Super Rugby Pacific: One Big Thing To Watch For In Every Match In Round 11
Super Rugby Pacific: One Big Thing To Watch For In Every Match In Round 11
Celebrate Anzac Day with historic Super Rugby Pacific clashes, live on FloRugby. Key matchups, player milestones & tributes highlight a must-watch weekend.
For Australia, New Zealand and Tonga (which all officially recognize the day), Anzac Day is a time of remembrance and acknowledging contributions of those who served and died fighting to defend the freedoms of their homes.
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Observed on April 25 each year, the holiday is an important date in Australian and New Zealand culture. It also is a hot ticket for the continent’s sports fans, and that is no different this weekend, as Super Rugby Pacific rolls on toward the playoffs.
Here’s a look ahead at one big thing you need to know about every Super Rugby Pacific match this weekend, with all matches being streamed live in the United States and Canada exclusively on FloRugby:
NOTE: The New South Wales Waratahs are on a bye this week.
Western Force At Chiefs
History At The Oval
Located less than 2 kilometers from the shores of the Bay of Plenty, the Tauranga, New Zealand, suburb of Mount Maunganui (placed just over 100 kilometers from the Chiefs’ home city of Hamilton) is home to the Bay Oval, an iconic venue in Kiwi sporting culture.
That venue, however, may not ring a bell to many rugby fans; that’s because Bay Oval primarily is a cricket ground, where New Zealand’s Black Caps (men’s national team) and White Ferns (women’s national team) occasionally play when they host other nations for tours.
On Anzac Day, however, it becomes a Super Rugby Pacific ground for the very first time.
Bay Oval is sold out for the holiday showdown in a milestone match for two reasons - for the historic occasion and for the fact Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho is slated to start his 100th match for the club this weekend - on top of reigning World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Wallace Sititi making a grand return to the Chiefs’ bench after a long injury layoff.
The Force’s 17-17 draw with the Hurricanes last weekend not only kept them in the playoff places, it bumped them up to fifth place going into Round 11, as the Perth side’s dream season continues - and can become otherworldly, if they’re able to upset the league leaders in a raucous environment Friday.
Blues At Queensland Reds
A Match With Meaning
Anzac Day is a time of remembrance in Oceania, and with the Sellars Dixon Medal to be up for grabs in Brisbane this weekend for the first time, both the Blues and Queensland Reds will be paying tribute to those who gave their lives for their country in a special way.
The medal is named for Auckland native and former All Black George Sellars and ex-Queensland five-eighth William Dixon, once rugby opponents who died just days apart from each other in 1917 during the European theatre of World War I.
The winner of Friday’s match will be the inaugural holder of the medal, which will be up for grabs in future Blues-Reds matches as a way to honor two men who gave up the game they loved to serve in the armed forces.
As for what else is at stake, the defending champion Blues suffered a setback in a last-second loss to the Crusaders last weekend and sit four points outside of the playoff places, whereas the Reds have dropped back-to-back matches but are coming off of a bye in fourth place in the table.
Wallaby Jock Campbell, a fullback who recently got back into the Reds’ rotation after recovering from an arm injury, will start for the first time this season as the hosts look to avoid a dreaded hat-trick of defeats on the bounce.
Fijian Drua At Moana Pasifika
A Rivalry Renewed
The newest derby in Super Rugby Pacific, Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika both entered the competition in 2022 as landmark additions to the league slate.
The rugby-mad Pasifika region and country of Fiji finally got long-wanted major professional rugby union outfits of their own in one of the world’s top leagues.
That’s all to say that if you’re looking for a candidate for the most helter-skelter match of Anzac weekend, look no further.
The last-place Drua kept their slim playoff hopes going with a badly needed 28-14 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in Round 10 - one week after the Tahs upset the Chiefs - winning in searing heat in Lautoka for their eighth straight victory at Churchill Park.
Moana coach Tana Umaga stated in the club’s weekly team news release that North Harbour Stadium is expecting a huge crowd for the Drua’s visit, however, undoubtedly helped by the fact that the Savea brothers, Ardie and Julian, will suit up together in a Moana Pasifika jersey for the first time, as Ardie returns to the starting lineup after a one-week rest, and Julian makes the bench.
Shut out by the Brumbies last weekend, Moana is looking to pick up a turnaround momentum boost with a bang in what could be the barnburner of the holiday weekend.
Crusaders At Highlanders
O’Connor Cometh
Injuries and off-pitch issues plagued James O’Connor as a younger player, when he once was regarded as a hotshot talent for the future (debuting for the Western Force in 2008 as a 17-year-old), before unceremonious exits at multiple clubs in Australia and Europe downgraded his stock.
Now, as an ice-cool 34-year-old veteran, he’s playing some of the best rugby of his career with the Crusaders.
Transferring to the 14-time Super Rugby champions in the offseason after three regular-season appearances with the Queensland Reds in 2024, the 64-capped Wallabies fly-half has been immense in the Crusaders’ return to the title fight.
He further rewarded the Crusaders for their shrewd piece of business against the Blues last weekend when he booted through a 40-yard penalty after the siren in the swirl of Cyclone Tam to give his side a massive 25-22 win, putting them level on points with the Chiefs at the top of the league ladder.
A candidate to make a heroic return to the Wallabies this summer as they host the British & Irish Lions, O’Connor has been sensational and a calm presence at the back as the Crusaders (winners of three straight) have stormed back from their nightmare, playoff-less 2024 season.
They pay a visit to the Highlanders in Round 11, who've lost four of five and need a victory to avoid losing more ground to the top six teams.
Hurricanes At Brumbies
Clash For The Cup
In a similar fashion to the Blues-Reds fixture going on earlier in the weekend, the Hurricanes and Brumbies also are unveiling a remembrance trophy with special meaning to each country on the pitch.
The Captain Shout Cup is on the line for the winner of the holiday weekend’s finale. It honors Alfred John Shout, who served in both the New Zealand and Australian militaries in World War I and was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Battle of Lone Pine.
The match also will be the nightcap in Canberra following a pair of matches between the Australian Army and Air Force’s men’s and women’s rugby squads, adding some extra entertainment on what should be a night of heavy emotion - and high stakes.
The Brumbies blanked Moana Pasifika by a 24-0 margin in Round 10 in what was perhaps the top Australian side’s best performance yet amid a current three-match winning streak, whereas the Hurricanes’ jostle toward the top 6 saw them split the points in a draw with the Western Force last weekend, leaving them three points back of the sixth-placed New South Wales Waratahs for the final postseason place.
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