PREVIEW: Second edition of Super Rugby Pacific set for kick-off

The southern hemisphere’s domestic rugby season gets well and truly underway this coming Friday, with the second edition of Super Rugby Pacific.

There’s a cracking fixtures list right off the bat with some high-profile derbies including clashes between the Crusaders and Chiefs, Waratahs and Brumbies as well as a tasty cross-conference affair between the Reds and Hurricanes.

Friday 24 February

Crusaders 1/3 | Draw 22/1 | Chiefs 5/2 (08:05)

Handicap
Crusaders (-7.5) 9/10 | (+7.5) 9/10

What a game to start the season with as the reigning champions, the Crusaders, play host to the Chiefs. The two sides met in last year’s semi-finals with the Crusaders running out 20-7 victors at this weekend’s venue.

The hosts for Friday have enjoyed a decent build-up to the start of the campaign getting solid hit outs against the Highlanders and Hurricanes. They lost both of those pre-season fixtures going down 33-35 to the Highlanders and 31-26 to the Hurricanes. The results will have mattered little for the reigning champions as these pre-season fixtures are all about getting minutes under the players’ belts.

The Chiefs had a better preseason than their opponents as they beat Moana Pasifika 48-7 and 47-33 win over the Blues.

In terms of team news headed into this one, the Crusaders will be without All Blacks Sam Whitelock (concussion) and Will Jordan (severe headaches). Mitch Dunshea will fill in for Whitelock in the second row while utility back David Havilli will don the 15 jumper. On the Chiefs’ side of things, they have yet to announce their matchday 23 at the time of writing but Damien McKenzie is set for a return at fly-half.

Verdict: Chiefs (+7.5) 9/10

The Crusaders have named a tidy old side but they tend to start tournaments slowly and then kick into gear as they progress. I reckon the Chiefs will give a sluggish Crusaders side a real run for their money here.

Waratahs 11/10 | Draw 20/1 | Brumbies 8/10 (10:35)

Handicap
Waratahs (+1.5) 9/10 | Brumbies (-1.5) 9/10

Over to Australia for our next fixture which will see traditional rivals the Waratahs and Brumbies bring the curtain down on Friday’s action.

The two sides had decent inaugural Super Rugby Pacific campaigns with the Brumbies making it all the way to the semifinals where they were narrowly beaten 20-19 by the Auckland Blues.

The Waratahs, after a dire 2021 season, showed great progress last year as they managed a run to the quarter-finals where they were beaten 39-15 by the Chiefs.

The Brumbies have lost some heavy hitters over the off-season with Scott Sio, Folau Fainga’a, Irae Simone and Tom Banks all moving on. Their opponents have managed to add some solid veterans to their books with a lot of experience during the off-season with Tolu Latu and Taleni Seu having returned from overseas.

Verdict: Waratahs (+1.5) 9/10

The Brumbies have lost some crucial players and I don’t think they will be as strong as they were last season. I’ll be having a big crack on the Waratahs keeping it within the plus.

Saturday 25 February

Moana Pasifika 12/10 | Draw 20/1 | Fijian Drua 7/10 (05:35)

Handicap
Moana Pasifika (+1.5) 9/10 | Fijian Drua (-1.5) 9/10

Our next fixture should be really tasty as the Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua will lock horns in front of a partisan crowd at Mt Smart Stadium.

The two sides had a tough time of it last season with the Drua finishing season in 11th and Moana Pasifika finishing a place below them at the foot of the log. They only managed to bag two wins a piece from their 14 outings, and this is something they will be focused on improving this time around.

Moana Pasifika endured a tough pre-season campaign, suffering a heavy defeat against the Chiefs and then going down 33-24 to the Highlanders. The Drua, meanwhile, slapped the Rebels 24-0 before beating the Force 48-38.

Verdict: Drua 7/10

I reckon we’ll have a close run game here. My money is on the Drua just edging it.

Highlanders 2/1 | Draw 22/1 | Blues 4/10 (08:05)

Handicap
Highlanders (+7.5) 9/10 | Blues (-7.5) 9/10

We head over to Dunedin for our next fixture which will see the Highlanders take on the Blues. The hosts had a poor inaugural Super Rugby Pacific campaign and were lucky to advance to the play-offs where they bombed out at the quarter-final stage going down 35-6 to this weekend’s opponents.

2023 featured yet another near miss for this weekend’s visitors as after a solid round-robin campaign that saw them lose just one fixture. They would eventually end up going down 7-21 to the Crusaders in the final at in front of a packed Eden Park.

Neither side shot the lights out during pre-season with the Blues beating the Hurricanes 28-21 and then going down 47-33 to the Chiefs, while the Highlanders were a bit more impressive beating the Crusaders 35-33 and Moana Pasifika 33-24.

These teams were pretty busy during the off-season with the Highlanders bringing in England international Freddie Burns and free agent Pari Pari Parkinson as well as Jonah Nariki. The Blues also got a boost in the off-season with All Black lock Patrick Tuipolotu returning to the club.

Verdict: Blues (-7.5) 9/10

I fancy the Blues to hit the ground running. The Highlanders will take a couple months to get the combinations in their backline right and I can’t see them giving the Aucklanders too many issues this weekend.

Reds 14/10 | Draw 20/1 | Hurricanes 6/10 (10:35)

Handicap
Reds (+3.5) 9/10 | Hurricanes (-3.5) 9/10

We head over to Australia for the penultimate game of the weekend, which also happens to be the only Trans-Tasman clash of the opening round, as the Reds and Hurricanes go head-to-head in Queensland.

The two sides had decent if not spectacular campaigns last term both advancing to the quarter-finals where the Reds were beaten 37-15 by the Crusaders and the Hurricanes went down 35-25 to the Brumbies.

The Hurricanes are likely to be a lot stronger this term with their promising young guns having a year’s more experience under their belt. Unfortunately for the ‘Canes, one of their prospects, Ruben Love, is out with injury. He isn’t the only fly-half on the treatment table with new signing and on-cap All Black, Cameron Smith also on the treatment bench. With the duo out, Love’s fellow youngster, Aidan Morgan, is likely to start at ten.

The Reds are also dealing with a positional injury crisis as their locking stocks have taken a hammering over the past few weeks with Angus Blythe, Luke Jones and Ryan Smith all nursing injuries.

Verdict: Hurricanes (-3.5) 9/10

I just think the loss of all these locks will take a lot away from the Reds set piece, which is a fundamental asset of their game against these flash Kiwi outfits. 

Force 5/10 | Draw 22/1 | Rebels 16/10 (13:00)

Handicap
Western Force (-4.5) 9/10 | Rebels (+4.5) 9/10

We head to Perth for our final game of the weekend which will see the Western Force take on the Melbourne Rebels.

Both sides just missed out on the play-offs last year with the Force missing out to the Highlanders on points differential while the Rebels were just three conference points off the pace. It must be remembered that only four teams miss out on the play-offs, however, so it’s not as if either of the teams enjoyed brilliant campaigns.

Both teams have done some shopping since last season with the Force bringing in Chase Tiatia from the Waikato Chiefs and Bryce Hegarty from the Leicester Tigers, while the Rebels have acquired the services of Monty Ioane and Alex Mafi.

Verdict: Force 5/10

I can’t see there being much between the two sides when all is said and done. I reckon the hosts will just edge this one.