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'You won't be able to pick the top six' Former All Black excited about new season of Super Rugby
By Henry Lee
There’s only been one round of Super Rugby Pacific in 2025, but three former All Blacks are predicting that this season will be the closest in recent memory.
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Three Australian-based Super Rugby teams were able to pick up round one victories, showcasing what will likely be better seasons for the Australian franchises, after the Melbourne Rebels players have split into multiple different squads this season.
All five games in round one were decided by a 1-12 margin, with many of the games coming down to the last moments to decide the winner.
Speaking on The Breakdown, former All Black turned Sky Sports commentator Jeff Wilson predicts this Super Rugby Pacific season will exceed expectations set at the start of the season.
“Pure and simple. This will be the closest Super Rugby competition we’ve had for a long, long time, and I can tell you why, because everyone, bar, I think the Hurricanes, who I think can perform to what they did last year. I think everyone else can be better,” Wilson said on The Breakdown.
“Ultimately coaches have had more opportunities and are in their second year, for the likes of Rob Penney, Vern Cotter, Clark Laidlaw, they’ll be better at doing their job.
“Jamie Joseph taking the helm down in Dunedin and you think about all of the Australian teams and the stock that has moved around, the fact that all of a sudden they’ve got some depth.”
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Wilson also believes that Ardie Savea moving to Moana Pasifika has majorly improved Tana Umaga’s side.
“And we know Artie Savea has already made a big difference to Moana Pasifika”.
When asked whether the two 2024 Super Rugby finalists the Chiefs and the Blues can improve on last year’s season, Wilson is adamant the experience will only make both teams better for the 2025 campaign.
“Just through experience, understanding the fact you can evolve. But I think coaches will understand where they need to make improvements, and you’ll have to be better, because across the ditch, three wins already for the three Australian teams.
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“The Brumbies had a win. The Western Force have had a win and the Waratahs have had a win.”
“They’re in a different mindset now. In 2025 the New Zealand teams are on notice.”
81-Test former All Black Justin Marshall is interested to see how the Blues deal with the “favourites” tag, saying that the mindset will be a challenge.
“The mindset is also a problem though. When you’re the reigning champions, and the Blues haven’t had to deal with that for a very long time.
“So the targets on their back, but they were not the favourites last year. This year everybody wants to knock them over.”
Sky Sports commentator and rugby analyst Mils Muliaina thinks the Crusaders and Rob Penney must grow their game, if they want to be in contention this season.
“The Crusaders had their most unsuccessful year last year. They have to get better. They have to try and evolve the style they played last year.
“The Chiefs came and they out muscled them, and they’ve got to find the different way they can actually play that different style.”
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want the canes to win no doubt but I’m hoping the quality of rugby stays high and more the style was very very fast kinda how wanna see the international game move closer to that
So he means all the Australian sides won in the weekend?
Wilson really is a bit of a fruitloop sometimes. I like the foundation of his thoughts be he has one of the worst ‘presenter’ ways of sharing them.
Funny enough Ive seen a lot of “TOP SIX opinions over the past week or so leading up to the start of the comp and most named pretty-much the same 6. Not so hard for most I think.
I think that they mainly pick themselves and will be a bot surprised if it was from outside the top 4 NZ sides ( Chiefs, Blues, Canes and Crusaders ) with Reds and Brumbies added in.
Tahs and Highlanders may push 1 side out or maybe even the Drua but After that Its the Mp and Force and I cant see them being top 6.
I think the downfall of the Crusaders last year was a shock to most.
It’s hard because the Crusaders were a top 4 side last year, so something has to give this year (you couldn’t see anything going through those difficulties again but actually with Higgins going down this week the Canes are looking very close to repeating).
I’ll go slightly the more variable route and predict the battle for the last two spots will be just as much up in the air as they were last year.
Correct with picking NZ sides for the top 4 spots. The other 2 spots not quite so clear but if any of the rest manage to beat one of the NZ top it would be a major upset. That said upsets do happen from time to time.
Yes agreed. It will be hard to pick the finishing order of the top six but at most, one of those teams may miss out.