LONG READ The revitalised Australians are pushing a Super Rugby revival

The title of the book has been changed, and the story has been slimmed down brutally by the editor. From the high watermark of 18 teams in 2016 – six from South Africa, five apiece from Australia and New Zealand, with one franchise based in Argentina and another in Japan – only 11 remain. ‘Super Rugby 11’ sounds a lot less impressive than ‘Super Rugby 18’, so the front cover now reads Super Rugby Pacific.

All four of the major South African franchises have since moved north and the other two [the Free State Cheetahs and the Southern Kings] no longer compete at the highest level. The Sunwolves were dissolved in 2020, with the Jaguares exiting two years later. The Melbourne Rebels went into administration in 2024. In the often-savage process of paring away, Super Rugby finally seems to have reached a tipping point, and the desire for quality of read has overtaken quantity, and the lust for endless sequels.

It may be early days, but the signs so far suggest a Super Rugby revival is on the cards. Over the first three rounds in 2025, there have been several high-scoring games, but no one-sided blowouts. Eleven of the 15 games have finished with a margin of eight points or fewer, seven of those with a margin of four points or fewer.

The tournament has become more intense and competitive. Can the new iteration of Super Rugby ‘shrink to glory’? That question may only be answered by season’s end, but the raw figures after only two rounds of play do suggest a big upsurge in watchability.

The Premiership has in recent times posted the most notable attacking stats in the northern hemisphere, but even regular spectators of that league would have to acknowledge the outstanding beginning made by Super Rugby 2025. There will inevitably be a ‘mid-season settle’ where the spectacular start levels off, but there is no denying the new statement of intent made south of the equator.

The right and wrongs of the demise of the Rebels now look like they will have to be settled in court, but there is no doubt redistribution of Victorian talent has strengthened the remaining four clubs in Australia, to the point where they can be considered contenders once again. Three of the top five places are occupied by the Reds, Force and Waratahs, and the club which has historically stood head and shoulders above the rest in Australia, the Brumbies, are currently bringing up the rear in seventh spot.

One of the big bonuses of the condensing of five into four has been a rapid, machine-gun fire of direct head-to-heads between the rivals for the green and gold jersey. The Force and Reds entered their round three encounter with unbeaten records, and there were spicy confrontations with national significance all over the pitch.

Up front: Darcy Swain vs Ryan Smith to start and Josh Canham to finish in the second row, Nick Champion de Crespigny vs Seru Uru at 6, the blue riband bout between Carlo Tizzano and Fraser McReight on the open-side flank, even Josh Nasser vs Brandon Paenga-Amosa at hooker off the pine. There were just as many jousts to savour behind: Nic White and Ben Donaldson vs Tate McDermott and Tom Lynagh in the halves, Dylan Pietsch vs. Filipo Daugunu on the left wing, Issak Fines vs Kalani Thomas off the bench at 9.

These were all individual clashes which will feed directly into Joe Schmidt’s squad selection for the forthcoming British and Irish Lions tour, and the ‘compare & contrasts’ are spinning around with far more regularity now the foundering five has become – if not exactly a ‘fab four’ – certainly a far better-qualified quartet. Most of the same players will meet again in round seven on 28 March at the Suncorp, and they will be able to state their case forcefully for a second time.

The compare and contrasts at number 7 now feature Charlie Gamble for the Tahs, Luke Reimer for the Brumbies, and the top two at the spot, Tizzano and McReight, who entered the lists at the Perth Rectangular Stadium on Saturday. All are legitimate contenders for international honours, and the downward pressure from McReight, who is already one of top open-sides on planet rugby, has already concretely impacted Tizzano’s performances this season.

McReight’s big advantage over Tizzano in 2024 lay in his number of involvements, and effectiveness on attack. Take a look at the following table.

Offsetting Tizzano’s machine-like tackle efficiency against McReight’s better ball-hawking at the breakdown, the level on defence is roughly equal. The real difference is with ball in hand, where the Queenslander had twice the number of runs, passes and tackle busts, and four times the number of breaks and offloads.

With the more immediate pressure applied by the four-team comparison, the Force 7’s figures have already shot up in 2025. He has already posted 34 runs for 133m, with seven tackle busts and 18 passes over the first three rounds alone – many of those from the key role at first receiver. The pace of the operation which squeezes pure carbon into diamond has been quickened and intensified, and Tizzano is getting much, much closer to the profile of modern Test open-side.

The most significant tilts from the game in Perth occurred at 9 and 10, where McDermott of the Reds and Donaldson of the Force came out on top in their individual duels. ‘Donno’ was the presiding influence in the first quarter, but Tate took over for the next 25 minutes. The four-point lead the visitors established in that period eventually won them the game.

Donaldson has improved his ability to read defences. He is developing an ever-finer feeling for keeping his depth to preserve width on the outside.

In this instance Donaldson reads ‘no line-speed’ by the Reds’ defence and knows there will be enough time to get the ball into the hands of Harry Potter and Mac Grealy in the wide channels.

He also knows when the short, flat pass on the gain-line is the answer.

Here, Donno has seen a gap growing between the last forward [Uru, in the white hat] and the first back [Josh Flook] and he puts Reesjan Pasitoa into it as fast as possible.

He understands when to bend the line and attack a D in disarray.

With the defence overcommitting to the front man [Ex-Queenslander Hamish Stewart] on an attack from scrum, Donaldson sees the opportunity to straighten his run and compress the cover before delivering the ball to his outsides.

With Jake Gordon looking to be on his way to Exeter, the contest between the next two cabs off the rank at scrum-half – McDermott and Nic White – was probably even more important than the duel immediately outside them. McDermott fully embraced the chance to show how the new scrum rules – with the defensive 9 required to move backwards, if he moves at all – have added to his lethal bite on the run.

In the first clip, with White backing off and the westward-wheel around the loose-head taking the Force back-row out of the equation, Tate is free to skip away and commit the WA midfield defenders; in the second, with ‘Whitey’ looking to stay up and close down McDermott’s space near the goal-line, the Reds’ halfback is able to step his rival and drive the play up to halfway.

The threat of McDermott on the run was now firmly established in Force minds, and that enabled him to run away from rucks and take defenders with him, in a move strikingly reminiscent of those conjured by Ireland and Scotland in their Six Nations matches versus England this term.

The moment which may have offered Schmidt the greatest encouragement came from Tate’s left boot in the kill-zone.

The running game has always been there, but the delicacy of that kicking game is probably something new.

It may really be possible to ‘shrink to greatness’. Super Rugby Pacific may have dwindled, but it has undoubtedly gotten off to a flyer in 2025, with a proper hiss and a roar. At long last the tournament looks substantial again from top to toe, not totally dependent on the teams from New Zealand to provide the ultimate quality on view.

It may not yet be the perennial chart-topper and consistent bestseller it once was, but the latest iteration of Super Rugby has become far more readable than it has been of late. The editorial work is done, now it is time for publicists and the dealmakers to get to work. The sales forecast is looking very good.