Super Rugby Pacific: One Big Thing To Watch For In Every Round 5 Match
Super Rugby Pacific: One Big Thing To Watch For In Every Round 5 Match
Super Rugby Pacific Round 5 is here! A massive Aussie derby, a title rematch & key player returns headline the action. Get all the must-watch storylines.
It’s time for the Kids Round in the Super Rugby Pacific season, where family-friendly amenities and entertainment is the name of the game across the competition’s landscape this weekend.
But, if you think for a second that means that the animosity will be dying down, think again.
- Subscribe To FloRugby To Watch Super Rugby Pacific In 2024-25
- Super Rugby Pacific Round 1 | Three Key Takeaways | Strong Aussie Start
- 100 Best Rugby Players In The World: Here's The Full List
- The 25 Best Rugby Clubs In The World On March 13 | FloRugby Rankings
A massive Australian derby and a second go-round of the season of last year’s final teams are the highlight fixtures of Round 5, which should (along with the rest of this weekend’s matches) make for ideal environments for the children in attendance to leave the grounds with some etched-in memories.
Here’s a look ahead at one big thing that you need to know about every Super Rugby Pacific match this weekend, with all matches being streamed live in the U.S. and Canada exclusively on FloRugby:
NOTE: Moana Pasifika is on a bye this week.
Hurricanes At Highlanders
Storm Weathered?
Ardie Savea has taken the wind out of the Hurricanes’ sails in more ways than one this season.
Since the All Blacks legend moved on at club level from the Hurricanes to Moana Pasifika in the offseason, his departure has been felt both in the league table - where the Hurricanes currently sit dead last on five points after four rounds and in head-to-head moments on the pitch.
One such moment was when Moana scored 28 unanswered points (and got a brilliant hat trick from Miracle Fai’ilagi) to pick up an epic 40-31 victory over the Hurricanes in Savea’s first match against his former club.
Winning away in Dunedin isn’t exactly an easy ask when you’re trying to remove the anchor off of you at rock-bottom on the ladder, but the Hurricanes are going to have to find something soon in order to rescue their season.
That something may be star All Blacks hooker Asafo Aumua, who finally is slated to make his 2025 Super Rugby Pacific debut off of the bench after a long injury layoff with New Zealand front-rower Tyrel Lomax also listed with him, giving the Hurricanes a big injection of proven talent in the forward pack.
Fijian Drua At Brumbies
Brumbies Breaking Out?
So much for us claiming last week that the Brumbies couldn’t close the deal in winnable matches, because they broke a 12-year losing streak at Eden Park last week by pulling a victory out of the fire.
On the ropes against the defending champion Blues in Auckland, the Brumbies - down by 10 points at one point and trailing for the hefty majority of the match - won a penalty via their scrum in the game’s dying seconds, as Ryan Lonergan then buried the ensuing spot kick to give his team its first win in one of rugby’s most hallowed grounds since 2013.
Tries from Allan Alaalatoa and Declan Meredith helped set up the Brumbies’ frantic finish, and it was overall a much-needed bounce-back performance after back-to-back losses to the Western Force and Chiefs.
Now back in the top 6 of the standings, the Brumbies will be aiming this week to continue their rise back up the competition ladder and avoid the spoiler possibility of a newly-motivated Fijian Drua, who the Brumbies beat in Suva in Round 1.
The Drua toppled the table-topping Chiefs in a stunning win in Lautoka last round, but have been well-known to struggle away from Fiji since joining Super Rugby Pacific in 2022.
Western Force At Crusaders
Crusaders Cruising?
Round 4 featured a dose of the Crusaders that has been missing from Super Rugby Pacific for quite some time - and with some familiar names from their title win in 2023, right before a disastrous 2024 campaign came around.
Fresh and rested off of a bye week, Sevu Reece and Will Jordan each had first-half doubles, as the Crusaders scored seven tries against the visiting Queensland Reds last weekend, putting up a vintage performance against an Australian side in Christchurch reminiscent of the Scott Robertson days before he left to coach the All Blacks.
The Crusaders again will be favored this weekend at the Apollo Projects Stadium against a fading Western Force side that got out to a surprise 2-0 start but has since come back down to Earth a bit with back-to-back defeats, including taking a 34-10 beating against the New South Wales Waratahs in Round 4.
There’s always the looming threat for the Perth-based club of the competition’s leading try-scorer in Carlo Tizzano, however, who yet again scored against the Tahs last weekend to make it five straight Super Rugby Pacific matches with a try, dating back to last season.
Blues At Chiefs
Title Rematch, Part II
The season’s first edition of the Battle of the Bombays went to the Chiefs in Round 1, and even though they lost to the Drua last weekend in Fiji, it’s the Hamilton-based side that still is ahead of everyone else in Super Rugby Pacific going into Round 5.
All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho scored a try three minutes into his return to the Chiefs’ XV last round, though a wet Churchill Park, and the comforts of home, helped the Drua prevail.
Regardless of the result, however, this is a Chiefs squad that doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon with the second-most points and tries scored of any team in Super Rugby Pacific and a fearsome lineup when fully healthy that includes standout center Quinn Tupaea and the always-electric Damian McKenzie.
As for the Blues’ lineup’s strength, the issue of already being without one major star in Hoskins Sotutu due to a suspension has been further compounded by the loss of another star in Beauden Barrett, who has appeared on the team’s injury list for Round 5 after suffering a hand injury in the Blues’ loss to the Brumbies last week.
New South Wales Waratahs At Queensland Reds
A Tah-Riffic Derby Day?
Going from last place one season to one point out of first place four rounds into the next, the New South Wales Waratahs are rejuvenated, revitalized and a downright dangerous squad that’s going to be a problem for the long run this year.
Even after the mid-game departures of No. 8 Langi Gleeson and captain Jake Gordon — and being without code-switching star Joseph-Aukuso Sua’ali’i — the Tahs still blitzed past the Western Force with a six-try display, as first-year coach Dan McKellar has led the club to its first three-match winning streak to start a Super Rugby Pacific season since 2009.
The competition’s only remaining unbeaten team, the Tahs, will be battling the rival Reds this weekend in a derby showdown between the current table’s top two Australian clubs, with the always high-intensity clash between New South Wales and Queensland — most famous in rugby league with the State of Origin series — having some extra stakes on the union side this time around.
The Reds will be getting some extra reinforcements, as both Tom Lynagh and Hunter Paisami return from injury and suspension, respectively, whereas the Tahs, who no doubt are getting their toughest game yet this season, will be short-handed without the likes of Gordon and Sua’ali’i.
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.