Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Top young talent picks at each Super Rugby Aotearoa side

By Alex Shaw
Blues full-back Zarn Sullivan in action for the New Zealand U20s. (Getty Images)

There are few things as exciting in rugby as the beginning of the Super Rugby season in New Zealand, and with Super Rugby Aotearoa set to kick off this week and streamed exclusively in the UK, Ireland, Europe, Middle East and Asia on RugbyPass, we decided to take a look at five youngsters worth a watch over the coming months.

ADVERTISEMENT

Few clubs integrate their exciting young talents as seamlessly into high-level senior rugby as the franchises in New Zealand, with every new season is typically good for at least four or five genuine breakout star contributors across the two islands, and the 2021 campaign looks like it will be no different.

From all-court props with frightening physical potential to elusive and electrifying outside backs, take a look below at some of the new names – at Super Rugby level at the least – who could shine in the coming weeks and months.

Video Spacer

Super Rugby 2021 Preview | The Breakdown | Ep1

Video Spacer

Super Rugby 2021 Preview | The Breakdown | Ep1

Ngane Punivai, Highlanders
The versatile centre/wing began to make his breakthrough at the Highlanders last season, following an offseason move from the Crusaders. His physical gifts were clear to see during his time at Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup, although a step up to semi-regular appearances in Super Rugby showed that his ability to distribute and create space and opportunity for others around him was also very effective.

Punivai will be aiming to lock down the 13 jersey at the Highlanders this season and with clinical threats like Nehe Milner-Skudder, Jona Nareki and Vilimoni Koroi outside of him, look for Punivai to deliver both punch and precision this season to a Highlanders back line that, if given the right sort of foundation from their pack, could cause defences plenty of problems.

Tamaiti Williams, Crusaders
The Crusaders are in the luxurious position of having a squad that does not need to rely on a raft of youngsters coming in due to an exodus of talent, and thus they have excelled in the art of introducing players as seamlessly as possible when they are ready to be exposed to this level of rugby. The big question is whether Williams is ready for that this year?

The sizeable tighthead offers an extremely high ceiling and is already a force to be reckoned with in the loose. He has a fair amount of competition to work his way through at the Crusaders, but the franchise and Scott Robertson will both know that if they can keep Williams’ development ticking along, they could have an extremely formidable anchor to their scrum moving forward.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ruben Love and Brayden Iose, Hurricanes
We’ve hedged our bets here with Love and Iose, coming in at full-back and back row respectively, as they have the unenviable challenge of trying to push passed players such as Jordie Barrett, Ardie Savea and Du’Plessis Kirifi. But with at least two of that trio set to be heavily involved for the All Blacks this season, opportunities should present themselves.

Love offers a shiftier option at the back in contrast to the physical stature and control that Barrett provides, whilst Iose was a star schoolboy player and has now been given a chance to make good on that early promise and showcase what he can bring at the Super Rugby level, which is powerful carrying and the explosion to turn broken tackles into big gains.

Rivez Reihana, Chiefs
Bryn Gatland and Damian McKenzie have been the men with their hands on the reins at the Chiefs of late, with both bringing a different skill set to the position, although the same could be said of Reihana at 10 as well as at 15, particularly if the latter is vacated by McKenzie in order for him to take up the mantle at fly-half.

Finding a mainstay at 10 has been a challenge for the Chiefs since Aaron Cruden left for Europe and Reihana is clearly a player that they have their eye on as a potential long-term solution. Where he gets his game time this season will be interesting to watch, and if he sees time at multiple positions, just as McKenzie did earlier in his career, that is unlikely to be something which hurts his overall skill development.

ADVERTISEMENT

Zarn Sullivan, Blues
Death, taxes and New Zealand rugby producing highly impressive full-backs. Sullivan is the latest off the production line and has a lot of traits which match up with Freddie Steward, Leicester Tigers’ exciting 15 who is already beginning to garner England mentions at 20 years of age,

Like Steward, Sullivan has the prototypical frame for the position, with the height and vertical ability to dominate contested catches, as well as the long stride to eat up the ground in counter-attacking situations. The Blues are packed to the brim with talented options in the midfield and back three, although Sullivan could quickly cement himself as the go-to option at full-back, deployed alongside the likes of Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane.

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

44 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby? Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?
Search