Super Rugby Power Rankings: Week 1
Welcome to the inaugural RUGBY.com.au Super Rugby Power Rankings.
Each week, teams will slide up and down the rankings as the RUGBY.com.au committee gauge their performance using both numbers and the good old fashioned eye test.
Given the season kicks off tonight, this week’s rankings are based on pre-season form, player movements and how team’s finished season 2016.
Disagree with where your team ranks? Tell us why on our Facebook or Twitter posts.
Let the games begin.
1. Hurricanes
It would be nothing short of rude to start the inaugural RUGBY.com.au Super Rugby Power Rankings with the defending champions anywhere but the top spot. Last season was a redemption mission for the Canes after they let the 2015 title slip south to Otago. They have avoided the dreaded champions exile, having kept all but three players that started in the 2016 final (Victor Vito, Jason Woodward and Willis Halaholo). Look out for Beauden Barrett’s little brother Jordie, who turned heads as a playmaker while his brother ran the water at the Brisbane Tens. The team to beat again in 2017, should Chris Boyd be able to keep his team focused on a repeat.
2. Highlanders
The 2015 champs and 2016 semi-finalists were every bit as good as the Lions team that beat them to make the big dance. If the semi was played in Dunedin rather than Johannesburg, this average punter would have had a ticket betting the 2016 final would have been the same as the 2015 final. Just like their counterparts in Wellington, the Highlanders have retained all but tighthead prop Josh Hohnneck from their best XV, pointing to more success in the season ahead.
3. Chiefs
The Chiefs ran into the rampaging Hurricanes in last year’s semi but they have more than enough talent on their roster to rebound in 2017. With Aaron Cruden, Tawera Kerr-Barlow and Damian McKenzie steering the ship, the men from Waikato will have a make-or-break opening month. If they emerge from their Round 5 bye boasting a 3-1 or 4-0 record after matches against the Highlanders (A), Blues (H), Hurricanes (H) and Rebels (A), look out. This is also Dave Rennie’s final season in charge before he heads for the colder (if that’s possible) climate of Glasgow. That could prove to be a stirring motivation or a toxic distraction. Time will tell.
4. Lions
As rude as it would have been to remove the Hurricanes from top spot, it would have been far worse to leave a 2016 finalist out of the top four. Only the most devout rugby fans would have seen a great deal of the Lions last year but they play a brand of football well worth your time and money. Elton Jantjies is now one of the best five-eights in the world, Faf de Klerk has been uncovered as a nuggety gem at halfback and Warren Whiteley rips through enough work at Number 8 for an entire backrow. The leading contenders out of South Africa this season.
5. Crusaders
It feels wrong to have the Christchurch side this low considering their consistent, overwhelming success but they were a touch off the pace last year. Compared to their New Zealand counterparts anyway. They have replaced the loss of Nemani Nadolo with none other than Digby Ioane and will appreciate the breath of fresh air new coach Scott Robertson will provide. The potential bolters in the New Zealand Conference.
6. Reds
Yes, they only won three games last year but all signs point to a major revival at Ballymore in 2017. The returning brigade of Quade Cooper, Stephen Moore and Scott Higgingbotham along with George Smith have added the touch of class that was absent for all to see in 2016. Add this quartet to the never-ending pool of young talent that Queensland has to draw from, an elite man-motivator in new coach Nick Stiles and a relatively soft draw and the Reds have the makings of an Australian Conference champion.
7. Waratahs
The Tahs were remarkably inconsistent last season. They struggled to put together convincing wins early before peeling off four straight victories to apply pressure on the Brumbies at the top of the Australian Conference. But they tailed off at the end of the year, failing to aim up against teams from across the ditch and falling short of finals after two years at the top of Australian rugby. The loss of Tatafu Polota-Nau will hurt but the squad is still there, on paper, to challenge for the Australian Conference title.
8. Stormers
It’s a stretch to put a team that drew with the Sunwolves last year in the top half of the competition but by the virtue of the Conference system, there is no alternative. Snagging Dan Kriel and SP Marais to add some attacking grunt in the backs will certainly help but there is little else to get excited about in Cape Town.
9. Sharks
Similarly, the Sharks are tough to get a gauge on but based on last year’s results alone, they must be shown respect. They have lost Willie le Roux, JP Pietersen, Marcell Coetzee and Jacques Potgeiter, which will not help their cause.
10. Blues
The Blues will be on the rise once again in 2017 but the nature of their draw leaves little to be desired. The men from Auckland play rugby that is easy on the eye and there is no bigger recruit in Super Rugby than Sonny Bill Williams, though he won’t feature until April. One would assume Augustine Pulu will make the halfback jersey his own and that can only be a good thing but the harsh truth of playing in the New Zealand Conference is that there is no tougher ladder to scale.
11. Brumbies
With the sheer exodus of talent from Canberra, it’s tough to put Australia’s only team to play finals football last season in the top ten. David Pocock, Stephen Moore, Matt Toomua and Joe Tomane will be sorely missed but they always manage to overachieve and Stephen Larkham has flown under the radar his entire career. There are big wraps on new Kiwi flyhalf Wharenui Hawera so if he can fire with new recruit Kyle Godwin inside him, there may be a path back to the finals for the Brumbies.
12. Force
Forever lacking backline talent, the Force look to have pieced together some flair outside Jono Lance this season. Inside centre Bill Meakes has a strong pass off both hips and he will provide cover for Lance while supporting the likes of league recruit Curtis Rona, Chance Peni and Dane Haylett-Petty. New coach Dave Wessels has this team firing in the pre-season and they will surprise anyone that takes them lightly.
13. Bulls
There has been significant player turnover in Pretoria and the majority of the players leaving are names Bulls fans would not be happy to see walking out the door (Stander, Kriel, Marais). Handre Pollard did not play in 2016 due to knee and shoulder injuries but he is back in blue. He will have the weight of Loftus Versfeld on his shoulders as he attempts to scrape together a respectable attack from flyhalf.
14. Rebels
Pre-season form is historically a terrible guide but there are facets of it which roll into the season proper. The Rebels will hope that is not the case, given they have been handily beaten by the Force and Reds in their two trials. Jack Debreczini has been handed a lifeline at fullback but Jackson Garden-Bachop must form a formidable combination with Nic Stirzaker if the Rebels are to keep their head above water. The absence of Sean McMahon, James Hanson, Toby Smith and Marika Koroibete through the early part of the season may see them struggle.
15. Jaguares
After winning their first ever Super Rugby match in a 34-33 thriller against the Cheetahs, the Jaguares’ season was left in tatters when they lost eight straight matches. They have kept the large majority of their squad intact but that may be a negative rather than a positive if they continue to perform as they did last year.
16. Cheetahs
Does the fact that they lost to the Jaguares not say it all? There has been a serious player drain in Bloemfontein and it’s hard to imagine them improving much on their four wins from 2016.
17. Sunwolves
Everyone’s second team, the Sunwolves played an enterprising brand of rugby last season. They always give their very best but they lack physicality in the pack to match it with the big boppers of Super Rugby. Look for them to improve on hard work alone.
18. Kings
The Kings are being treated as a halfway house for players desperate to earn another crack at the top level. Their squad is almost entirely recycled and if they were to add three wins to their all-time total of five, it would be a good result. The basket case of the competition.
