Super Rugby Pacific: MVP a three-horse race, breakthrough stars aplenty

The RugbyPass Round Table writers answer the big questions at the mid-point of the Super Rugby Pacific 2025 season. Finn Morton (FM), Henry Lee (HL), Ben Smith (BS), and Ned Lester (NL) weigh in on who the MVP is at the halfway point, as well as the competition’s breakout player for 2025.

Who is the MVP at the half-way stage of the competition?

FM: After nine rounds, fan favourite Ardie Savea is ahead in the official Super Rugby Player of the Year race with 24 votes. Savea has been an inspirational leader for Moana Pasifika, with the backrower helping that team rise to new heights in 2025.

But let’s not forget about Western Force openside Carlo Tizzano, who has done nothing wrong this season. Tizzano sits atop of the try-scoring charts with 11 five-pointers to date, with the Wallaby surprisingly close to the all-time record.

Tizzano put on some size during the off-season and it’s already paid off. Somebody get Joe Schmidt some Panadol because the Wallabies coach has a selection headache to deal with, with Tizzano and Fraser McReight both battling for the same No. 7 jersey.

In defence, Tizzano is equal-second with Du’Plessis Kirifi from the Hurricanes with 125 tackles, while Highlanders lock Fabian Holland is slightly ahead with 131. But the point is this: Tizzano has been prolific on both sides of the ball.

The Force wouldn’t be a top-six side without Tizzano, and that makes the 25-year-old so valuable to that side. No other player in Super Rugby Pacific has had more impact on a team than Carlo Tizzano at the Western Force.

HL: The current MVP voting doesn’t lie, and All Blacks star Ardie Savea is the current leader at the halfway stage. Savea’s impact on and off the field for Moana Pasifika has completely changed the way they compete in the competition.

Off the field, the All Blacks loose forward has added his experience to the strong culture that Moana Pasifika has, motivating players not only to be better on the field but off it too. Savea’s ability on the field matches his presence off it and often has put Moana Pasifika on his back, and carried them to victory. When you watch Savea play, he’s everywhere, whether he’s in a breakdown or carrying the ball relentlessly, he’ll never give up.

Most Valuable Player is often mistaken for many things in these types of discussions, but if you take Savea out of the Moana Pasifika franchise, 2025 looks very different for the North Shore-based side.

BS: The official MVP as it stands based on the player’s vote is Ardie Savea of Moana Pasifika, who leads with 24 points. In close pursuit behind him is Highlanders dynamo Timoci Tavatavanawai with 22.

While Savea has been brilliant as usual, Moana are fighting their way out of wooden spoon contention. There has to be more weight on wins in this conversation, which is what matters. An NFL or NBA superstar on a losing side that doesn’t make the playoffs isn’t going to win MVP, and this has to be the case in Super Rugby Pacific.

My unofficial MVP at the half-way stage is none other than Damian McKenzie.

Criticisms aside from the Tahs game, the Chiefs have the equal-best record in the competition at the half-way stage and D-Mac has been central to those wins. The competition’s leading point-scorer is more than a goal kicker, despite holding the third-best goal kicking percentage with 81.4%.

He sits second in defenders beaten with 39 highlighting his elusive game-breaking ability either from the back or at No.10. It was his double against at Eden Park against the Blues that sunk the defending champs early in the season, while in the return derby his goal kicking proved the difference in a 32-31 win.

In a demolition of Moana Pasifika he was at his best, creating a try with a line break assist on the Chiefs’ first, a try assist on a long ball to Stevenson, while slicing them up for one of his own all before half-time.

One bad game doesn’t discount the season that McKenzie is having. However, the proof will be in the pudding. If the Chiefs win the title, McKenzie is the MVP.

NL: There is one man in Super Rugby who is twice as likely to make a dominant tackle as he is to miss a tackle. That man, of course, is Ardie Savea. 

No individual has as much influence on his team as Savea, both on and off the field. 

Moana Pasifika may be battling away at the bottom of the table, but they have as good a record as any team outside the playoffs and boast the best attack in the comp.

Savea makes big plays at big moments more than anyone in Super Rugby, whether it be turnovers, damaging runs, or big hits.

The title of the award is Most Valuable Player, and while others may argue Moana are not successful enough to validate Savea winning the award, he simply fits the bill too well to ignore.

Who is the breakout player of the year at the half-way stage?

FM: Caleb Tangitau has been sensational since making the move to the deep south with the Highlanders. As a former All Blacks Sevens star and New Zealand U20s flyer, Tangitau always had the potential to succeed, and the Highlanders are reaping those rewards.

Tangitau was the first name that came to mind, and chances are, most of you reading would’ve had the same thought. The 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist started the season with a double on debut and hasn’t looked back.

In round five against the Hurricanes, Tangitau was clearly the best player on the field even though the Landers went down swinging in a dramatic derby. With a stunning intercept try and some other telling involvements, the winger had himself a game.

After nine rounds, Tangitau sits in the top 10 for tries scored, is equal-second for clean breaks with 13, and is well ahead of the competition for most metres gained with 676, which is 73 metres more than second-place Tom Wright from the Brumbies.

While most fans would still consider Tangitau a potential All Blacks bolter as opposed to a likely member of Scott Robertson’s immediate plans, there’s no doubt the speedster from the deep south would have to be on the radar for national selection.

HL: Ioane Moananu. The young Crusaders hooker went into pre-season as the third hooker for Rob Penney’s side, and probably expected to be on the outside of the squad the whole year.

He’s battled away for a couple of years in the training squad, behind George Bell, Brodie McAlister and Codie Taylor. When Bell got injured at the start of the season, McAlister moved to the Chiefs, and Taylor came back late after a heavy workload with the All Blacks and the Crusaders in 2024. Moananu was thrown into the deep end and was forced to play huge minutes in the opening weeks.

Moananu has taken this opportunity with both hands and has destructive ball-carrying abilities like Asafo Aumua and Samisoni Taukei’aho. The 24-year-old has the most lineouts won in the competition (71) as well as four tries, nine more lineout wins than the next best, Billy Pollard from the Brumbies.

Moananu’s scrummaging has slowly improved over the course of the season and is nailing his core roles more often than not throughout the game.

If there’s another injury in the All Blacks hooker stocks in the next couple of months, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the young barnstorming Crusaders hooker join Scott Robertson’s squad.

BS: This year has seen many players emerge on the Super Rugby scene as breakout stars, young Highlanders fullback Finn Hurley, wing Caleb Tangitau, Moana Pasifika winger Kyren Taumoefolau to name a few. There are plenty of worthy candidates out there.

Perhaps the most intriguing story is Moana Pasifika playmaker Patrick Pellegrini who has come from relative obscurity to perform on the Super Rugby stage.

The Sydney-born Tongan international was playing in the English Championship with Coventry for the last three seasons before being picked up by Moana for this year.

Pellegrini’s kicking game has been outstanding, providing the direction they need to lead the strong Moana pack around the park. Off the tee he’s kicking at a competition-best 83.3%.

The 26-year-old has four starts and two bench appearances but it feels like Moana has found a gem at No.10 that no one saw coming.

NL: There is no shortage of candidates for this award, as this article attests.

One player, though, who is head and shoulders above all others in Super Rugby Pacific in his respective field is none other than Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa.

No player comes close to Moana Pasifika’s bruising No. 8 when it comes to carrying the ball, in both total number of carries on the season and in average carries per game, which is not often the case.

The monster 21-year-old wasn’t even named in Moana Pasifika’s official 2025 squad last November, but managed to earn the trust of Tana Umaga and company while with the team in preseason, and had won the starting No. 8 jersey by round two.

To go from being outside the squad just months ago to leading the competition in one of rugby’s most consequential metrics is the definition of a breakout player.