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Wallabies star Len Ikitau surges past World Cup winners in Top 100 rise
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The complete guide to every Kiwi Super Rugby club's new generation
By Ned Lester
With both the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific squads and the wider training groups announced, Kiwi fans can now see who the past, present, and future of their respective clubs will be.
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A New Zealand U20 side that returned to the big dance for the first time since 2017 is filtering into the squads, with some of the side’s stars deemed Super Rugby-ready, and others left to bide their time for another year.
A deep dive into each of the clubs’ recruitment and promotion from within reveals that some teams are better placed for the future than others, with some questions over certain positions remaining unanswered.
Below is a complete guide to every Super Rugby Pacific player aged 22 or younger, listed by age within their respective clubs. Wider training group (WTG) players who fit the age bracket are also noted.
Blues
19: Rico Simpson
20: Tristyn Cook, James Cameron, Xavi Taele
21: Cameron Christie, Malachi Wrampling, Cody Vai, Payton Spencer
22: Ben Ake, James Mullan, Che Clark
WTG: Torian Barnes, Leo Gordon, Jack Lee, Eli Oudenryn, Harlyn Saunoa.
The youngest Kiwi in Super Rugby Pacific in 2026 will be Rico Simpson, a tall playmaker with two impressive New Zealand U20 campaigns already under his belt.
Of the 11 players under the age of 23 in the 2026 Blues camp, three are graduates of the All Blacks Sevens team: Cody Vai, Payton Spencer, and Che Clark. Clark’s form for Auckland in the ’25 NPC season suggests he may be primed for a breakout season for the Blues in 2026.
There are plenty of sevens converts in this age bracket on other teams, but right now, the Blues are profiting the most from the program.
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Injuries and a Chiefs squad rich in loose forward talent have slowed Malachi Wrampling’s ascension, but it was just last year that the powerful No.8 was the Baby Blacks’ go-to ball-carrier with the physicality to dent any defensive line. Xavi Taele also emerged from the 2024 U20 campaign as a standout in the Kiwi midfield and made an impressive debut season for the Blues this year.
Cam Christie and James Mullan also debuted for the Blues in 2025, with their strong frames proving they were ready for the rigours of Super Rugby without immediately demanding consistent game time.
Harlyn Saunoa and James Cameron both put their best foot forward in the 2025 U20 season, impressing with their respective roles in New Zealand’s second-place finish – Cameron in the midfield and Saunoa on the wing.
While there’s some serious young talent at the Blues, the next generation of props and halfbacks is yet to emerge.
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Chiefs
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20: Aisake Vakasiuola, Jayden Sa
21: Isaac Hutchinson
22: Taine Kolose, Fiti Sa, Kyren Taumoefolau
WTG: Cohen Brady-Leatham, Dylan Eti, Jai Knight, Keran Van Staden, Tamiro Armstrong, Will Martin.
A small contingent of U23 players has made the 2026 Chiefs squad, but there is some real firepower amongst them.
Kyren Taumoefolau is the headline-grabber, with an appearance at the 2023 Rugby World Cup for Tonga under his belt already.
Outside of the former Moana Pasifika star, the Chiefs’ most promising talent is in the second row. Aisake Vakasiuola, Jayden Sa, Fiti Sa, and Dylan Eti all offer genuine size at lock. The Sa brothers each fit the mould of a commanding, hard-to-move No.5, while Vakasiuola and Eti provide more mobility and off-the-ground explosiveness for a lineout option No.4.
The recruitment of Canterbury fullback Issac Hutchinson came as a surprise in Thursday’s squad naming. The marksman was a prominent contributor to the New Zealand U20 scoresheet during the inaugural Rugby Championship U20 last year.
The bulk of the Chiefs’ next generation is coming in the tight five, with just a few backline talents on the books and no first-five aged under 23 coming through to replace the departing Josh Jacomb.
Crusaders
20: Maloni Kunawave, Manumaua Letiu, Toby Bell
21: Liam Jack, Aki Tuivailala
22: Xavier Saifoloi, Noah Hotham, Taha Kemara, James White, Macca Springer
WTG: Oli Mathis, Gus Brown, Xavier Treacy, Sam Hainsworth-Fa’aofo, Johnny Lee, Cooper Grant, Cooper Roberts, Jae Broomfield, Kurtis MacDonald.
The Crusaders Academy, as usual, has the Christchurch-based outfit flush with young talent – despite the club’s recent complaints about rival clubs and codes poaching its up-and-comers.
In saying that, there is an undeniable Waikato flavour to the club’s next generation. Aki Tuivailala, Noah Hotham, Taha Kemara, and Oli Mathis each attended Hamilton Boys’ High School and have emerged as the poster boys of said generation.
Some of the standouts of the recent U20 campaign will find themselves in Crusaders colours moving forward, with Maloni Kunawave, Cooper Roberts, Xavier Treacy, and Manumaua Letiu all on the Crusaders’ books.
The Crusaders have all bases covered position-wise with their young cohort, with enviable depth at first-five in particular.
The first capped All Black of the U23 group lands here, with Noah Hotham now in his second season with the national side. The question is who will join him, and who will have the opportunity to do so in an already congested Crusaders squad.
Highlanders
20: Dylan Pledger, Stanley Solomon, Xavier Tito-Harris
21: Tai Cribb, Josh Whaanga
22: Josh Bartlett, Jack Taylor, Will Stodart, Adam Lennox, Finn Hurley, Caleb Tangitau
WTG: Lucas Casey, Tayne Harvey, Senita Lauaki, A-One Lolofie, Nick Shearer, Josh Tengbald, Rohan Wingham.
The Highlanders have made some of the most high-profile recruitments of the past few years and have added a couple more highly touted youngsters for the 2026 season.
Dylan Pledger is the headline addition, with the 20-year-old already generating All Blacks hype after his first NPC season. Anyone watching his two seasons with the New Zealand U20s wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest by how swiftly Pledger took to the NPC. Fellow youngster Adam Lennox brings yet more depth to the halfback position and is also capable of playing wing.
Xavier Tito-Harris and Stanley Solomon join a stacked cast of young, electric outside backs at the club. That cast also includes Finn Hurley and Caleb Tangitau, who both debuted for the Dunedin-based outfit in 2025 and look poised to be big contributors moving forward.
Breakout Otago star Lucas Casey will have to bide his time in the wider training group in 2025, but is sure to have a big future with the Highlanders once he makes the step up.
Jack Taylor joins Caleb Tangitau as an All Blacks XV selection for the Highlanders this season, promising a bright future for the club’s No.2 jersey. Highlanders fans may have been hoping for some more young front-row recruits, given how their team’s scrum has performed in recent years, especially late in games.
Hurricanes
21: Vernon Bason, Tom Allen
22: Siale Lauaki, Raymond Tuputupu, Peter Lakai, Jordi Viljoen, Harry Godfrey
WTG: Will Cole, Cooper Flanders, Logan Wallace, Mosese Bason, Tony Tafa, Jai Tamati, Matolu Petaia, Anaru Paenga-Morgan.
The second and final current All Black in New Zealand’s U23 ranks is Peter Lakai, the robust No.8 who has been named for another start against Scotland this weekend.
Lakai’s fellow young guns in the Kiwi capital are a forward-heavy bunch, with some of the most highly-touted front-rowers in the country on the Hurricanes’ payroll.
Hookers Vernon Bason and Raymond Tuputupu are both recent New Zealand U20 standouts, while Siale Lauaki has been selected for All Blacks XV duties this season.
Harry Godfrey was one of the big storylines of the Hurricanes’ 2025 season before an injury abruptly ended his campaign. The young playmaker suffered another injury during NPC action and is expected to miss the 2026 Super Rugby season.
Younger brother of Vernon, Mosese Bason, was the starting No.8 for the New Zealand U20 this year, impressing with his physicality with the ball in hand. The younger sister of the family, teenage sensation Taufa Bason, already has a Super Rugby Aupiki title and Black Ferns XV cap to her name.
Will Cole and Jai Tamati were employed in impact roles for the New Zealand U20 this season, backing up Rico Simpsom and Dylan Pledger, respectively, in an emerging halves partnership.
10 of the 15 players aged 22 or younger in the Hurricanes environment are forwards, and while that competition is great for development, there are clearly holes to fill in the backline of the future. The departure of a local product like Stanley Solomon, in particular, is a tough blow for the club.
