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Super Rugby Pacific

The Rug - Round 3 Super Rugby Preview

The Rug

The Rug is New Zealand’s premier Super Rugby preview podcast. Join BK and Townley as they put forward this week’s best bets and gut instincts. Go well Punters.

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Comments on RugbyPass

N
NB 30 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Maybe - tho I can hardly imagine it will say ‘if Tony fancies a gig with the ABs, we will release him’, can you?🤣

229 Go to comments
N
NB 31 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Coming up next…😁

229 Go to comments
N
NB 32 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?



The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

Just so CW. Not sure that formula can be translated wholesale at intl level but it’s a great point of comparison.



...

229 Go to comments
N
NB 35 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Yes you have a pool of very big props now, but I would not go the whole nine yards and look to match up with SA kilo for kilo in every position in the forwards.

I feel you lose too much essential Kiwi DNA in the process - for example an analyst friend of mine recently sent me some stats which showed NZ only scored two tries from open play in TRC 2025, by far the lowest.



...

229 Go to comments
N
NB 38 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

I don’t think Tamaiti enjoyed being used as an impact player off the bench CW!

It’s the same debate Rassie had with his front rowers when he started the whole bench ‘finisher’ policy. Who wants to start and who wants to finish?



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229 Go to comments
N
NB 45 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Yep it takes a long time to get the mechanics right, far longer than D!

229 Go to comments
N
NB 46 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Likewise P, thanks for all your informed comments throughout the year… 😁

None of the provinces are blessed with exceptional THPs right now, certianly none anywhere near prime Furlong. Which is why I suggested it was a good moment to shift Andrew Porter back to 3. If anyone can manage the switch, ‘Ports’ can.



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229 Go to comments
N
NB 52 minutes ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Season’s greetings to you too Mitch!

I know there were a lot of excuses made about injuries but those are just a standard obstacle any coach has to overcome… Kiss also had the filip of a number of ex-Rebs joining the Reds after Melbourne dissolved.



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229 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Tony Johnson's Super Rugby Pacific team to watch in 2026

They were the team to watch last year, so fun to see if they could break their bubble. Kinda did with the great start and beating AK (who were so bad) too.

Next season though it’s going to be the Hurricanes.



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2 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Boks need more depth: 5 things on South Africa's Christmas wishlist

Love the lack of negativity of a SAn in your post benji, thank you for your xmas present.

21 Go to comments
J
JW 1 hour ago
Boks need more depth: 5 things on South Africa's Christmas wishlist

It bogles the mind how few franchises the country has. So sad that their expansion didn’t work.

21 Go to comments
M
Mitch 3 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Sreasons greetings Nick

After the November internationals, I was hoping there would be a review into how Australia coaches defence across the board, with the upshot being a move to a much more aggressive defensive approach being implemented across the board from Wallabies level to age group teams and the 4 super rugby sides.



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229 Go to comments
S
SB 3 hours ago
Tony Johnson's Super Rugby Pacific team to watch in 2026

Interested to see if Pledger can win the starting 9 jersey over Fakatava.

2 Go to comments
S
SB 3 hours ago
Top 10 Test points scorers of 2025: Sacha just fell short at the death

Ramos 5th with only 8 games played.

4 Go to comments
S
SB 3 hours ago
Hoskins Sotutu signs three-year deal with Newcastle Bulls

Top signing.

1 Go to comments
S
SB 4 hours ago
Five bold possible debutants for the All Blacks in 2026

Devon Flanders should be in this list.

1 Go to comments
B
Ben 5 hours ago
Something all rugby fans need to remember... particularly Bok fans

Absurdly happy to see that comment. 👆

95 Go to comments
f
fl 7 hours ago
Boks need more depth: 5 things on South Africa's Christmas wishlist

DDA looked less dominant this year than he has done previously, and will be 35 at the RWC. Esterhuizen only started 3 games this season (against Wales, Italy, and in the losing effort against Australia). If, at 31, he isn’t viewed by Rassie as a starting 12, I doubt he will be at 33.

21 Go to comments
f
fl 7 hours ago
Boks need more depth: 5 things on South Africa's Christmas wishlist

Yeah depth at 12 is likely to be a bit of a problem! Still think backrow is the bigger problem.

21 Go to comments
E
EF 8 hours ago
Dans la forme de sa vie, Matthieu Jalibert peut-il vraiment relancer le débat en équipe de France ?

Is there any possibility to add an “extra player” to the Top100 MRP 2025? And why not Matthieu Jalibert

1 Go to comments
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