By Nick Mulvenney
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The 30th season of Super Rugby gets underway this weekend with just 11 teams playing in another new format but hopes that the green shoots of a revival in Australian rugby might bring a bit more of an edge to the competition.
Over the decade since the New South Wales Waratahs became the last Australian team to win the competition, Super Rugby has contracted dramatically both in geographical spread and size, from a high of 18 teams across four continents in 2017.
Throughout that time, New Zealand dominance has been absolute and in the first three seasons of the post-COVID Super Rugby Pacific, all six finalists have been from the eastern shores of the Tasman Sea.
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Australia, though, is entering what it hopes will be a golden age for rugby in the country with the arrival of the British & Irish Lions tour in June and the hosting of the World Cup in 2027.
Under the guidance of coach Joe Schmidt and with high-profile signing Joseph Suaalii on board, there were signs late last year that the country might have the makings of a Wallabies side that would be competitive in those events.
Even if Schmidt has decided to leave the Wallabies job in October, All Blacks and Auckland Blues flyhalf Beauden Barrett thinks the trickle-down effect will mean a stronger challenge this season from Australia.
“I think the change we saw with the Wallabies under Joe Schmidt, I think you’ll certainly see a step up at Super level with the trajectory that they’re on,” the two-times World Player of the Year said at the competition launch last week.
“We’ve always respected the Australian Super Rugby teams, but even more so this year.”
The collapse of the Melbourne Rebels last year means their players, several of them internationals, have now strengthened the squads of the four other Australian teams.
The Waratahs, who finished 12th and last in 2024, were the main beneficiaries and they will also have the biggest draw in the competition after the big-money recruitment from rugby league of Suaalii.
The ACT Brumbies and Queensland Reds are most likely to lead the Australian challenge, however, with settled teams that have shown the ability to beat New Zealand sides on their best days.
The demise of the Rebels also means a new format with the 11 sides each still playing 14 regular season matches before six-team playoffs decide the title.
Despite the improvements in Australia, the champions are still likely to come from New Zealand with Barrett’s Blues the bookmakers’ favourites to retain the title they won last year.
The strength of the Waikato Chiefs, losing finalists for the last two years, and the young Wellington Hurricanes side will ensure some blockbuster derby clashes, while the Canterbury Crusaders will surely improve after a miserable 2024.
Fijian Drua impressed in their first three seasons and will be looking to challenge for the title, while Moana Pasifika’s recruitment of Ardie Savea could be transformational for a side with seven wins from 42 matches in their first three campaigns.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Christian Radnedge)
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