Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Beauden Barrett headlines strong 2025 Blues Super Rugby Pacific squad

Beauden Barrett runs out for the Blues. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

After winning the 2024 competition, Vern Cotter and his Blues have named a young squad filled with some toughened veterans to defend their title ahead of the 2025 DHL Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

ADVERTISEMENT

Seven new players have been given a full contract, and the squad has nine All Blacks from the end of year Northern Tour squad.

The Blues have named returning All Black first five Beauden Barrett in the squad after a short stint in Japan for Toyota Verblitz. 

Barrett bolsters the impressive Blues backline that has added Bay of Plenty NPC winger Reon Paul and former All Black’s son Payton Spencer. 

Reon Paul was a standout player for Bay of Plenty’s 2024 NPC season, showcasing his skills as one of the best utility backs in the competition.

Payton Spencer, the son of former All Black Carlos, is added to the Blues squad after playing in the New Zealand Sevens side.

Spencer, adding to the growing list of Blues players who are representing the same Super Rugby club their fathers had previously played for. A list including Hoskins Sotutu (son of Waisake) and Caleb Clarke (son of Eroni).

ADVERTISEMENT

Related

Under 20 New Zealand vice-captain and impressive Auckland NPC midfielder Xavi Taele has been given his first full Super Rugby Pacific contract after an outstanding season with Auckland in the NPC. 

Vern Cotter gives four forwards their first full playing Super Rugby Pacific contracts, promising loose forward Che Clark, Hooker James Mullan from Canterbury, North Harbour and New Zealand U20 Lock Cameron Christie, and prop Ben Ake.

Experienced midfielder Bryce Heem has been ruled out of the whole 2025 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season due to a wrist injury.

Head coach Vern Cotter will be looking to continue where the team left off last season.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I think we’ll start ahead of where we were last season, we can take the results and experience gained last time round and build on it this year, ” said Cotter.

“I’m looking forward to getting in with everyone, reconnecting and getting back to work. It will be good to get to know the new squad members and see what they’re all about.” 

For the new players coming into their first season at Blues HQ, Cotter and his coaching staff are seeking positive energy from the start.

“I want enthusiasm and for them to put their hand up,” he said.

“I enjoyed watching NPC this season and seeing the younger guys stepping up. Now it’s their time to come into the Blues and start pushing for spots.”

With the Blues staff and players returning from a victorious campaign in early 2024, Cotter explains the excitement from his team in and around Blues HQ.

“We’re just about ready to take the handbrake off and get stuck in – a lot of preparation has already been done. As a coaching group we’ve been watching a lot of rugby, keeping an eye on our guys both here and abroad and it’s about time to open the doors and get started.”

Blues Men’s Squad 2025

Forwards

Angus Ta’avao, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Marcel Renata, Jordan Lay, Joshua Fusitu’a, PJ Sheck, Ben Ake, Kurt Eklund, Ricky Riccitelli, James Mullan, Laghlan McWhannell, Cameron Christie, Patrick Tuipulotu, Sam Darry, Josh Beehre, Cameron Suafoa, Adrian Choat, Dalton Papali’i, Anton Segner, Hoskins Sotutu, Che Clark

Backs

Finlay Christie, Sam Nock, Taufa Funaki, Stephen Perofeta, Harry Plummer, Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Xavi Taele, Corey Evans, Meihana Grindlay, Zarn Sullivan, Mark Tele’a, Caleb Clarke, AJ Lam, Payton Spencer, Reon Paul, Cole Forbes

Unavailable due to injury: Bryce Heem (wrist)

Watch the exclusive reveal-all episode of Walk the Talk with Ardie Savea as he chats to Jim Hamilton about the RWC 2023 experience, life in Japan, playing for the All Blacks and what the future holds. Watch now for free on RugbyPass TV

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 1 hour ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

286 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future Tyrone Green decision has huge bearing on his international future
Search