The new Super Rugby Pacific season is fast approaching, with the 12 teams putting the finishing touches on their preseason preparations.
There has been significant change across many of the squads, in New Zealand in particular, while six teams have welcomed new coaches.
Read on as we preview the Drua, Force, Highlanders and Hurricanes.
Coach: Mick Byrne
Captain: Meli Derenalagi
Last year: 2023 was a huge year for Fijian rugby, for not only did they come within a whisker of an historic World Cup semifinal berth but, earlier in the year, the Drua also featured in their first playoffs campaign. Sure, they were promptly dispatched by the Crusaders, but to reach the postseason in only their second season of Super Rugby was no mean feat. They did that by dominating their opponents in Suva and Lautoka, where they won five of six games, the Drua riding the support of the passionate home fans who created the standout atmosphere in the competition. With skipper Meli Derenalagi, powerhouse hooker Tevita Ikanivere, and a litany of backline speedsters leading the way, the Drua played with a pace and tempo at home that ran visiting teams into the ground. But they could manage only one win on the road, in Round 1, against Moana Pasifika, with their lineout, in particular, put under heavy pressure. Nevertheless, 18 Drua players were later included in Fiji's World Cup squad, which stunned the Wallabies and very nearly defeated England for the second time in three months - a result that would have seen them reach the last four of the global showpiece for the very first time.
This year: It's hard not to be excited about how the Drua might kick on from last year, but they will have to do it without Caleb Muntz, who tore his ACL at training the week before the World Cup kicked off. That injury may well expedite the introduction of Fiji Under 20s star Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, who has quite the pedigree as the nephew of Richie Mo'unga. Armstrong-Ravula was one of the standout performers from last year's Junior World Championship, and he will benefit from playing outside the experienced Frank Lomani, Simione Kuruvoli and Peni Matawalu when his chance does arrive. Byrne's squad otherwise has great continuity from last year with just four other Super Rugby rookies across the group, and those returning from World Cup duty are sure to be buoyed by their brilliant displays in France. The Drua face a daunting start to 2024 as they face the Blues, Crusaders and Chiefs all inside four weeks, but if they can find a win in one of those games, and also see off Moana Pasifika in Super Round, then the Fijians will have laid a decent platform from which they can build into the season.
Draw: Blues [A], Moana Pasifika [Melbourne], Crusaders [H], Chiefs [A], Waratahs [H], Force [H], Rebels [A], Bye, Hurricanes [H], Moana Pasifika [H], Brumbies [A], Force [A], Reds [H], Highlanders [A], Rebels [H].
Coach: Simon Cron
Captain: Jeremy Williams
Last year: It was another disappointing year for the Force, who missed out on finals football after they were hammered in the final two games of the regular season. But it was always going to be difficult for new coach Simon Cron to instigate too much change in year one, particularly after the loss of prop Tom Robertson and rising playmaker Reesjan Pasitoa to knee injuries. They did however benefit from the upheaval in the English Premiership, with Zach Kibirige, Gareth Simpson and Sam Spink all adding depth to the backline. Spink, in particular, gave the Force a genuine line-bending option in midfield and such was the Englishman's impact that he ended up taking out the Nathan Sharpe Medal as the team's best player for 2023. There was minor improvement in the Force's attack - they still finished the year with the fewest tries of any team - and they remained feeble defensively, conceding in excess of 40 points on six occasions. The Force's scrum was also consistently put under pressure, but their lineout was the competition's best, even without the experienced Izack Rodda, who remained sidelined for all but the final two games of the season with a foot injury, which he then reinjured in camp with the Wallabies ahead of the Rugby Championship.
This year: Such is the regard the Force have for Cron, the club this week extended his current contract through to the end of 2026. But the franchise will also want progress this year, particularly given the arrival of some key Wallabies and some front-row depth from across the Tasman. With Robertson having opted for a sabbatical to complete his medical degree at Oxford University, the Force have brought in former All Blacks prop Atu Moli and the Reds' Harry Hoopert, while former Crusaders hooker Ben Funnell completes the front-row acquisitions. Meanwhile in the halves, Nic White and Ben Donaldson join from the Brumbies and Waratahs respectively, with the playmaker's arrival creating an intriguing battle for the No. 10 jersey alongside Pasitoa and Max Burey, who enjoyed several fine games late in 2023. Elsewhere, Spink's retention is a huge coup, with many expecting the Englishman to have returned home, while Harry Potter brings his title-winning experience from Leicester back to Australia as he looks to crack the Wallabies. If there is one concern that continues to dog the Force, it is that they are still without a player who offers genuine x-factor; they will not blow teams off the paddock like the Chiefs or Blues can, or even the Brumbies when they are truly galloping; the Force instead seem to have to grind teams down and that becomes challenging week after week.
Draw: Hurricanes [H], Rebels [Melbourne], Brumbies [A], Moana Pasifika [H], Reds [H], Drua [A], Blues [A], Bye, Crusaders [H], Highlanders [A], Chiefs [A], Drua [H], Waratahs [H], Reds [A], Brumbies [H].
Coach: Clark Dermody
Captain: Billy Harmon
Last year: The Highlanders continued to lose touch with their fellow New Zealanders, winning five games to finish in ninth spot and outside the top eight. They were however dogged by injury, and without the depth of other New Zealand franchises, the rest weeks instigated for All Blacks Aaron Smith, Ethan de Groot and even skipper Billy Harmon took a toll. The Highlanders lacked a commanding presence at No. 10, with the club's recruitment of Englishman Freddie Burns only returning mixed results, while Folau Fakatava only showed fleeting glimpses of his talent as he made a steady return from consecutive knee injuries. Without any major backline strike weapons, the Highlanders recorded the fewest line breaks and metres gained in the competition, and finished above only the Force for tries scored. Amid the club's struggles, coach Clarke Dermody made a plea to New Zealand Rugby for a redistribution of playing talent, suggesting talented players on other rosters could be redirected to Dunedin. The coach also pointed to the franchise's introduction of youth, hoping those who took their first steps into Super Rugby would be better for the experience in 2024.
This year: Super Rugby-winning coach Jamie Joseph has returned to Dunedin to help return the Highlanders to their former glory, after wrapping up his stint with the Brave Blossoms. But significant personnel has also departed the club, with Aaron Smith, Shannon Frizell, Mitch Hunt and James Lentjes all having moved on. That is a massive amount of experience to farewell, with Mitchell Dunshea, Tom Sanders and Welshman Rhys Patchell only really adding some genuine first-class exposure in the opposite direction. Local boy Cam Millar will be hoping to make the No. 10 shirt his own outside Fakatava, who on his day is as dangerous with the ball as any scrum-half in the competition. Fakatava will be desperate to bring himself back up the All Blacks No. 9 pecking order, while de Groot will anchor the Highlanders scrum and offer a key ball-carrying option through the middle of the paddock. Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens' recruitment from the Blues adds a little more attacking threat out wide, and should help alleviate some of the focus from flyer Jona Nareki. The list, however, again does not compare favourably with the rest of New Zealand's Super cohort and a scrap for the final couple of places in the top eight looks about the limit of the Highlanders' season.
Draw: Moana Pasifika [H], Blues [Melbourne], Waratahs [A], Brumbies [H], Chiefs [A], Hurricanes [H], Bye, Rebels [A], Reds [A], Force [H], Moana Pasifika [A], Blues [A], Drua [H], Hurricanes [A]
Coach: Clark Laidlaw
Captain: Brad Shields
Last year: The Hurricanes went within a whisker of a semifinal berth after Ardie Savea was deemed to have been held up in a dramatic finale against the Brumbies in Canberra. Savea was adamant he had scored and was near lost for words in an emotional interview post game, as the reality of his departure to Japan in 2024 began to hit home. Savea had again been peerless up front for the Hurricanes, the skipper performing with the kind of power, physicality and ferocity that saw him later declared the best player on the planet for 2023. Elsewhere, Cam Roigard made the No. 9 jersey his own in the absence of TJ Perenara, while Kini Naholo emerged from brother Waisake's lofty shadow on the wing and young back-rowers Devan Flanders, Peter Lakai and Brayden Iose also all impressed. Jordie Barrett, meanwhile, established himself as the premier No. 12 in New Zealand. The Hurricanes' stat sheet as a whole made for excellent reading, with positive numbers in attack, at set-piece and their discipline, the team playing an attractive brand of rugby under Jason Holland. But they struggled against the quality of their fellow Kiwi heavyweights, finishing with just one win against the Crusaders and two losses apiece to both the Chiefs and Blues.
This year: Savea leaves an insurmountable hole in the Hurricanes squad, while brother Julian's move to Moana Pasifika means the famous name won't be in the yellow and black strip for the first time in over a decade. 2024 will however see the return of former club stalwart in Brad Shields, who departed Wellington for Wasps a few years back and eventually found himself in Eddie Jones' England squad. Shields was a big part of the Hurricanes' success under former coach Chris Boyd, and brings a wealth of experience to offset some of that lost in the Savea departures. New coach Clark Laidlaw, who arrives in Wellington after a long stint with the New Zealand sevens program, will also have to deal without club favourite Dane Coles, though that affords Asafo Aumua an opportunity to really deliver on his immense talent. Perenara is also finally fit and ready to push Roigard in what looms as a huge 1-2 punch at scrum-half. The Hurricanes appear to have plenty of points in them with strike weapons both up front and out wide, but their season is likely again to depend on how they perform against the competition's big guns. The Canes will back themselves against Australian opposition, but it's against the Chiefs, Blues and Crusaders that will determine whether they are a top four, or even a top two, team in 2024.
Draw: Force [A], Melbourne [H], Blues [H], Crusaders [A], Rebels [H], Highlanders [A], Bye, Chiefs [H], Drua [A], Brumbies [A], Waratahs [H], Blues [A], Moana Pasifika [H], Chiefs [A], Highlanders [H].