#Super Rugby Pacific

Joe Moody will need surgery and has been ruled out of rugby for the remainder of the year. Photosport Crusaders and All Blacks prop Joe Moody has been ruled out for the rest of 2022 after suffering a long-term injury for the second straight year. The Crusaders confirmed Moody ruptured his ACL playing against the Blues two weeks ago and will require…

Moana Pasifika have added the first player of Cook Island heritage to their squad as one of three new signings. In the ninth wave of player announcements ahead of their debut campaign in the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific season, the expansion franchise have unveiled locks Mike McKee, Don Lolo and Veikoso Poloniati as their newest arrivals. The trio…

Moana Pasifika have added a Hurricanes halfback and two Hawke's Bay stars to their ranks ahead of their debut season in next year's inaugural edition of Super Rugby Pacific. In an announcement on Monday, the expansion franchise confirmed the arrival of Manu Samoa international Jonathan Taumateine from the Hurricanes. The 25-year-old joins Moana…

Unlike the Crusaders, Highlanders and Hurricanes, who also won't participate in Super Rugby Pacific this weekend, the Blues can perch themselves on their couches without having to reflect on any bad business from the previous round after beating the Highlanders. The Crusaders and Highlanders, especially, would have been desperate to pull their work…

Heck, this was written before a game of the new Super Rugby Pacific competition had even been played. But with this weekend marking the start of a new footy year in this part of the world - yes, once more intruding on cricket season - this grievance with the game may as well be out there from the off: It's time to sort out the nuisance that is…

We asked our sports reporters at Stuff to say what they think the new year will bring and we'll be holding all of them accountable by seeing how right, or wrong they were, when we review their picks in 12 months' time. ANDREW VOERMAN The Football Ferns get their first Fifa Women's World Cup win against the Philippines at Sky Stadium in Wellington…

Queensland Reds 15 (Richie Asiata try 56m, Lawson Creighton try 71min; con, pen) HT: 21-3 Yellow card: Pablo Matera 55min The early exit of Sevu Reece and Pablo Matera's yellow card were the biggest concerns for Scott Robertson as the Crusaders spluttered their way to an unconvincing 28-15 win over the Queensland Reds in Christchurch on Friday…

Crusaders or Chiefs, Blues or Brumbies. Four teams go into this weekend's semifinals but only two will emerge to play for the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific title. Friday night's first match was being hosted in Christchurch - and it wouldn't be a surprise many to learn the 12-time Super Rugby champion Crusaders went in as favourites. But, having…

Welcome, G&GRs, to this week's Monday News. What an entertaining finish to the Super Rugby Pacific Round Robins! Up until the final few minutes places in the finals were still up for grabs. The weekend saw some upsets and some bloody great rugby. As a famous Roman general once exclaimed, "are you not entertained?". We'll catch up on the Sevens in…

2022 has thrown up plenty of storylines in the world of Rugby. From last-minute finishes, controversy and world-class action, the past 12 months have thrown up plenty of exciting stories across the Rugby landscape. With this in mind, Rugby.com.au breaks down the best stories from 2022, starting from 12-7. 12. Crusaders remain on top The inaugural…

The Hurricanes have today named their 38-man squad for the 2023 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season. While the core of the squad is maintained from 2022, five new signings have been named, with four players in line to make their Hurricanes debut when the competition kicks off on February 25. Waikato outside Dan Sinkinson, Taranaki's Kini Naholo and…

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…

Analysis - The sporting public is tired of New Zealand Rugby censoring players' ability to speak candidly on controversies. New Zealand is not a country in which people are able to speak freely. At least not in public anyway. As a columnist, I know that there are topics I cannot write about or points of view I can't express if I want to continue to…

Super Rugby Pacific is ready to kick off for 2022 and we will be right here alongside the competition as it works it way through a maiden campaign with a welcome Pacific flavour. I've said this week that my gut feel is this is going to be a really tight competition, particularly around the fight for the 5-8 places on the table, which will naturally…

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…

A thrilling final weekend of Super Rugby Pacific left the Waratahs with an unexpected foe, and the Force missing out at the death as the quarterfinal match ups, times, days and venues were locked in. A shock loss by the Brumbies against Moana Pasifika meant they went from third to fourth, and avoiding the Tahs, who stayed sixth with their late loss…

With just one weekend left before finals in the Super Rugby Pacific competition, the top eight is almost set but the jostling for positions is still intense. This is every team's best and worst case scenario for their final position and the predicted quarterfinal opponents for the top eight. How do the finals work? There is a straight forward three…

A new rugby competition kicks off this weekend, the snazzily titled United Rugby Championship, and it will be followed next February by another new competition, Super Rugby Pacific. Those behind the new competitions, which amount to a significant redrawing of provincial/franchise rugby across two hemispheres, must feel like either laughing or…

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…

Not long after it all began, I posted the folly of having 66 per cent of the competition making the finals. Eight from 12. Silly? Yes. Lacking true competition integrity? Absolutely. It is maybe close to unique in a professional 12-team competition at this level. Justifiable? Not really. Understandable? For this first season of the new format,…

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…

Beauden Barrett races away for one of two tries against the Highlanders. Photo / Photosport Blues 35 Highlanders 6 One down, two hurdles to clear for the Blues. Two strikes from stand-in skipper Beauden Barrett propelled the Blues to their 14th straight win of the season, and into next Saturday's home semifinal against the winner of the Brumbies…

Highlanders veteran scrum-half Aaron Smith has been ruled out of his side's crunch quarter-final against the Blues this weekend. Smith was named to start in the play-off game but has since been withdrawn due to a groin injury in a massive blow for the Dunedin-based outfit. Folau Fakatava will come into the starting line-up and has been a standout…

ANALYSIS: Culturally and temperamentally, Rugby Australia chair Hamish McLennan is so far removed from rugby administrators in New Zealand that he might as well come from Mars. A product of elite Shore School on Sydney's affluent North Shore, the 56-year-old currently chairs two multibillion-dollar companies listed on the Australian Securities…

Anyone who says they know for sure who'll win the Super Rugby Pacific final at Eden Park is dreaming, kidding, or chasing clicks online. The TAB fractionally favours the Blues, $1.80for the win to the Crusaders' $1.92. Here's why I think it's an even-money punt. Home ground advantage? Eden Park will be packed, and quite rightly Auckland fans love…

Two Wallabies stars have come out against the idea of bringing in a scrum clock in an attempt to have a more fluid and faster game. There are changes afoot in Super Rugby Pacific as representatives from the teams met to discuss the future of the competition. On that list was potential law alterations, with SANZAAR consistently looking to find ways…

So the Rugby Championship has been run and won, and though it played out as tightly as anyone can remember through the first month or so, it finished as pundits of all persuasions probably expected. But before we put the two-up panel in the rack for a month - we'll be back in time for the spring tour fixtures - the best way to wrap up the Rugby…

On paper, 2022 has looked pretty bleak for Australian rugby. With just three wins from seven Tests, the Wallabies have slipped to 9th in the World Rugby rankings - their lowest ever position - and are facing one of the toughest challenges this weekend when they travel to Eden Park. They'll then recoup to face Scotland, France, Italy, Ireland, and…

Will there be bolters? Who is on the outer? Who is in white-hot form? There's certainly plenty to ponder after nine rounds of Super Rugby, which featured no shortage of bruising Kiwi derbies. As the three-match test series against Ireland in July creeps closer, rugby scribes mix both form and availability and name varied All Blacks XVs. Marc…