How your Super side will fare this year
Sunday News rugby writers Marc Hinton, Aaron Goile, Richard Knowler, Robert van Royen and Hamish Bidwell pass judgment on the New Zealand sides.
BLUES (Marc Hinton)
1. What has changed at the franchise since 2017?
Charlie Faumuina and Steven Luatua have departed, and there has been a partial changing of the guard at No 10. The talent is there but these guys have to close out games more efficiently if they’re to turn those honourable defeats into notable victories. Especially with the rise in Kiwi derbies back to eight. Making Augustine Pulu skipper has been a big call. Let’s see if was an inspired one.
2. Has the draw been cruel or kind?
A little cruel. The Blues open with a brutal first month, visiting the Highlanders in Dunedin, hosting the Chiefs at Eden Park and then heading to South Africa for a testing road double of the Lions and Stormers. They would not need to be a million miles off the pace to find themselves 0-4 after the first four rounds. A 2-2 split would be a pretty fair start.
3. The player to look out for this year?
The easy answer is Rieko Ioane. If the best wing in the world can be served a diet of quality possession, you have to think he feasts on tries this campaign. But look no further than his older brother Akira Ioane as the potential big mover for the Blues. This has been a young man promising more than he has delivered for a few years now, and it is time for the gifted loose forward to come of age and start carving up.
4. A fearless prediction: Who tops the NZ conference?
The Hurricanes, in another tight, compelling dogfight between five even franchises. They have a nice mix of explosive young talent and hard-nosed toughness in their pack, the best halves combination in the competition and all sorts of options and talent in their backline. Above all, though, they have a depth that will enable them to absorb the injuries, and rest their All Blacks, and just keep on keeping on.
5. Name your one wish for this season.
That all the big talking points are about players delivering eyecatching feats and not referees making blunders or TMOs losing the plot. The fans deserve it, and frankly Super Rugby needs a positive, free-flowing, high-quality competition to reinforce it as the premier showcase of the professional game. Having more competitive teams from Australia, especially, and South Africa will help. CHIEFS (Aaron Goile)
1. What has changed at the franchise since 2017?
Probably more accurately, what hasn’t changed. Along with a new CEO, there’s a new coach in Colin Cooper and a new assistant in Tabai Matson, after Dave Rennie and Kieran Keane both opted to head overseas, while other high-profile players like Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Aaron Cruden, James Lowe, Michael Leitch and Hika Elliot also chose to go abroad.
2. Has the draw been cruel or kind?
They’ve struck it reasonably well – getting their turn to avoid the Lions, the beaten finalists the last two years. That is somewhat offset, though, by not having a shot at the Rebels – who won just once last year – however the rest of the Aussie conference shouldn’t exactly be daunting. Having opted against a third successive year hosting a game in Fiji, the Chiefs will have home ground advantage restored against the Crusaders, and instead will play the Highlanders in an away fixture in Suva.
3. The player to look out for this year?
Damian McKenzie. He has been outstanding at fullback in recent seasons. But now it’s a shift to first five-eighth which will have everyone intrigued, to see if he has the game management to lead a side around.
4. A fearless prediction: Who tops the NZ conference?
Crusaders. They’ve had the least turnover of any of the Kiwi squads and look the most balanced. None of the tight five have changed from last season, and their pack should continue to roll teams around. There are some youngsters introduced out wide and the Ryan Crotty-Jack Goodhue midfield is one to enthuse about.
5. Name your one wish for this season.
That it’s not just the New Zealand derbies that get us excited. In a competition that features 10 teams aside from the Kiwis, something has to get us enthused about them too. The South African teams must show they’re not cannon fodder on the road, while anything like another 26-0 rout of the Aussies would render the multination aspect of the competition redundant. CRUSADERS (Richard Knowler)
1. What has changed at the franchise since 2017?
Former Ireland No 10 Ronan O’Gara has been enlisted as an assistant backs coach, replacing Leon MacDonald. Although he played 128 tests for his country as a first five-eighth, O’Gara’s will allow another assistant backs coach, Brad Mooar, to mentor the playmakers. O’Gara will work with the outside backs, and assist head coach Scott Robertson with the defensive strategies.
2. Has the draw been cruel or kind?
It’s fair. The task of travelling to Johannesburg for a re-run of the final, against the Lions in the eighth round, followed by the encounter against the Jaguares in Buenos Aires, must be carefully managed. The bye in round 17 allows their All Blacks an extra week to recuperate following tests against France, prior to hosting the Highlanders and Blues in the final rounds of the regular season.
3. The player to look out for this year?
Braydon Ennor. The Canterbury wing has got some serious speed but competition for starts will be intense. That’s a reality when Seta Tamanivalu, George Bridge, Jone Macilai, Manasa Mataele and Israel Dagg can all operate on the end of the backline chain.
4. A fearless prediction: Who tops the NZ conference?
It should be the Crusaders. A team that claims the title deserves top billing, and their depth is better this time around. None of the players released from the 2017 championship-winning team were regular starters. The acquisition of one-test All Black Mike Delany provides insurance in case Richie Mo’unga or Mitch Hunt break down.
5. Name your one wish for this season.
That NZ Rugby stops meddling with the Super Rugby teams. It is unsettling to discover it is demanding players be withdrawn from the squads to attend All Blacks camps, and be rested from some games. Yes, we know the All Blacks brand is all-important. But there has got be a better way to do this. Placing more trust in the Super Rugby coaches would be a good start. HIGHLANDERS (Robert van Royen)
1. What has changed at the franchise since 2017?
A hell of a lot, starting with the vastly different coaching group to the one which guided the Dunedin-based side to the quarterfinals last year. Aaron Mauger will be the third head