Super Rugby 2025
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Do people really expect that bounce back for the Crusaders?
I think the Aussie teams will be more competitive than the previous years with the demise of the Rebels and crystal balling less horrific injury runs.
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@antipodean I think they will be, they had some key injuries early on and with results going against them it affected confidence as well.
Don't think they are championship material, but will be better.
Blues will be tough to beat I reckon.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
Do people really expect that bounce back for the Crusaders?
I think the Aussie teams will be more competitive than the previous years with the demise of the Rebels and crystal balling less horrific injury runs.
2026 will be their actual year as LF will return from real rugby in France to play soft rugby in NZ so they really will be unstoppable.
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@antipodean said in All Blacks 2025:
Do people really expect that bounce back for the Crusaders?
I think the Aussie teams will be more competitive than the previous years with the demise of the Rebels and crystal balling less horrific injury runs.
i think they'll definitely improve form last year, i think the aussie improvement (i agree that should come) will hit teams like the Landers harder
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@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@SBW1 said in All Blacks 2025:
Leicester Fainga'anuku reveals 'preference' for Top 14 over Super Rugby as All Blacks powerhouse opens up on New Zealand return
Leicester Fainga'anuku admits that he will miss Toulon and the Top 14 after stating that he 'prefers' it to rugby back in New Zealand.
I'm with Leicester here.
Leaving aside parochial preferences, I prefer watching Top 14 to Super Snore. The games tend to be contests for longer, the crowds are much noisier and more partisan and the quality and type of Rugby is closer to Test rugby. Arguably there is a bit more variation and creativity in the way the Top 14 sides play too.
There's a big job to fix super rugby to make it more interesting again and a better preparation for playing Test Rugby. The Blues pointed the way last year. I hope other franchises were taking notes.
I find I will watch the Premiership, Top and URC 14 too. But to be honest I will watch a highlights packages or selected games where with Super I will watchusually 4-5 games live every weekend (times that suit me in NZ) and much as I enjoy other comps at times, never watch as much of those comps, or know the players as well etc. Same as 6Ns, will watch most games, but don't claim to know or follow the players etc as well as I do the players from down here!
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@KiwiMurph said in All Blacks 2025:
I'm hopeful for this season with no Rebels. Tahs have a proper coach, Reds can build off last year and Brumbies are competitive. The question for Drua as always will be can they play away from home.
I think they'll improve too. The Reds botched things up themselves last year by dropping the game against the Blues when they were carving us up, losing to Moana, and then losing to the Force, but were good other than that.
The sides from Aussie will be a lot better next year i think. The Tahs already look stronger out wide and will have Tupou and Bell up front, the Brumbies are always there or thereabouts, the Reds will make a big push for top 4 I think, and the Force have made some good signings.
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@frugby really feel they have little reason too other than pretty standard rotation, there is not domestic comp to wear them out, they should be able to build very nicely in the lead up and peak for the tour, they should be aiming for battle hardened rather than undercooked
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@frugby said in All Blacks 2025:
The other question is what impact will the Lions Tour have? Will Australian sides be resting players in anticipation?
Why? It's only 14 match season, even the Japanese League has gone to 18 games this year.
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@Dan54 said in All Blacks 2025:
@sparky said in All Blacks 2025:
@SBW1 said in All Blacks 2025:
Leicester Fainga'anuku admits that he will miss Toulon and the Top 14 after stating that he 'prefers' it to rugby back in New Zealand.
I'm with Leicester here.
Leaving aside parochial preferences, I prefer watching Top 14 to Super Snore. The games tend to be contests for longer, the crowds are much noisier and more partisan and the quality and type of Rugby is closer to Test rugby. Arguably there is a bit more variation and creativity in the way the Top 14 sides play too.
There's a big job to fix super rugby to make it more interesting again and a better preparation for playing Test Rugby. The Blues pointed the way last year. I hope other franchises were taking notes.
I find I will watch the Premiership, Top and URC 14 too. But to be honest I will watch a highlights packages or selected games where with Super I will watchusually 4-5 games live every weekend (times that suit me in NZ) and much as I enjoy other comps at times, never watch as much of those comps, or know the players as well etc. Same as 6Ns, will watch most games, but don't claim to know or follow the players etc as well as I do the players from down here!
I’ve never had much interest in European club rugby. Mainly because I had no emotional involvement and the rugby wasn’t as good as super rugby for a long time.
I will catch a Nz derby in a weekend but will rely on highlights mostly.
One game I refuse to watch is Australian derbies!
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So ... searching for EP player lists is seemingly impossible ... but I found the following passage in some sort of archive previewing the 1997 BIL v EP tour match confirming Webber made the switch to EP.
In many ways, Richard Hill
the England open-side flanker
who turned 24 yesterday, will
occupy the hottest seat of the
lot this afternoon. To begin
with, he is up against a distinctly
useful opponent in Matthew
Webber, Easterns' new recruit
from the Auckland Blues - the
reigning Super 12 champions
who tend not to produce too
many second-raters. More sig-
nificant still, however, is the fact
that Hill will be at the very epi-
centre of the breakdowns,
where refereeing interpreta-
tions are so critical.Reckon that means I'm right, but can't find direct reference as yet.
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@Canes4life said in Super Rugby 2025:
Love this from Dups.
Silly bugger, surely the news crew would have expensed those coffees and claimed it back!
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Yep @DaGrubster , I don't catch a lot of Aus derbies, only the Reds/Brumbies/Tahs games. Do find if rugby on tv and I am about I watch it, but Aus games tend to be later anyway, so an effort for me to stay up.
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Has any of the other teams (apart from the Chiefs) officially announced their full list of NDC players yet? Earlier media reports and some TV news footage does show some likely players training but it's always good to know which players have been identified.
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@Bovidae Iink to that Chiefs release please? I can't find it, thanks.
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Interesting thanks, assumed Jacob Norris was still at Moana Pasifika this year... I guess not.
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@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2025:
An article in the Sunday Star-Times about the 68 SR one-game wonders to date. Many of the recent players are only at the start of their careers so won't stay on this list. Well done if you can remember all, or most of them!
Here is the summary graphic.
Can you provide any insight into the Frano Botica SR cap?
I know he left for league in the early 90s so was it a case of him returning to rugby but not being of the standard to play in super rugby?
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His first year back in rugby in NZ
Frano Michael Botica | New Zealand Rugby History
