#Manasa Mataele

By Alex McLeod of RugbyPass.com Ian Foster's 35-man All Blacks squad will assemble for the first time today in Whakatane as preparations for the upcoming Bledisloe Cup series get underway. Plenty of anticipation has arisen since last week's confirmation that the All Blacks and Wallabies will do battle with each other for the first time in over a…

Admittedly, the now 20-year-old Crusaders prop was "skinnier back then", but he'd always played centre and No 8 growing up in Perth, and No 8 when he returned to New Zealand and played for Kerikeri High School. But, having earned a scholarship at Auckland's St Kentigern College, he figured he'd best roll with coach Tai Lavea's instructions at the…

It's not one they can rebuff with their might on the park either. It's rather something head coach Scott Robertson, his fellow coaches, and leaders within the squad, will have to face off it. It is how they will remain hungry and not let complacency creep in. How they will put their enormous success behind them and remain motivated enough to roll…

After two makeshift seasons, Super Rugby is about to get a whole more super as the competition moves to a full-fledged Pacific competition. Making it all the more appealing for fans - and administrators - is that the competition's future will be announced Friday, with the competition to be set in stone until 2030. That will be music to the ears of…

After a dramatic build-up, Super Rugby Pacific got off to an entertaining start last week. The Fijian Drua might not have got a first-up win, but they were still a huge hit in Sydney as they fell to the Waratahs 40-10. There were wins for the Crusaders, Chiefs and Reds on Saturday, before a Sunday afternoon thriller was taken out by the Brumbies…

There are now just three unbeaten teams in Super Rugby Pacific, with the Crusaders, Brumbies and Reds sitting in first, second and third respectively after three rounds of the tournament. Elsewhere in Round 3, there was an historic first win for Fijian Drua, while the Blues and Hurricanes also picked up victories. Read on as we look at some of the…