FIRST TIME LUCKY
EVERY YEAR A NUMBER OF NEW PLAYERS ARRIVE IN SUPER RUGBY. SOME STRUGGLE TO MAKE THE GRADE, SOME DO QUITE WELL AND OTHERS ARE AN INSTANT AND SPECTACULAR SUCCESS. WE LOOK AT 10 OF THE BEST ROOKIE CAMPAIGNS IN HISTORY.
10 DAVE RENNIE [CHIEFS 2012]
The Chiefs had been New Zealand’s most notorious Super Rugby under achiever up until 2012. Their record was poor: one semifinal in 2004 and one final – where they fell to a record defeat – in 2009 is all they had managed of note. The rest of the time they were a giant hardluck story of missed opportunities and catastrophes.
One of their worst campaigns just happened to be 2011 – a year they kicked o knowing that once they finished, long-serving coach Ian Foster was going to be stepping down.
Manawatu coach Dave Rennie was appointed as coach-elect in mid-2011 and while everyone was focused on the impending World Cup, he went about releasing half the squad and hiring a group of what appeared to be a mix of provincial journeymen, unknown newcomers and two stars in Aaron Cruden and Sonny Bill Williams.
The squad had an entirely new look and everyone said 2012 would be a painful rebuilding process. Everyone except Rennie who also brought in former All Blacks assistant Wayne Smith alongside Tom Coventry and Andrew Strawbridge.
There was no rebuilding phase. The Chiefs lost their first game then won nine in a row. The played dynamic, rugged rugby that was built on the solidity and athleticism of their pack and the playmaking brilliance of Cruden and Williams.
They were hardly troubled all year and had a few results go their way to ensure they hosted the final where they smashed the Sharks. Rennie had done the unthinkable – won a title in his first year as coach.
09 RIEKO IOANE [BLUES 2016]
It seemed a little over the top that the Blues were prepared to o er Rieko Ioane a full contract when he was still at school. They said they had to because they would have lost him to the Chiefs otherwise.
It was a huge investment in a 17-year-old – but the Blues were certain that they were looking at a special player. While Ioane was contracted in 2015, the Blues never planned to use him. Instead they let him play ITM Cup and sevens for the national team. When he was available in 2016, new coach Tana Umaga didn’t hesitate in putting the 19-year-old into action and it was a smart play. Smart because Ioane was supremely good on the right wing.
Strong, quick and hard working, Ioane punched holes, beat players and took high balls. He made tackles, covered back and, after about six games, his potential was obvious.
“He is an exceptional talent and I think we have seen that in the last few weeks,” says Blues coach Tana Umaga. “We have put him on the wing and we are trying to get him the ball and I don’t think you have to say much... just watch.”
The All Blacks coaches did just that and they saw enough to pick Ioane in their end of season tour squad. He won two caps and ended the season being hailed by head coach Steve Hansen as a potential superstar.
08 KIERAN READ [CRUSADERS 2007]
In 2007 New Zealand's Super Rugby sides were denied access to some of their best players for half the competition. The All Blacks had gained permission for 22 players to train and condition until early March instead of play.
The Crusaders were heavily hit and, for the first half of the season, they had to blood a number of newcomers and ask them to play a bigger role than they had been expecting.
One of those was 21-year old Kieran Read who slipped into the No 6 jersey and played, arguably, better than the world-class talent he was standing in for.
He had so much energy, dominated over the ball and was on hand all the time as a support runner. He was fearless, physical and capable of hurting opponents even though he was young.
Read was so good that he genuinely became a prospect to make the World Cup squad, but the selectors felt it wouldn't be right for his longer term development.
They certainly agreed, though, that he had done enough to show he could be an All Black and, sure enough, he was capped the following year.
07 NICK EVANS [HIGHLANDERS 2004]
There was a bit of surprise in Auckland rugby circles that Nick Evans missed out on Blues selection in 2004. The North Harbour utility back had enjoyed a great NPC campaign and looked to have the perfect mix of speed, agility and kicking skills to be a valuable addition to the Blues. Comfortable at No 10, he was just as good on the wing or at fullback, but what the Blues didn’t see, the Highlanders did.
They snapped him up and never looked back. Evans slotted in at fullback and while the Highlanders my have struggled, he didn’t. His pace was the main feature of his work and, looking back now, he would have drawn many comparisons with Beauden Barrett had the two been around at the same time.
Evans had much the same eye for space and the same sort of wiry, strong frame and range of skills. He’d been on track to play in the AFL until he decided to focus exclusively on rugby.
By the end of his first campaign he was called into the All Blacks squad and there were many who suggested he was a player of similar ilk to the great Wallaby Stephen Larkham. “Larkham’s a great player. I’ve watched him a lot and probably moulded myself a little on how he’s played – his running style and how he attacks the line,” Evans said ahead of his test debut against Argentina.
“I don’t know about being exactly like him but I’ll take that.”
06 MA’A NONU [HURRICANES 2003]
This was a train crash of a tour and It didn’t take long for Ma’a Nonu to make his mark in Super Rugby. A relatively unknown 21-year-old, he was elevated to the Hurricanes in 2003 after a solid provincial campaign with Wellington.
It was a big step up but it took him only a couple of games to make his presence felt alongside his idol, Tana Umaga. The two were similar in many ways. Both from Samoan backgrounds, both enormously powerful and skilled, and both with dreadlocks.
The biggest compliment Nonu could be paid was that it was hard to tell the two of them apart and that had nothing to do with the way they looked and everything to do with the way they played.
Nonu bust big holes and made strong runs. He was, as he would prove for the next 14 seasons, the ultimate gainline midfield back and his ability to challenge defensive lines saw him win his first cap in June – alongside Umaga.
It was a no-brainer of a selection – Umaga and Nonu had been the form combination all Super Rugby and it felt like the master and apprentice were holding court together.
“I decided last year I really wanted to make it,” Nonu said ahead of his test debut as everyone wanted to know more about him. “I did a lot of extras in training. I watched other people make it and decided to do something about it.
“People come up to me then go ’oh you’re not Tana’. I don’t know if it’s a good thing. I need my own identity. That’s why I colour the tips, so we look di erent, but people don’t seem to notice.”
05 NEHE MILNER05 SKUDDER [HURRICANES 2015]
Having played for the Bulldogs in the NRL Nehe Milner-Skudder was not a big stage rookie when he debuted for the Hurricanes in 2015. He’d caught the eye in 2014 with Manawatu and while there were a few who could see his potential, there was no certainty he’d adapt to the faster pace and more powerful world of Super Rugby.
No certainty because Milner-Skudder’s skill set was different. His main offering was his fast feet – his incredible step and acceleration. He’s not a big man and there was always a danger that he would be too easily knocked back in the tackle and not able to impose himself.
But it turned out he had everything he needed to thrive at the next level either as a fullback or wing. His speed was impressive and his elusiveness was way too much for defences.
In what was a supremely good campaign by the Hurricanes, where they played extraordinarily good rugby, the main feature became Milner-Skudder’s ability to dance past defenders and make things happen. He was a miracle worker – so good at finding a way to beat defenders and create space. His step was magical and he earned a cult following – including the All Blacks selectors.
They fell in love with what he could do and wanted to see if he could do it in the test arena. After he scored two tries on debut, they had their answer. “He brought what he had been bringing to the Super competition to the test arena and it was exciting,” said All Black coach Steve Hansen.
“He was confident all week and he’s impressed us with how quickly he’s learned and taken things on board. That was a great try, the second one he finished. He had work to do and he showed a pretty good effort to show it. He can be pleased with his performance.”
04 BRODIE RETALLICK [CHIEFS 2012]
A few rugby diehards knew the name Brodie Retallick in 2012. He’d been part of the New Zealand Under 20 team that had won the World Junior Championship in 2011 and had followed up with a good provincial campaign with Hawke’s Bay.
But it was mainly under-the-radar sort of stuff as everyone was watching the World Cup that year.
It didn’t take long for Retallick to make everyone take notice. They could hardly miss him – this 2.04m, 120kg 20-year-old who was powering through the work as part of a supremely good Chiefs pack. He was the engine – the driving force and muscle at the breakdown. He shifted bodies, won lineouts, collected kick offs and scored tries. He could carry and play with the ball, and by April, it was obvious he was going to be an All Black and duly made his debut against Ireland in the first test of the year.
And he impressed just as much in test rugby as he did playing for the Chiefs. “Every game is physical,” said his All Blacks locking partner Sam Whitelock. “The physicality of Super Rugby is huge and then international rugby ... it keeps going up again. I think in your first couple of tests, you are so excited that you just want to get out there. Once you have played a few more tests – and I haven’t played a hell of a lot – you definitely know what is coming. But I think Brodie is only going to get bigger and stronger and mentally, once he’s had those experiences like playing Australia, they all help.”
03 CHRIS BOYD [HURRICANES 2015]
Once the Chiefs had sorted themselves out under Dave Rennie in 2012, the Hurricanes took the mantle of New Zealand’s great Super Rugby underachievers.
They had made plenty of semis but just one final – in 2006 – and it felt wrong that 20 years after the launch of Super Rugby, they had never won a title. Popular Wellington coach Chris Boyd was appointed to take over from Mark Hammett in 2015 and as soon as that news was confirmed, the Hurricanes were able to persuade Ma’a Nonu to return from the Blues.
Boyd also hired the highly respected John Plumtree as his assistant and a team that missed the playoffs by a fair old way in 2014 were suddenly playing championshipwinning football a year later.
Boyd licked the Hurricanes into great shape. He motivated Nonu to get back to his best form, persuaded the forwards to go up a level at set piece and in the loose, and gave TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett the confidence to pull all the right strings.
They were brilliant right up until the final when they inexplicably failed to deliver and lost to the Highlanders in Wellington. It was a huge blow but nothing better displayed the class of Boyd as a coach than the way he rebuilt his team in 2016, adapted the gameplan and stormed back to win the title.
02 PATRICK TUIPULOTU [BLUES 2014]
The Blues signed 20-year-old Patrick Tuipulotu at the end of 2013. They said he was unlikely to play much in 2014 – but instead would learn the ropes behind more experienced men and slowly be developed with a view to letting him loose properly in 2015.
When injury struck others, the Blues had to change plan and use Tuipulotu from the start of their campaign. Why they felt he wouldn’t be able to cope was a mystery. At 2.02m and 127kg, he coped just fine and he smashed his way through the season. His athleticism was apparent, so too his aggression and power, and the longer the season went on, the more it appeared like he was an All Black in waiting.
Tuipulotu, far from needing to be protected, needed to be encouraged to play his natural game and carry the ball up the middle. The Blues had got it wrong. Tuipulotu was ready – more than ready – and he was maybe the only bright spot in what was a depressingly poor season.
01 DANIEL CARTER [CRUSADERS 2003]
The class of Daniel Carter was apparent from the first game he played for the Crusaders in 2003. The 21-year-old switched e ortlessly between the No 10 and No 12 jersies and didn’t have a care in the world.
He could run through defences, kick over the top and tackle like he was a loose forward. There was no obvious weakness to his game and he clearly had this amazing temperament where nothing was going to bother him.
As the season progressed everyone could see he was going to be an All Black. He was that good. The question was in which position?
He was comfortable at 10 and 12 and there was some thought he could manage just as well at 13 and fullback.
It had been a while since such a gifted footballer had made such an impression in their first Super Rugby season. Carter had it all – including goalkicking. He was able, in just nine weeks, to establish himself as the future of the Crusaders and one of the most exciting talents in the entire competition.