Super Rugby 2025
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For anyone still confused on the finals format for this year's competition, below are all the possible playoff scenarios from the quarter finals this week.
Scenario 1
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Hurricanes (4), Crusaders (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 2
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Brumbies (4), Crusaders (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 3
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Brumbies (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 4
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Hurricanes (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 5
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 6
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 7
Winners: Blues, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Brumbies (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Scenario 8
Winners: Blues, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Hurricanes (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3) -
@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2025:
With the round robin now over, it would be interesting to see how many players from each team never took the field. I am not talking about those with long-term injuries, but the squad players who have spent the season training but never playing.
For the Chiefs, the only players who have never played a minute are Fiti Sa and Liam Coombes-Fabling, both returning from off-season surgery. All other players had some time on the field (not many for Trask).
Ake Darry Grindlay Spencer Paul for Blues
Cashmore Poliko Taula Allen for Canes
Brewis Gardiner for Sanders
Michaels Sanders and poss Wingham for Landers
Papuni and Fomai for MP
Sa and Coombes fabling for Chiefs.
Hard to fathom the Blues and Canes treatment of some young players.@ARHS said in Super Rugby 2025:
Ake Darry Grindlay Spencer Paul for Blues
Darry & Paul injured obviously
Ake was injured early on and was expected to be named after the bye midway through the season. He tweaked his shoulder injury that week. We never had another update on him.. I assume the shoulder didn't fully recover?
Not sure if they intended to play Spencer this year given all the fullbacks in the squad
They don't seem to rate Grindlay. Another young midfielder, Taele, got plenty of game time
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@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2025:
With the round robin now over, it would be interesting to see how many players from each team never took the field. I am not talking about those with long-term injuries, but the squad players who have spent the season training but never playing.
For the Chiefs, the only players who have never played a minute are Fiti Sa and Liam Coombes-Fabling, both returning from off-season surgery. All other players had some time on the field (not many for Trask).
Ake Darry Grindlay Spencer Paul for Blues
Cashmore Poliko Taula Allen for Canes
Brewis Gardiner for Sanders
Michaels Sanders and poss Wingham for Landers
Papuni and Fomai for MP
Sa and Coombes fabling for Chiefs.
Hard to fathom the Blues and Canes treatment of some young players. -
@ARHS said in Super Rugby 2025:
Ake Darry Grindlay Spencer Paul for Blues
Darry & Paul injured obviously
Ake was injured early on and was expected to be named after the bye midway through the season. He tweaked his shoulder injury that week. We never had another update on him.. I assume the shoulder didn't fully recover?
Not sure if they intended to play Spencer this year given all the fullbacks in the squad
They don't seem to rate Grindlay. Another young midfielder, Taele, got plenty of game time
@Duluth Spencer seems to be spending most of his days playing golf with his dad.
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@ARHS Some of those players have been out with long-term injuries, so not available for selection. But there are definitely some who are fit but haven't been used at all.
@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2025:
@ARHS Some of those players have been out with long-term injuries, so not available for selection. But there are definitely some who are fit but haven't been used at all.
.....yes several from Canes and Blues. The rest are long term injuries as cause.
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@ARHS said in Super Rugby 2025:
Ake Darry Grindlay Spencer Paul for Blues
Darry & Paul injured obviously
Ake was injured early on and was expected to be named after the bye midway through the season. He tweaked his shoulder injury that week. We never had another update on him.. I assume the shoulder didn't fully recover?
Not sure if they intended to play Spencer this year given all the fullbacks in the squad
They don't seem to rate Grindlay. Another young midfielder, Taele, got plenty of game time
@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2025:
@ARHS said in Super Rugby 2025:
Ake Darry Grindlay Spencer Paul for Blues
Darry & Paul injured obviously
Ake was injured early on and was expected to be named after the bye midway through the season. He tweaked his shoulder injury that week. We never had another update on him.. I assume the shoulder didn't fully recover?
Not sure if they intended to play Spencer this year given all the fullbacks in the squad
They don't seem to rate Grindlay. Another young midfielder, Taele, got plenty of game time
Yeah they obviously see Taele as the man going forward with AJ Lam as Rieko won't be around next season, and Corey Evans can play backup.
Was hoping to see more of Grindlay over the last 2 seasons, but yeah, obviously there's something the Blues coaches don't like about him, similar to Corey Evans under Leon MacDonald.
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@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2025:
With the round robin now over, it would be interesting to see how many players from each team never took the field. I am not talking about those with long-term injuries, but the squad players who have spent the season training but never playing.
For the Chiefs, the only players who have never played a minute are Fiti Sa and Liam Coombes-Fabling, both returning from off-season surgery. All other players had some time on the field (not many for Trask).
Ake Darry Grindlay Spencer Paul for Blues
Cashmore Poliko Taula Allen for Canes
Brewis Gardiner for Sanders
Michaels Sanders and poss Wingham for Landers
Papuni and Fomai for MP
Sa and Coombes fabling for Chiefs.
Hard to fathom the Blues and Canes treatment of some young players. -
@ARHS I thought I could remember both Papuni and Wingham being named on their respective teams benches this season, is this the case that they were named and just didn't get on
@Trig I've just double checked, there was a game where Tauelangi was a late call up for Moana Pasifika which I had wrongly remembered as being Papuni called up for. And for Wingham he was named on the bench for the Highlanders against Moana but was not used
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Was he the one that made that rapid break away try against the ABs that was then disallowed? I remember thinking he looked very athletic for a lock
@DurryMexted said in Super Rugby 2025:
Was he the one that made that rapid break away try against the ABs that was then disallowed? I remember thinking he looked very athletic for a lock
Yes on YouTube (plus another good one against Canada)
Search 'Warner Dearns disallowed try JAPAN v NZ rugby' -
For anyone still confused on the finals format for this year's competition, below are all the possible playoff scenarios from the quarter finals this week.
Scenario 1
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Hurricanes (4), Crusaders (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 2
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Brumbies (4), Crusaders (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 3
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Brumbies (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 4
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Hurricanes (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 5
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 6
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 7
Winners: Blues, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Brumbies (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Scenario 8
Winners: Blues, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Hurricanes (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)@Canes4life said in Super Rugby 2025:
For anyone still confused on the finals format for this year's competition, below are all the possible playoff scenarios from the quarter finals this week.
Scenario 1
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Hurricanes (4), Crusaders (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 2
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Brumbies (4), Crusaders (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 3
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Brumbies (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 4
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Hurricanes (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 5
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 6
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 7
Winners: Blues, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Brumbies (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Scenario 8
Winners: Blues, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Hurricanes (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Thanks for taking the time to do this
But with 8 possible scenarios it just emphasises how fucking retarded the whole thing is
English Premiership
Top 4 teams involved
2 Semis
1 FinalIt's not fucking rocket science
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@Canes4life said in Super Rugby 2025:
For anyone still confused on the finals format for this year's competition, below are all the possible playoff scenarios from the quarter finals this week.
Scenario 1
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Hurricanes (4), Crusaders (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 2
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Brumbies (4), Crusaders (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 3
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Brumbies (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 4
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Hurricanes (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 5
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 6
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 7
Winners: Blues, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Brumbies (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Scenario 8
Winners: Blues, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Hurricanes (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Thanks for taking the time to do this
But with 8 possible scenarios it just emphasises how fucking retarded the whole thing is
English Premiership
Top 4 teams involved
2 Semis
1 FinalIt's not fucking rocket science
@MiketheSnow said in Super Rugby 2025:
@Canes4life said in Super Rugby 2025:
For anyone still confused on the finals format for this year's competition, below are all the possible playoff scenarios from the quarter finals this week.
Scenario 1
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Hurricanes (4), Crusaders (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 2
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Brumbies (4), Crusaders (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 3
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Brumbies (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 4
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Hurricanes (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 5
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 6
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 7
Winners: Blues, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Brumbies (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Scenario 8
Winners: Blues, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Hurricanes (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Thanks for taking the time to do this
But with 8 possible scenarios it just emphasises how fucking retarded the whole thing is
English Premiership
Top 4 teams involved
2 Semis
1 FinalIt's not fucking rocket science
We measure everything against the NRL and they have system where top teams get extra chances so we have to do the same, just shitter.
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@Canes4life said in Super Rugby 2025:
For anyone still confused on the finals format for this year's competition, below are all the possible playoff scenarios from the quarter finals this week.
Scenario 1
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Hurricanes (4), Crusaders (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 2
Winners: Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Brumbies (4), Crusaders (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 3
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Brumbies (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 4
Winners: Chiefs, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Chiefs (1) v Reds (4), Hurricanes (2) v Crusaders (3)Scenario 5
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Brumbies
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Brumbies (3)Scenario 6
Winners: Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Crusaders (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Hurricanes (3)Scenario 7
Winners: Blues, Reds and Brumbies
Semifinals: Brumbies (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Scenario 8
Winners: Blues, Reds and Hurricanes
Semifinals: Hurricanes (1) v Blues (4), Chiefs (2) v Reds (3)Thanks for taking the time to do this
But with 8 possible scenarios it just emphasises how fucking retarded the whole thing is
English Premiership
Top 4 teams involved
2 Semis
1 FinalIt's not fucking rocket science
@MiketheSnow said in Super Rugby 2025:
But with 8 possible scenarios it just emphasises how fucking retarded the whole thing is
It's all about maximising the games played to please the broadcasters. Common sense never applies.
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@Yeetyaah said in Super Rugby 2025:
Only super team he follows on instaI’d take him over Tucker any day then.
@Canes4life said in Super Rugby 2025:
@Yeetyaah said in Super Rugby 2025:
Only super team he follows on instaI’d take him over Tucker any day then.
It would be nice for the Canes to have a lock over 6ft
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@Tim said in Super Rugby 2025:
If theyr'e going to have a "lucky loser" then that team should drop to the bottom spot.
Couple of things to consider here.
1/ That effectively means whether you're seeded first, second, third or fourth, the 'lucky loser' reward is the same if you're the only loser in that contingent.
2/ Probably more importantly - and I'm sure they consulted with the teams on this - it can unfairly punish higher-ranked sides who don't lose. If the Chiefs were to lose against the Blues this weekend then suddenly the Crusaders would end up playing the minor premiers in their next match, which probably isn't an ideal outcome for them.
That's not to say this isn't a silly system at all, just that there are a lot of factors that have to be weighed up when introducting the whole lucky loser concept. There's really no good system with a six-team final.
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They would have been better off doing a top 7 and the top seed gets a bye
That way they get their 3 games in playoff week 1 yet no lucky loser bullshit
@KiwiMurph said in Super Rugby 2025:
They would have been better off doing a top 7 and the top seed gets a bye
That way they get their 3 games in playoff week 1 yet no lucky loser bullshit
They would've consulted on this too and I'm sure every team would have said they don't want a bye going into the finals. It was useful when the competition was cross-continental, but otherwise it's a massive momentum killer.
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Yeah, there's no prefect system with an 11 team comp, especially if you want all playoff teams playing with no byes.
I'd prefer no byes because as already mentioned, it can be a momentum killer, for the team and fans alike.
8 out of 11 playoff teams is too many.
4 is too few (in my opinion anyway).
5 would be a good number, but how do you get 5 down to 4 then 2, without it being convoluted.
6 I like, but as mentioned before, the scheduling of 3v4 last is just daft.
The downside of the current system is that the lucky loser could be the 4th ranked team.
So if 1,2 & 3 win then 4 gets rewarded for lossing, and as they are already the lowest seed they don't get punished.I hope either the chiefs or the crusaders lose (especially the chiefs, I'm a blues fan) so as the Brumbies v hurricanes match isn't a dud.
Having said that, I'm happy to see how it plays out.
This round is just to determine the semifinal line up, then it's total knockout. -
Will post in here because there’s no Canes 2026 thread.
Some inside word on Warner Dearns to carry on from yesterday discussion. I put some feelers out and got told this.
The Hurricanes have got him but it’s all very under wraps right now. His team in Japan is announcing he is heading off over the next week or 2 and then the Hurricanes will follow suit - It’s a 2026 only sabbatical to my understanding at this stage.
There you go Canes fans. Big news.
