Another Super Rugby season is in the books and it’s the Blues who take home the title after a very convincing 41-10 win over the Chiefs in the final. The victory marked the Blues first title since 2023, taking them to a total of 4 Super Rugby competition wins (not counting the Trans Tasman title they won in 2021). In Vern Cotter’s first season in Auckland, the Blues played the most composed and effective rugby of all the 12 teams. It wasn’t always glamorous, but it didn’t need to be.
There’s still a lot for the competition to fix moving forward, especially with the demise of the Rebels, but there’s plenty to excited about. The gap between the top teams and the mid-tier looked to be closing at some points throughout the season. The Hurricanes were likely the surprise team as they finished the regular season in the top spot, but seemed to take an untimely dip in the play-offs and couldn’t see of the Chiefs, who themselves had a wee mid-season wobble but pulled through, in the semi-finals. After years of dominance, a much-changed Crusaders side struggled early and struggled often, but shows glimmers towards the end of the season. The Drua were sensational at home, but less so on their travels. The Tahs, Force, Moana and Highlanders will all be disappointed with their seasons, but at least they’ll be back unlike the luckless Rebels who made their first trip the finals, only to have their licence ripped away after. Aussie hopes were centred around the Brumbies and the Reds and while both made the play-offs, they saw earlier exits than they would have liked at the hands of the Blues and Chiefs respectively.
With it all now done and after consuming quite a considerable amount of Super Rugby in 2024, I’ve put together my team of the tournament. It’s a long slog and injuries take a big toll, so I’ve tried to base it on who made the biggest difference throughout all 18 weeks from week 1 through to the final.
1 – Xavier Numia (Hurricanes). An easy choice at loosehead (so easy that no-one else was ever considered) as Numia took a big step forward this year for the Canes. He’s ability around the field is impressive and he played a massive role in a rock-solid scrum. If not for his unfortunate quarter-final injury, he would have been named in the All Blacks squad so the future is very bright.
2 – Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes). One of the harder positions to decide with Ricky Riccitelli (Blues) and Matt Faessler (Reds) both strong contender but Aumua’s combination of game-wrecking open field running and steady set-piece contribution see him take the spot.
3 – Flecther Newell (Crusaders). A tougher pick at tighthead prop than at loosehead. Tyrell Lomax (Hurricanes) was in consideration, but his late-season injury stalled his momentum. Zane Nonggorr (Reds) had a good season that put him in Wallaby contention but Newell takes the spot thanks to some tough work at the scrum and impactful play around the field.
4 – Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues). One of the most bizarre take homes from this exercise was the lack of stand out options in the second row, but the one nailed-on selection has to be Tuipulotu. At the heart of everything good the Blues managed to achieve this season, and had an inspirational story for the ages after returning weeks early from a nasty knee injury to lead the team in the final.
5 – Josh Canham (Rebels). A toughie as outlined previously. Darcy Swain (Brumbies), Fabian Holland (Highlanders) and Tupou Vaa’i (Chiefs) all had good seasons, but Canham made the biggest difference to his side in the loose and at line-outs so I’m slotting him in at 5. I’d say he was desperately unlucky to not make the Wallabies squad.
6 – Bobby Valetini (Brumbies). Another tough choice with Samipeni Finau (Chiefs) close behind but Valentini’s impact in attack made the difference. At times he seemed to be single-handedly dragging the Brumbies over the gainline.
7 – Fraser McReight (Reds). Could’ve been Dalton Papalii (Blues). Could’ve been Peter Lakai (Hurricanes). Possibly even Carlo Tizzano (Force). But ultimately, it was McReight. The Reds went where McReight took them and his play with and without the ball made them the team they were this season. That’s not exactly what they want if they want to take the next step, but they will definitely want McReight to continue to play at such a high level, perhaps just with less reliance on their star flanker.
8 – Hoskins Sotutu (Blues). The deepest position across the tournament by a mile. Brandon Iose (Hurricanes), Harry Wilson (Reds), Charlie Cale (Brumbies), Wallace Sititi (Chiefs), Christian Lio-Willie (Crusaders) and Meli Derenalagi (Drua) were all superb but how can I overlook Sotutu? His work-rate on defence may waver at times, but his nose for the try-line (he finished tied first with 12 tries), ability to hit a gap and his willingness to always try the unpredictable make him a key cog in the Blues side. Quite possibly the MVP of the competition and earns the 8 spot here against some stern competition.
9 – Cortez Ratima (Chiefs). Despite the high-profile names, not the best season for nines across Super Rugby. Tate McDermott (Reds) had a nice season but went missing at key moments and TJ Perenara (Hurricanes) rolled back the clock behind a dominant Canes pack. Ultimately, Ratima was the most consistent performer. His support lines are a massive asset in a team like the Chiefs who make line breaks for fun, and he finished with 9 tries thanks in large part to his support play.
10 – Damien McKenzie (Chiefs). If Sotutu was the MVP, McKenzie was not far behind. Everything good the Chiefs did this season had him at the heart. Open-play, off set-piece, off the tee. He was almost immaculate at it all and it showed game in, game out. Noah Lolesio (Brumbies) took a massive step-forward this season and was really the only other 10 in the conversation.
11 – Sevu Reece (Crusaders). A lot of good options on the left wing. Corey Toole (Brumbies) started like a man possessed but faded down the stretch. Etene Nanai-Seturo (Chiefs) was ever-present in their run to the final but didn’t flash like we know he can. So it came down to Caleb Clarke (Blues) and Sevu Reece, and I went with Reece as he was by far and away the best player on a poor Crusaders team. He does absolutely everything on the field and will be one of few Crusaders players to come out of this season with their head held high.
12 – Hunter Pasimi (Reds). After the number 8 position, the 12 spot was the most competitive. Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes) continued his rise towards the title of best 12 in the world, AJ Lam (Blues) flourished as the Blues romped home and Tamati Tua (Brumbies) had some hugely impressive flashes but Pasimi outdid them all. He does go quiet on occasion especially when the Reds pack are under pressure, but when he’s rolling, there’s no one better at all the facets of being an inside centre.
13 – Iosefo Masi (Drua). Our lone Drua representative but what a representative! The only player to beat more than 70 defenders this season, and he even got that number up to 80. Unfortunate not to help the Drua go even further than the quarters but he certainly put his name on the map to the watching public. Billy Proctor (Hurricanes), Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs) and Josh Flook (Reds) all had good seasons but couldn’t hit the heights of Masi.
14 – Emoni Narawa (Chiefs). Boy is there some great right-wing talent in Super Rugby. Narawa edges out a whole host of fantastic wingers due to his game-breaking ability and his knack for creating something out of nothing. But it’s his work-rate that really does it for me, he’s all over the park and does lots of unflashy work too. Selestino Ravutaumada (Drua), Mark Tele’a (Blues) and Tim Ryan (Reds) all made their mark too.
15 – Tom Wright (Brumbies). More back three conundrums with Jock Campbell (Reds), Ruben Love (Hurricanes) and Andrew Kellaway (Rebels) all in with a shout but it’s hard to see past Tom Wright for the 15 jersey. He finished top 5 in the tournament for tries (10), carries (155), clean breaks (16), defenders beaten (54), offloads (18) and metres gained (1,207), an impressive set of stats and the only players to feature in the top 5 in all those categories. Next step for Wright is carrying it over to the national side.
Sean black - Freelance writer 