Have boots, will travel
In the latest in Stuff’s Moneyball series, Ben Strang looks at the nomadic nature of Super Rugby squads.
Nothing shows the spread of professionalism in rugby like the makeup of New Zealand’s Super Rugby sides.
Once, players represented their region out of high school. Think Colin Meads from Te Kuiti High School to King Country, or Brian Lochore, from Wairarapa College to Wairarapa Bush.
Some, such as Otago and Highlanders player Ben Smith, remain loyal to this day. But he is the exception.
The Highlanders are the best current example. Just five of their players spent their last year at school in the Highlanders region, with Joshua Dickson, Josh Renton, Matt Faddes and Sio Tomkinson joining Ben Smith.
Only a handful of Super Rugby players originally came from the Highlanders region.
Michael Collins, of the Blues, and Wyatt Crockett, who is actually from the Tasman region but spent his final high school year at Otago Boys High School after shifting from Nelson College, are the only other Super Rugby players from the Highlanders region.
Sure, some Mitre 10 Cup and Heartland players originate from Otago and Southland, but at the 1: Pauliasi Manu 2: James Parsons 3: Ofa Tu’ungafasi 4: Patrick Tuipulotu 5: Vaea Fifita 6: Jerome Kaino 7: Dan Pryor 8: Kieran Read (c) 9: Augustine Pulu 10: Josh Ioane
11: Rieko Ioane
12: Sonny Bill Williams
13: George Moala 14: Tevita Li
15: Melani Nanai top level, the figures are bleak.
With a population of only around 300,000, the Highlanders region is New Zealand’s smallest. So it’s not surprising they struggle to produce top-quality players in big numbers. But they can still field a top-quality side, offering New Zealand rugby the chance to show off its depth.
Unsurprisingly, the Blues region produces the most Super Rugby players from their massive population base. Sixty-one players spent their final high-school year in the Blues region. Ten are at the Chiefs, nine at the Hurricanes and six each play for the Highlanders and Crusaders.
Interesting, and perhaps infuriating for Blues fans, is the one position where they always struggle – first five-eighth. Josh Ioane is the only first-five of the 61 Bluesregion Super Rugby players, and he is a bench player for the Highlanders.
The Hurricanes region is producing players at perhaps the most impressive rate, with 51 spread over five teams. That’s despite losing Taranaki to the Chiefs, meaning the Barrett brothers – Beauden, Jordie and Scott – are now, technically, Chiefs at heart. CHIEFS
1: Toby Smith 2: Nathan Harris 3: Kane Hames 4: Scott Barrett 5: Tom Franklin 6: Liam Messam 7: Sam Cane (c) 8: Mitchell Brown 9: Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi
10: Beauden Barrett 11: Joe Webber*
12: Jordie Barrett
13: Teihorangi Walden
14: Isaac Te Tamaki* 15: Mike Delany HURRICANES
1: Alex Fidow 2: Dane Coles (c) 3: Jeff Toomagaallen
4: Sam Whitelock 5: Dominic Bird 6: Liam Squire 7: Ardie Savea 8: Brad Shields 9: Aaron Smith
10: Lima Sopoaga 11: Waisake Naholo 12: Charlie Ngatai 13: Ngani Laumape 14: Nehe Milnerskudder
15: Israel Dagg
Some All Blacks started playing in Hurricanes-land, with Sam Whitelock and Aaron Smith from Manawatu, Lima Sopoaga a Wellingtonian, and Waisake Naholo Whanganui-schooled.
Add Israel Dagg, Charlie Ngatai and Liam Squire and you get the idea. Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay are producing quality players, but being based in Wellington, it’s sometimes tough for the Hurricanes to hold on to them.
If it weren’t for a small influx of former Hurricanes-region players, the Chiefs would have produced a dangerously low number of current Super Rugby players.
Just 22 spent their final year of high school in the region, including Taranaki players, with just 11 of them representing the Chiefs this season.
Wing is a problem area, with no current Super Rugby wingers originating from the Chiefs region.
The Crusaders region has produced 35 current Super Rugby players, many still playing for the franchise.
The Blues have the largest percentage of homegrown players, with 30,the Hurricanes have 21, the Crusaders 19, Chiefs, 11 and Highlanders 5.
What if ... Super teams were homegrown
CRUSADERS
1: Owen Franks
2: Ash Dixon
3: Joe Moody 4: Brodie Retallick 5: Luke Romano 6: Elliot Dixon
7: Matt Todd
8: Tom Sanders 9: Mitchell Drummond
10: Richie Mo’unga
11: David Havili
12: Anton Lienertbrown
13: Ryan Crotty (c)
14: Will Jordan
15: Damian Mckenzie HIGHLANDERS
1: Wyatt Crockett
2:*
3:*
4: Joshua Dickson 5:*
6:*
7:*
8:*
9: Josh Renton
10: *
11: *
12: Sio Tomkinson
13: Michael Collins
14: Matt Faddes
15: Ben Smith (c)
* = non Super Rugby player.