2025 Super Rugby Pacific Predictions: Who Will Reign Supreme?
2025 Super Rugby Pacific Predictions: Who Will Reign Supreme?
Squad lists are set, and Super Rugby Pacific 2025 nearly is here! See our predictions for the season, from regular-season rankings to the champion.
Squad lists are becoming finalized, and expectations are being set as the newest season of Super Rugby Pacific looms.
Oceania’s top club rugby competition and one of the most competitive rugby union leagues in the world, Super Rugby, is back next month with a rekindled format and plenty more drama to come.
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The defending champion Blues are looking to win back-to-back Super Rugby titles for the second time in their history, but 10 other clubs are hot on their tail trying to unseat them.
We’ll be covering the action all year on FloRugby, but leading up to the opening kickoff, let’s talk about where each team stands going into the 2025 campaign.
Here’s a look at Super Rugby Pacific predictions ahead of the 2025 season, which will be streamed in the United States and Canada, live and exclusively on FloRugby:
Regular-Season Table
11. Western Force
Though getting Wallabies lock Darcy Swain from the Brumbies in the offseason was a shrewd move, the Force simply don’t have the firepower other teams (even Australian ones) in Super Rugby Pacific bring to the table, making it difficult to see the Perth-based side competing for a spot in the playoffs.
10. Moana Pasifika
There will be extra eyes on Moana this season, as past World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea’s Earth-shattering transfer to the club of the South Pacific islands made all the headlines in the offseason.
He’ll no doubt be a great leader of men and may win Moana a game or two it shouldn’t, but it’ll still be an uphill climb toward the knockouts.
9. Fijian Drua
The always-entertaining Drua have made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, but they might be due for a regression now that the knockout-round slots have decreased by two, while the now 11-team league has only gotten stronger following the disbanding of the Melbourne Rebels.
Still, don’t be surprised if the pride of Fiji outperforms expectations.
8. Highlanders
The Dunedin-based club rarely misses the playoffs and has All Blacks at its disposal, such as prop Ethan de Groot and scrum-half Folau Fakatava, but it’ll probably need a breakout star or two to pop out this season in order to make it back to the now-condensed knockouts.
They’ll finish the year as the lowest-placed New Zealand squad.
7. New South Wales Waratahs
Their nightmare 2024 season behind them, in which they finished last, the Tahs raided the transfer market and have brought in 17 new players this season, the most of any team in Super Rugby.
They’ll be much-improved, especially with exciting names such as rugby league convert Joseph Sua’ali’i, but they won’t quite be ready to get back to the knockouts.
6. Crusaders
You can’t keep the Crusaders down for long.
Having stunningly missed out on the playoffs last season after winning every possible Super Rugby title available to them from 2017-2023, the competition’s most successful team of all-time should rebound with a stacked roster that includes All Black stars Scott Barrett, Will Jordan and Sevu Reece, among others.
5. Queensland Reds
Tied for third in last year’s competition in tries scored, while scoring the most points in matches (444) of any Australian team, the Reds are an entertaining bunch that has been swimming along nicely under boss Les Kiss.
Having made the first round of the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, Brisbane’s Super Rugby club will keep that streak alive.
4. Brumbies
Australia’s most successful team in Super Rugby history looks to lead the torch for the country again, though having not made a final in over a decade likely is starting to wear on the Brumbies.
As they’ve routinely been under current coach and legendary player Stephen Larkham, they’ll be a strong unit pushing for a home playoff match.
3. Chiefs
Runners-up in back-to-back seasons, can the Chiefs finally get the job done and win their third Super Rugby title this time around?
You certainly wouldn’t be dumb to pick against them, especially with points machine Damian McKenzie still there at fly-half.
World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Wallace Sititi may miss the entire season due to a knee injury, however, which will hurt the Chiefs’ chances a bit.
2. Hurricanes
Last year’s table-toppers were unceremoniously defeated in the semifinals by the Chiefs, leaving it up to wonder if the Hurricanes are ever going to add a second Super Rugby title to their trophy cabinet.
The losses of Jordie Barrett and TJ Perenara will hurt, but an impressive crop of emerging All Blacks (see: Ruben Love, Cam Roigard) will soften the blow.
1. Blues
The defending Super Rugby champions go into the 2025 season as the favorites, and we’ll predict Auckland’s club to top the regular-season table after almost doing so a season ago.
Reigning Super Rugby Pacific Player of the Year Hoskins Sotutu has emerged into one of the stars of the competition, and his supporting cast is sturdy and experienced, too.
Knockout Rounds
Qualifying
Blues over Crusaders
Hurricanes over Queensland Reds
Brumbies over Chiefs
Semifinals
Brumbies over Blues
Chiefs over Hurricanes
Final
Chiefs over Brumbies
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