The four performers of the week from Super Rugby Pacific round fourteen

Round 14 of Super Rugby Pacific saw the Hurricanes and New South Wales Waratahs in record-breaking form. The top-of-the-table Hurricanes thrashed the Blues 47-24 at Eden Park, their biggest victory against the four-time champions. It was the first time since 2019 that they achieved consecutive victories against the Blues.

Meanwhile, the Waratahs became the first team to crack half a century in Fiji with a stunning 50-35 win over the Fijian Drua.

The Chiefs rolled the Highlanders 42-12 in Hamilton, though there was a Herculean display by someone in the losing team. The Force continued their fine late-season run, outmuscling the Queensland Reds 19-14.

Who were the performers of the Week in Round 14 of Super Rugby Pacific?  

Lucas Casey (Highlanders)

Unusually, despite a 30-point defeat, Sky Sport viewers rated Highlanders openside Lucas Casey as man of the match. Marking an All Blacks loose forward trio of Sititi, Simon Parker, and Luke Jacobson, Casey opened the scoring in the 18th minute with a try.

He took the ball from the back of a scrum and dragged Josh Jacomb like a chariot over the paint. He led the game in carries (22), carry metres (117), defenders beaten (9), and tackles (18), surely impressing All Blacks coach Dave Rennie, who was in attendance.

Is Casey a bolter for the All Blacks South African tour? The All Blacks plan to name an extended touring party of over  40 players for eight games. That is almost 2005 Lions tour size.

There are only 190 contracted players in Super Rugby, and remarkably, Casey is not one of them. He was summoned from the Highlanders wider training squad due to injury and has made every appearance a winner.

He has played 493 minutes across seven games for the Highlanders in 2026, more than any wider training squad member in New Zealand. Torian Barnes and Mason Tupaea (Blues), and Reon Paul and Dan Sinkinson (Chiefs) are others who have thrived after original selection to training squads in November 2025.

“We turn up every Monday and try, try, try,” Casey told Sky Sport afterwards. “You love going up against the best. You just want to do your bit. More positive actions than the other group.”

The Chiefs joined the Crusaders, Brumbies, and Hurricanes as the only teams with 250 Super Rugby victories, and this success felt inevitable.

The Chiefs have won a record nine in a row against the struggling Southerners, who have lost 10 of their last 11 away games.

The Chiefs, who have won seven in a row – their best run since 10 straight in 2023 – were disciplined, penetrative, and clinical across the board. All Blacks No.8 Wallace Sititi had another barnstormer. It was a good night for lock Naitoa Ah Kuoi, who faces stiff competition for a starting spot.

He made 12 tackles, 10 carries, caught four lineouts, and scored two tries. These were his first Super Rugby tries in 65 matches, dating back to one he scored in a 28-38 loss against the Brumbies on May 7, 2022.

Ioane Moananu (New South Wales Waratahs)

Where did that come from? The Waratahs emphatically snapped a four-game losing streak with their first win in 14 matches outside Australia since a 32-20 win against the Highlanders in Dunedin in 2022. Furthermore, they became the first team to score 50 points in fortress Fiji.

The Waratahs lineout was a major part of their success. The Drua lost seven throws while the visitors secured 11 of 12. Hooker Ioane Moananu had a precise and dynamic game.

His second-half try sprinting 25 meters was one of the best of the season. His first-half try came from a more orthodox method, the rolling maul, while he produced a delightful touch off a lineout to send Sid Harvey screaming through for the first try.

Moananu has had a frustrating season with only five appearances off the bench before this start, which yielded 63 minutes – 26 minutes more than his previous longest shift against the Hurricanes in a 59-19 loss on March 6. Moananu scored two tries off the bench against the Drua in a 36-13 first-round victory in Sydney.

In the absence of Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i, Lawson Creighton was a strong performer for the Waratahs.

Pasilio Tosi (Hurricanes)

In 2025, the tighthead prop started only 3 of 13 matches and played 418 minutes across the season. In 2026, Tosi has started nine of 11 matches (478 minutes) and anchored the Hurricanes scrum in the absence of Tyrel Lomax, who so far has played only 34 minutes in a March 13 win against the Western Force (31-23).

Any fears the Hurricanes would miss 48-Test All Black Lomax have been allayed with powerhouse Pasilio in rare form. The Hurricanes’ scrum has not wilted against anyone and has provided a potent attacking platform for a side that scored 77 tries, just 20 short of their all-time record set in 2017 and more than the 72 in 2016 when they won the title.

The lineout has also been reliable and menacing. Against the Blues, 12 of 13 throws were secured with Tosi a key lifter.

Around the paddock, the former loose forward has always been a handful. Eight tackles, nine carries, and a barnstorming run for a first-half try reinforced that reality.

Tosi’s other tries for the Hurricanes are against Moana Pasifika (won 53-12, Wellington, 2022), Queensland Reds (won 38-33, Melbourne, 2024), Melbourne Rebels (won 47-20, Wellington, 2024), and Brumbies (lost 28-35, Canberra, 2025).

Winger Fehi Fineanganofo equalled Ben Lam’s single-season try scoring record of 16 when he scored in the 60th minute, pursuing a Brayden Iose kick.

Ironically, both players are originally from Auckland. Lock Caleb “Diesel” Delany celebrated his 50th match for the Hurricanes with a typically industrious display of seven tackles, eight carries, and four lineouts.

In a week when the Blues inducted three inaugural Super Rugby champions, Sean Fitzpatrick, Zinzan Brooke, and Carlos Spencer, into their first Hall of Fame class, the Blues’ underwhelming effort was untimely. However, Anton Segner, in his 50th match, once again soared.

He led the tackle count with 23, nine ahead of the next best players, Xavi Taele and Sam Darry. He also secured the most lineout catches with six and turnovers with four.

His 74th-minute bust, kick, chase, and tackle, when the contest was long settled, is the heart and hustle fans admire, winning approval from spectators who had become increasingly agitated and upset in the Western Stand.

Carlo Tizzano (Western Force) 

The Force have won five games in a season for just the third time since 2017 and have delivered victories in four of their last six matches.

Wallabies openside Carlo Tizzano was in imperious form, starting with a ruck penalty and a rolling maul try that ended a four-game streak without a five-pointer. In the 55th minute, he scored again, set up by George Bridge.

The Force toppled the Reds consecutively for the first time since May 2017. Tizzano has 27 tries in 41 games for the Force, just shy of Cameron Shepherd’s all-time record of 30.

Tizzano was the Force’s top tackler against the Reds with 18. The Force poached six of the Reds’ lineout throws. Once again, Wallabies locks Jermey Williams and Darcy Swain were huge for the Force.

With home fixtures against the Fijian Drua and the New South Wales Waratahs remaining, the Force could sneak into the playoffs for the first time, though they would need some help. They are unquestionably the “form” Australian team.