Super Rugby Pacific looks set to have its best season yet.
Whether it’s the reshuffling of Rebels personnel in Australia, the return of prodigal sons to Fijian shores or the signing of major All Black stars to Moana Pasifika, each team will start the season with an abundance of options – and it will come down as to who can survive the sprint to the finish line.
But nestled within the big names is an exciting selection of young up-and-comers – players who are not just in the extended squad, but are in good stead to get significant game time and push for higher honours in 2025.
Here are our picks for the best young gun to watch in every single Super Rugby side – and why we think you’ll be hearing their names a lot more in 2025.
An exciting centre/wing option with 11 Baby Blacks caps to his name, Taele enjoyed a breakout year in the 2024 NPC, proving to be a bright spark in what was a season to forget for Auckland.
Being part of the squad that won the inaugural U20s Rugby Championship title, Taele was one of the Baby Blacks’ most regular starters in 2024, being part of the side that finished third in the World Rugby U20 Championships.
While starting behind the likes of Rieko Ioane, the centres are, surprisingly, one of the areas that the Blues are light on experience – and should the All Black go down, Taele would likely be called upon to play several games this season.
Lachlan Hooper is hoping to make his own name in the nation’s capital. (Photo credit: Lachy Lawson, Brumbies Media)
The younger brother of Wallaby Tom Hooper, 19-year-old blindside flanker Lachlan is looking to get out of his brother’s shadow.
Lachlan was called into the senior squad last year. He made a name for himself as an established Junior Wallaby who started in all their matches in 2023 and his form continued into the 2023 Super Rugby U19s, captaining the Brumbies to their maiden U19s title and being named man of the match in their Grand Final win. He was set to hit the ground running in 2024 – but missed the season due to injury.
He’ll have tough competition against several Wallabies in the loose forwards, but we’ll likely see a new brother combination run out for the Canberra franchise in 2025.
Sitting behind the likes of All Blacks Tupou Vaa’i, Josh Lord and NPC legend Naitoa Ah Kuoi is an exciting prospect at the Chiefs – a rugby league convert who has played all across New Zealand.
A Christ’s College prospect out of Christchurch, Sa has achieved representation in the Crusaders U20 side, as well as for the NZ Barbarians and New Zealand U19s sides.
A two-metre beast of a lock, his form picked up after moving to Waikato and joining Taranaki in 2023, being part of the squad that finished runner-up in the 2024 NPC regular season and winning the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in four years.
Staying in Waikato, the Crusaders will enter the 2025 season desperate to turn around form after an underwhelming first year under Rob Penney – and a major part of their resurgence will come in the form of younger talent snapping at the heels of their big stars.
Xavier Saifoloi enjoyed a breakout year in 2024 during the NPC for Waikato – being a regular starter in a side that made it to the semis – and it took a herculean effort from eventual champions Wellington to knock them out.
He has been on a rapid rise since first popping on the radar of selectors with his performance for the Blues U18s side in 2021 – and he looms as one of the smartest selections for the Crusaders heading into this season.
One of the Drua’s most exciting prospects, our pick for the Fijian franchise is a player that, funnily enough, has gone the Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii route and earned international honours before Super Rugby honours.
Tabuavou is no stranger to high-pressure environments, however. Getting his start for Racing 92 during the 2022 season, the fast-running centre went on to earn 21 caps in the Top 14 – with his form seeing him earn his first cap for Fiji last year against Georgia.
The star is set to add even more flair to an already dangerous Drua backline – and with him signing a two-year deal, he is likely to earn even more caps for both his Super Rugby and national side.
Marley Pearce. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
Joondalup’s own Marley Pearce is due for a big season. A graduate of the Western Force academy, and a regular feature in the Junior Wallabies set-up for the last two years, the 21-year-old has already played 18 Super Rugby games, giving him a head start on the others in this list.
While his time at Super Rugby level has been cruelled by injury, the exciting prop has shown he can pick up momentum when he strings matches together, going toe-to-toe with the likes of international-heavy opposition scrums.
This year, Pearce will have to earn his caps, with the Force having Tom Robertson, veteran Harry Johnson-Holmes and Atu Moli in camp. Such players will be a valuable resource for the young prop, but their rising tide might lift his ship.
A player slipping quietly under the radar in a Highlanders’ side stacked with young talent, Will Stodart looks set for a big year, especially should Mitchell Dunshea or Fabian Holland go down.
The Highlanders have a young squad, boasting nearly a dozen Baby Blacks. However, they are light on international experience – but 2024 showed they will be no pushover, especially now their premiership-winning coach Jamie Joseph is back at the helm.
A five-capped Baby Black and a long-time Highlanders academy product, Stodart has excelled since his school rugby days, and with several caps for Otago in the NPC also under his belt, he will likely swim well when thrown in the deep end of Super Rugby.
The Hurricanes academy has produced some of New Zealand’s most exciting talent over the last few years – but even in a talented pool, Tom Allen still stands out.
A born and bred Hawkes Bay product, Allen has only earned one cap for the NPC side – however, he has been a staple of the Hurricanes’ development squads, earning selection for both their U18s and U20s sides. This has culminated in 14 caps for the Baby Blacks – as well as representation for the New Zealand Schools.
A full-time contract with the Hurricanes felt like an inevitability – and given he is near new All Black Peter Lakai (who experienced a similarly meteoric rise to the starting side) – this exciting prospect looms as a hidden threat in an already dangerous outfit.
The oldest pick on our list and another star who has already earned international honours before making his Super debut, Tuna Tuitama is set to be one of the most exciting back options coming out of Samoa.
This 24-year-old winger has featured in the Samoan Sevens side for the last four years – earning 15 caps along the way. This culminated in him earning selection in Samoa’s 2024 Pacific Nations Cup side.
Moana Pasifika marks the winger’s first time in a provincial franchise – so expect him to feature a lot, and have a massive year of progression.
Massimo De Lutiis. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Sometimes, you see a player coming and you just know that they are destined to put on the gold jersey. If you ask any rugby diehard who follows this competition – especially any Reds fans – they will tell you that Massimo de Lutiis is one of those players.
It was such a shame de Lutiis was injured in 2024 – however, when he got the chance to play in red, he took it with both hands, debuting against Wales, bullying Tonga’s scrum, and eventually getting on the radar of the national side, playing for the Australia XV against the England Saxons.
All that, without a Super Rugby cap. Throw in how dangerous he looks as a Junior Wallaby, and there is more to suggest that he will follow in the footsteps of Taniela Tupou and Angus Bell in an exciting generation of explosive, dangerous Australian props. Kingsley Uys, John Grenfell, Edwin Langi and Nick Hill, we’re also looking at you.
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Who else to round this list off? When was the last time a young gun of his profile was so anticipated to light up the competition? Israel Folau, most likely.
While he may have already earned his Wallaby debut during the Autumn Nations Series, the sheer promise he showed is why he is here – the Waratahs have the opportunity to make Suaalii the ultimate utility player, someone who can light up any attack and create an air of adventure and unpredictability whenever he takes the field, be it in sky blue or gold.
A member of the Junior Wallabies side that took down the New Zealand Schools in 2019, Suaalii also looms as a star of the game – one who can not only wow fans on the field, but potentially spearhead an exciting generation of players who can lead Australian rugby back to the top of the world rankings.
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