So who will reign Supreme?
The Independent Group’s rugby writers’ crystal ball predictions for the 2020 Super Rugby season
Who will win it?
Chiefs
Why they will win it?
This year the Chiefs will have the golden touch of Warren Gatland. He is a proven winner, be it with Wales or the British and Irish Lions and he has now returned home to Hamilton. Gatland is one of the favourites sons of the Waikato having spent his entire playing career in the region and he cut his early coaching teeth with Waikato, too. Now he has come full circle and I am expecting a fairytale homecoming for Gatland, who just happens to have arguably the most talented of the New Zealand squads at his disposal, including All Blacks Sam Cane, Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown, Luke Jacobson and Aaron Cruden, the latter having returned home from France. Possible surprise package?
Stormers
The Stormers are Super Rugby’s greatest underachievers, with one appearance in a final (losing to the Bulls in 2010) a pitiful return on the rich talent they have had at their disposal over the 24 years of the competition. In recent seasons, they have boasted a fantastic forward pack that went on to form the foundation of the Springboks’ World Cup win. They again have a world class pack, notably a front row of Steven Kitshoff, Bongi Mbonambi and Frans Malherbe. They have the World Rugby Player of the Year on the flank in Pieter-Steph du Toit and, mostly, the World Cup-winning captain in Siya Kolisi. Kolisi will have grown hugely from his Japan experience and the Stormers will benefit. Backline hotshot to watch?
Aphelele Fassi
In last year’s Currie Cup, and then the Super Hero Sunday event a fortnight ago, we saw that the Sharks have a mercurial backline that is going to be a handful for the strongest defence should they get turnover ball. It is easy to pick out Makazole Mapimpi for his deadly finishing but for me the surprise hotshot for the Aussie and Kiwi defences will be fullback Fassi. He was given limited chances in Super Rugby last year because coach Robert du Preez favoured his son at flyhalf and pushed Curwin Bosch to fullback, but in the Currie Cup Fassi turned on the heat, showing that he is the quickest player in South Africa with his famous overhaul of Aphiwe Dyantyi.
Cruncher in the pack to watch
Karl Tu’inukuafe
The Blues have been the New Zealand Conference’s bottom dwellers for too long and in a bid to turn around their fortunes they managed to lure All Black flyhalf Beaudon Barrett to Auckland, but it is upfront where it will start for the Blues and they have a talisman in the inimitable prop Karl Tu’inukuafe, he of the drooping moustache and bullocking forward runs. Tu’inukuafe completed a memorable rise from nightclub bouncer to All Black in 2018 and was a nominee for the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year award, but last year lost his All Black place because of illness. But the 27-year-old has recovered and will be handful for defenders this season, not to mention opposition front rows.
WYNONA LOUW
Who will win it?
Crusaders Why they will win it?
A man on a mission is always a threat, and if that man has been overlooked for the All Blacks coaching gig, I’d reckon even more so.
Not that Scott Robertson needs to cling onto any disappointment to put in some meticulous planning.
The only man to bag a Super Rugby three-peat as both player and coach revived the Crusaders’ dominance in his very first year as chief, and that’s something. Yes, the players are important, but so is the coach.
Would I like to see his celebratory breakdance again later this year? No, change and some more competitiveness are needed for the health and appeal of the competition. But judging by the last three years, we just might. Possible surprise package?
Stormers (second pick, Jaguares)
Yes, yes, fans are probably tired of saying, and hoping, that ‘maybe this is our year’, but it could be a very different one for John Dobson’s outfit. The fact that they finished last in the South African conference last year and 10th overall probably isn’t a stat that’s likely to have rugby lovers betting the next two months’ salaries on the Cape unit, but there have been some changes, and they certainly won’t lack motivation.
There have been some significant changes to the coaching set-up, with Dobson taking over, while it will also be the Stormers’ last year playing at Newlands before moving to Cape Town Stadium. A spot in the semi-finals, at least, shouldn’t be beyond them. Backline hotshot to watch?
Herschel Jantjies
I’d say few things are as unappealing as predictability unless, of course, that predictability is related to the Stormers scrumhalf and what we’ve come to expect from him – exciting efficiency. His rise has been nothing short of remarkable, and after the performances he’s produced for the Springboks, I can’t wait to see what he does for the Stormers… you know what they say about a player high on confidence (he should be, at least).
He has everything it takes to liven up the Stormers, and if the contributions he’s made for the Boks are anything to go by, then there should be no doubt he can add a brilliant chapter or two to the Newlands farewell. Cruncher in the pack to watch
Pieter-Steph du Toit.
The man had a blockbuster of a season in 2019, winning the World Cup with the Boks and grabbing the World Rugby Player of the Year award. His performances made him a commander for the Stormers and his physical displays had no less authority with the Boks. And, as anybody who’s watched three and a half games last season would have been able to guess, he was yesterday named South African Player of the Year as well. Talk about over-achieving.
Can it get any better for the lock-turned-flanker in 2020? Probably not. But if he can just deliver more of the same from last year, we’d be more than happy with that, thank you very much.
JACQUES VAN DER WESTHUYZEN
Who will win it:
Crusaders Why they will win it?
The best team to have played Super Rugby are back to their best. Not only have the defending champions won the competition 10 times and never lost a playoff game in the history of the competition (since 1996), they are also unbeaten in their last 30 home games in Christchurch. Coach Scott Robertson is still in charge and he’s certainly got some magic about him and while there are several new faces in the squad, there is also a bunch of hardened seniors led by lock Scott Barrett. Here one thinks of Joe Moody, Luke Romano, Codie Taylor up front and David Havili, Jack Goodhue, Richie Mo’unga, Sevu Reece and George Bridge at the back. Possible surprise package?
The Blues of Auckland might surprise now that they have Beauden Barrett at flyhalf, but for me the Sharks look like a team that could make the biggest impact this year. They’ve lost a few big men up front, like Beast Mtawarira and the Du Preez twins, Dan and Jean-Luc, but they still look solid with experienced men like Craig Burden, Tera Mtembu, Sikhumbuzo Notshe, Thomas de Toit and Tyler Paul leading the charge up front and exciting backs Sanele Nohamba, Curwin Bosch, Makazole Mapimpi, Sbu Nkosi, Aphelele Fassie and Lukhanyo Am out wide. There’s plenty of quality back-up too and new coach Sean Everitt will be keen to make the most of his opportunity at the helm. Backline hotshot to watch?
There will be plenty of news faces in action this year (always are in the year after the World Cup), but I’ve stayed in South Africa for the man who could set the competition alight. Flyhalf Damian Willemse – and that’s the position he should play – is regarded by everyone who’s worked with him, or played alongside him, or against him, as the most gifted player out there. He is pure class – maybe a bit of the genius about him – and this is his year to really stand up. If the Stormers can get onto the front foot and give him the proper platform, expect him to shine bright. Others to look out for include Aphelele Fassie, Rosko Specman and Tyrone Green. Cruncher in the pack to watch
Again, I’m not going to look any further than right here and the forward we need to keep an eye on is Lions prop Dylan Smith. The big man has been around for a while, but a string of injuries have halted his rise in SA rugby. He is one of the strongest, hardest working props in the country and if he stays injury-free for the duration of the Super Rugby competition he’ll be spoken about as a potential Springbok. He’s that good, so keep an eye on him, alongside the Lions’ main tightheads, veteran Jannie du Plessis and promising 22-yearold Carlu Sadie. Another player who could shine bright is also a loosehead, Ox Nche, now at the Sharks.