in a 63-34 loss in 2009 when All Blacks winger Sitiveni Sivivatu scored four tries.

New Zealand Under-20s hooker Eli Oudenryn from Palmerston North Boys’ High School and Tasman is one to watch. The New Zealand Under 20 representative scored a try on debut and has been on a tear for Auckland club rugby with three tries, including a 65-metre runaway in a memorable victory against Gallaher Shield runners-up Ponsonby. The son of former New Zealand Warriors winger and policeman Lee Oudenryn, he was the winner of the Sir John Graham Memorial Medal as the player of the Super Rugby Under-20 tournament in Tapou in 2025.

Fixture

Super Rugby Pacific

Hurricanes

66 - 12

Full-time

Brumbies

All Stats and Data

Carlo Tizzano (Western Force)

The Force rallied from 20-7 down to beat the Waratahs for the second time this season, marking just the third occasion they’ve beaten the Waratahs twice in the same year.

The Force won their last three matches in a row, their best run since winning four on the trot in 2007. Their stifling lineout, niggly defense and improved attack saw them win seven games, the most in a season since 2014.

With two tries, 11 tackles, and usual pestering at the ruck, Carlo Tizzano illustrates why the Force have become so difficult to topple. Force games are often scrappy affairs, and few thrive more in that environment than the Wallabies’ openside.

Since winning the championship in 2014, the Waratahs have been perennial underachievers. They’ve only had three seasons where they’ve won more games than they have lost.