1
The Mitre 10 Cup rookies leading the charge to be named in next month's Super Rugby squad announcements
As the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup draws to a close next weekend, attention in New Zealand is set to turn to the following week’s squad announcements for Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in 2021.
ADVERTISEMENT
Four of the country’s five franchises are expected to name their rosters for next season’s campaign on December 1, with the Crusaders reportedly confirmed to name their squad the following day.
With Super Rugby Aotearoa returning to our screens on February 26, all five sides will have a few months’ preparation scheduled over the Christmas and New Years period.
For many players, it will be their first taste of pre-season training as full-time Super Rugby players.
A few talented youngsters have already been handed their maiden Super Rugby contracts by Kiwi franchises in the weeks and months gone by.
Among those include 20-year-old Canterbury lock Sam Darry, who has turned the tide of Aucklanders migrating to Christchurch to ply their trade with the Crusaders by signing a three-year deal with the Blues.
The former New Zealand Schools representative and New Zealand U20 trialist’s contract was publicised in August, more than three months before the Hurricanes announced the arrival of Ruben Love and Brayden Iose.
ADVERTISEMENT
Love’s eye-catching performances for Wellington means the teenage utility back will be one of the youngest players in next year’s competition, while Iose’s deal is good reward for a loose forward who has already played for the Hurricanes’ U18, U20, reserve and Brisbane 10s teams.
Those players are just three of the many exciting prospects who have been thrust into the limelight throughout this year’s Mitre 10 Cup, which begs the question as to who else is in line to be named in a Super Rugby squad for the first time in their career.
Of those who have starred in New Zealand’s premier provincial competition, it would be a surprise to not see Waikato halfback Xavier Roe in the mix.
The Hurricanes have bolstered their playing stocks leading into the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman campaign. #SuperRugbyAotearoa #SuperRugbyTransTasman #SuperRugby #Hurricanes https://t.co/fX8GSYXOcC
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 20, 2020
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a breakout season with the Mooloos after having toiled away in the previous two campaigns with Taranaki.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bursting onto the scene in the opening fortnight of the competition, Roe outplayed seasoned veterans TJ Perenara and Bryn Hall to score three tries and play a key role in setting up others across two matches against Wellington and North Harbour.
An ex-New Zealand U20 representative, whispers have circulated that Roe’s talents have been snapped up by the Chiefs, which would pit him against All Blacks pairing Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi and Brad Weber for game time.
With Perenara on sabbatical in Japan in the first half of next season and Jamie Booth’s fitness questionable for the early early stages of the upcoming campaign due to a broken leg, Roe would also be a welcome addition at the Hurricanes.
However, if rumours of the Chiefs’ astute piece of business are to be believed, the 2016 Super Rugby champions may have to look elsewhere to look for cover at halfback.
Further down south, plenty of intrigue has surrounded the debut season of Tasman’s rising German star Anton Segner.
The Frankfurt-born 19-year-old loose forward has garnered plenty of attention for his ambition to become Germany’s first All Black, a dream of which he took a big step towards after making his first appearance for the Mako this year.
Segner, who played for New Zealand Schools in 2018 and 2019 after enrolling at Nelson College in what was initially expected to be a six-month exchange three years ago, has shown significant promise during his time in New Zealand.
That has been recognised by the Crusaders, who invited the former London Irish prospect for two weeks of pre-season training back in January.
It comes as little surprise, then, that Segner revealed the reigning four-time champions would be his preferred franchise to play for during an interview with James Marshall on the What A Lad podcast last month.
Whether there is room to include the Crusaders academy member in Scott Robertson’s squad remains to be seen, but securing Segner’s long-term future would be a quality investment by any Super Rugby team given the teenager’s potential.
Officials investigating the ultimately failed bid for New Zealand to host the Rugby Championship warned that giving the event the green light could be seen as a "perceived bias" for both rugby and men's sport, documents reveal. #TriNations https://t.co/65vxWA9TJt
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 20, 2020
For those in the market for wings, it must be hard to go past Auckland’s powerful AJ Lam, Otago try-scoring machine Freedom Vaha’akolo, or Taranaki speedster Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens.
The Highlanders are at short-odds to snatch Vaha’akolo’s signature after the 23-year-old rookie trained with the squad throughout Super Rugby Aotearoa and dominated the local club scene after moving down from Auckland.
He continued that vein of form in the Mitre 10 Cup, scoring seven tries for Otago – the third-equal-most in the competition – to illustrate his impressive athleticism.
Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens has been similarly outstanding for Taranaki, with the rangy teenager going one better than Vaha’akolo to bag eight Mitre 10 Cup tries in 2020.
His two-year deal with the All Blacks Sevens and the lure of playing at next year’s Tokyo Olympics could stunt a rapid progression into Super Rugby, though.
If that deters a Super Rugby side from chasing Ratumaitavuki-Kneepken’s services for 2021, blockbusting Auckland product Lam would not be a bad alternative.
Standing at 1.92m and 105kg, the 22-year-old certainly has the physical attributes necessary to dominate at the next level, which would make him a big loss for the Blues if he was to be plucked from their catchment region by a rival team.
Players who haven’t featured at Super Rugby level before aren’t the only ones of interest ahead of the upcoming announcement.
Fans across New Zealand have expressed their bewilderment at the Highlanders’ decision to not renew the contract of electric Canterbury outside back Josh McKay, who has flourished in a disappointing campaign for the red-and-blacks.
Likewise, many have questioned how inspirational Southland skipper Tony Lamborn, who was with the Blues this year, hasn’t been retained by the Auckland franchise following his immense showing of heart, passion and commitment for the Stags.
Perhaps one of the other sides have made a late play for two of the standouts of the Mitre 10 Cup, but all will be revealed in early December.
Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments