It has been nine years since a non-New Zealand team last took home a Super Rugby championship.

Are fortunes bound to change this year for non-Kiwi clubs? 

Well, the odds are stacked against them, leaving them with some work to do.

Of the eight teams currently in position to qualify for the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs that begin in June, three are Australian or Fijian. But only one (Australia’s Brumbies) ranks among all-important four teams that secure home-pitch advantage for the quarterfinals.

The Canberra-based side is even at the top of the league table with the New Zealand-based Chiefs, albeit with a game in hand on the non-Aussie club.

The return for the pinnacle of Super Rugby has been long-awaited for teams in the competition that don’t call New Zealand home, though until proven otherwise, they’re on the back foot in terms of actually being considered a favorite to hold a winner’s trophy later this year. 

Nonetheless, as the weeks of the campaign go on, there are valiant efforts all around – and plenty of opportunities for the non-New Zealanders to make up ground and prove they belong in the title-hunt conversation.

Here’s a look at the Super Rugby Pacific matches to watch for Round 9 of the 2023 season, with numerous fixtures (including all listed below) being streamed live on FloRugby.

Chiefs Vs. Fijian Drua

For the league-leading Chiefs up to this point in the Super Rugby season, every mission and task at hand has been accomplished in style. 

And there was perhaps no example of this ringing truer than last weekend when they defeated the then second-place Hurricanes 33-17 to remain at the top of the table as the competition’s final unbeaten team. 

It didn’t come easy – the Hamiltonians were faced with a 17-8 halftime deficit – but a blistering second half at the Sky Stadium saw an electric scoring spree from All Black and superstar five-eighth/fullback Damian McKenzie. 

McKenzie scored a late try and tallied 13 additional points (three penalties, two conversions) with his boot, to give the Chiefs a crucial win with plenty of postseason implications. They now sit 10 points ahead of the fifth-placed Blues – the drop zone for playing a first-round playoff fixture at home. 

The Chiefs will return to the FMG Stadium Waikato for the next two rounds (including a massive clash with the four-time reigning champion Crusaders in Round 10), with Fijian Drua coming to visit Hamilton to start the stretch. 

Even in eighth place and squarely on the playoff bubble, the Drua, amid their second season in Super Rugby, are going through an epic season that’s already seen them eclipse their 2022 point total and pick up one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history against the Crusaders.

Overall, the Drua look to be dangerous spoilers who guarantee that whomever they face on a given weekend will be in for a fight. 

What a debut season Masi is having👏🏿 A try away from becoming the overall leading try scorer for our young club ⛵️🇫🇯 #Walesi WOW facts!#TosoDrua #PacificAusSports pic.twitter.com/VvHpwWVRvC

— Fijian Drua (@Fijian_Drua) April 17, 2023

Just ask the Brumbies, who escaped Round 8 with a 43-28 win but needed a stroke of fortune (the Drua had a try taken away that would’ve given them a 33-31 lead with under 15 minutes to play) and a hat-trick from winger Ben O’Donnell, who capped his night with a game-sealing try in the 79th minute. 

It’s difficult to go against the Chiefs, no matter who they’re playing right now, but whenever the Drua are in a match, some chaos is bound to happen.

Melbourne Rebels Vs. Crusaders

How can you assess the Crusaders’ season to this point? Underwhelming? Rejuvenated? Somewhere in between? 

A certain standard needs to be adhered to for a club to win every Super Rugby title (not counting the COVID-forced regionalized competitions in 2020 and 2021) since 2017, and though many clubs would be overjoyed with being in fourth place in the second half of the competition, for the Crusaders, it may not be enough to satisfy their cravings for domination. 

Alas, the Christchurch club – after dropping two of its first three matches to start the season – is playing the best rugby it has all year, making it four straight victories.

Most recently, the Crusaders took care of Moana Pasifika in Round 7, before embarking on a bye week for Round 8. 

Upon their return, the Rebels await in a more precarious position. 

After losing to the Blues prior to its bye in Round 8, Melbourne’s Super Rugby team witnessed a postseason bubble rival, the New South Wales Waratahs, improve their standing in the table with a victory over the Western Force in Round 8 to be level on points (13) with the Drua for the final spot in the fast-approaching playoffs. 

In terms of a bounceback performance coming against the most powerful Super Rugby club of the past several seasons, don’t bet the house on it or get your hopes up too much – the Crusaders have won their past six matchups against the Rebels by an average margin of 41 points. 

They’ve also won 31 of their past 33 matches against Australian clubs, an astounding mark and testament of consistency that’s been a major part of the backbone that’s supported the Crusaders on their recent championship runs. 

Plus, All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor has been white hot for them, scoring four tries in his past five matches and giving the powerful Crusaders yet another piece to their already-potent attack.

Blues Vs. New South Wales Waratahs

Consistency issues are preventing the Blues from making the jump into the Super Rugby’s top 4. 

What better way to solve that issue than by taking on an opponent they’ve consistently been winning against as of late? 

Through seven matches in 2023, the Auckland side – which made the final just a year ago – has flip-flopped results each time, never winning or losing two fixtures in a row. 

It’s a stretch of scores that probably can get the Blues into the playoffs, yes, but it’s also a stretch of scores that doesn’t exactly scream “remarkable” or “world beating,” either – and one that may force the Blues to play their first playoff match on the road, if trends continue. 

Here’s the silver lining in Round 9 for coach Leon MacDonald’s team, though: the Blues have made the Waratahs their whipping boys recently. 

The Blues have won seven straight games over New South Wales and 12 of their past 13 over the Tahs at home at Eden Park, where they’ll be playing this weekend, while the visitors have been defeated 16 of the past 18 times they’ve squared off against New Zealand clubs. 

But despite the Tahs’ ninth-place spot in the standings at the moment, there have been signs of life against the elite clubs of the competition this year. 

Earlier in the year, NSW only lost to the Chiefs by 10 and the Brumbies by four, remaining in the hunt for well-needed wins.

Oo, which way did he go? 😳#WARvFOR live on @StanSportRugby pic.twitter.com/Pt8eMWNSe4

— NSW Waratahs (@NSWWaratahs) April 15, 2023

Last weekend, they snapped a four-game losing streak with a 36-16 victory over the Force, as Izaia Perese raced past for two tries, the latter of which helped secure the Tahs a bonus point. 

A try against the Blues would be his first time scoring in back-to-back Super Rugby games in five years, but that’s much easier said than done, as the Tahs’ Round 9 opponents have allowed just 20 tries to be scored on them all season, the second-lowest number from any Super Rugby club.