Super Rugby rookies to watch out for in 2020
There are 46 rookies starting on full Super Rugby contracts for the first time after the five New Zealand squads were announced for the 2020 Super Rugby season this week.
The Crusaders and Highlanders have 12 each, the Chiefs nine, the Blues eight and the Hurricanes five.
The typical exodus of players following a World Cup cycle means there will be plenty of new faces when Super Rugby begins with the Blues hosting the Chiefs at Eden Park on January 31.
Many have been stars in the Mitre 10 Cup but who are the top five rookies to watch out for in 2020?
Emoni Narawa (Blues)
The 20-year-old Fijian flyer was sensational for Bay of Plenty as the Steamers finished top of the Championship and earned promotion to the Premiership after beating
Manawatu¯ and
Hawke’s Bay in the playoffs.
Narawa, who was born in Fiji before moving to New Zealand on a scholarship with Hamilton Boys’ High School, suffered a broken ankle 54 minutes into his Bay of Plenty debut in 2018 but the winger was a standout in his second season. He finished top of the stat charts for metres carried (1027), clean breaks (36), defenders beaten (74) and only Canterbury fullback Josh McKay (12) scored more tries in the competition than his nine.
The Blues secured his services more than a month before the provincial season finished, indicating how much of an impression he had made, with his electric pace, intelligence and excellent ball skills mightily impressive.
Kini Naholo (Chiefs)
Waisake Naholo’s younger brother is similar to the former All Blacks winger in many ways but the 20-year-old Kini is thought to be quicker and has an excellent skillset.
Kini is the youngest of three rugbyplaying brothers with ties to Taranaki and he will be following Waisake’s path into Super Rugby, albeit with the Chiefs and not the Highlanders.
A schoolboy star who first made headlines in 2017 when he scored six tries in one half for Hastings Boys’ High School’s first XV, finishing that season with 40 in 20 matches, Naholo soon linked up with Taranaki and the Chiefs.
Two years of injury problems have slowed down his development but it did not stop the Chiefs snapping him up. Kini and Waisake started on opposite wings for Taranaki against Northland in August and their middle brother, Meli, played for Taranaki’s B team this year.
Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs)
The 20-year-old Waikato centre was considered unlucky to not be selected in the Chiefs squad last season but he played for New Zealand’s under-20s instead.
Tupaea’s debut year for the Mooloos was in 2018 and his transition from schoolboy rugby was effortless as he slotted into
Waikato’s midfield as a regular starter alongside veteran
Dwayne Sweeney.
Another Hamilton Boys’ High product, Tupaea seems most comfortable at centre and as well as his speed and an ability to keep his arms free for offloads, his composure is arguably his most impressive trait.
Tupaea always seems to make the right decisions and he also has an instinctive knack of scoring tries. He has a big future but faces stiff competition for a place in the Chiefs’ midfield next season.
Sione Havili (Crusaders)
The 21-year-old loose forward is the latest talent to leave Auckland to enhance their career and the Blues could be kicking themselves again should Havili excel for the Crusaders.
Having already made his Super Rugby debut for the Blues in 2018, Havili opted to head south and has signed his first fulltime contract after playing a key role in Tasman’s maiden provincial title this year.
No relation to Crusaders fullback David Havili, he attended Auckland Grammar School, represented the
New Zealand
Secondary
Schools team in
2016, winning the award for the country’s best player, and played for Auckland before heading to Tasman.
With the Crusaders losing the likes of Kieran Read and Matt Todd, Havili should get a chance to fight for a regular berth in their back row but faces competition from fellow young guns Billy Harmon and Tom Christie.
Jona Nareki (Highlanders)
The New Zealand Sevens winger should get his first taste of Super Rugby with the Highlanders in 2020 and it’s been a long time coming after shining in the deep south for Otago.
The 21-year-old attended Feilding High School alongside team-mate and old friend Vilimoni Koroi, who are both of Fijian heritage, and he first played on the international sevens circuit last year.
Nareki’s debut season for Otago in 2018 ended with an infamous injury when he ruptured his testicle in the final minutes of their successful Ranfurly Shield raid in Waikato, but he finished the game with his team short of men as they wrestled the Log o’ Wood off the
Mooloos.
That painful blow proved
Nareki was a tough cookie and his superb feet, pace and intelligence are some of his best skills which led to the speedster finishing third, with eight, for tries scored in this year’s Mitre 10 Cup.