Analysis - Super Rugby Pacific kicks off on Friday 14 February, with one less team than last season and a whole host of things to talk about. We're once again previewing each New Zealand team from worst to first, today it's last year's beaten finalists the Chiefs.
Overview
Clayton McMillan head coach of the Chiefs during the Super Rugby Pacific rugby match between the Chiefs and the Crusaders at FMG Stadium in Hamilton on 23 February, 2024. Photo: Aaron Gillions / Photosport
Clayton McMillan's men will be hurting after last year's excellent campaign came to such an abrupt halt in the final. Still, the Chiefs are coming into 2025 as one of the favoured teams, albeit missing one of their key players. McMillan is now into his fourth season in charge of the team and will be getting impatient for some silverware after coming up short in the last two finals.
The good
Cortez Ratima of the Chiefs celebrates a try during the Super Rugby Pacific Semi Final - Hurricanes v Chiefs at Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand on 15 June, 2024. Photo: Photosport / Masanori Udagawa
Once again, the Chiefs are stacked. They now can boast an All Black inside back pairing, a rising star in Josh Jacomb, perhaps test rugby's form lock last season in Tupou Vaa'i and the usual firepower out wide with Emoni Narawa and Etene Nanai-Seturo. They can count on decent home support too, with FMG Stadium Waikato consistently drawing good crowds to support their team.
The bad
Shaun Stevenson injures his hamstring in the process of scoring a try for the Chiefs against the Waratahs. Photo: photosport
The best player the Chiefs had last year will not be lacing up his boots this year, with Wallace Sititi out with a knee injury. Just when it happened remains a mystery, so it's hard not to think McMillan will have some pretty strong thoughts on Sititi starting every test on the All Blacks' end of year tour. Then there's the Shaun Stevenson situation, with the fullback missing the first four rounds due to an NZ Rugby approved stint in Japan. While Stevenson gets a nice little payday, he leaves his spot wide open for someone to come in and take.
Big boots to fill
Taranaki player Josh Jacomb. Photo: Chris Symes / www.photosport.nz
Kaylum Boshier looks to be the replacement for the departed Sam Cane, with young flanker the likely starter at openside. He joins a very strong loose forward unit that will absorb the loss of Sititi as well. Jacomb has been handed the 10 jersey for the first game and it's a pretty tough assignment, it will be interesting to see whether this is a long term plan by McMillan.
What they're saying
"We don't want to change fundamentally how we play Chiefs rugby, which gives the ball some air and we ask our players to be courageous, but also recognise that teams understand what it looks like when we're playing well, and how they can impose their game on us to potentially suffocate us." - Clayton McMillan.
Fan critique
Fans during the Super Rugby Pacific 2024 quarter final match between the Chiefs and Queensland Reds at FMG Stadium. Photo: Aaron Gillions / Photosport
Chiefs Mana has taken a serious hit in the last couple of years as the side has done literally everything except win a title. Waikato Draught has never tasted so bitter after the last two finals, especially since the last one was an absolute flogging at the hands of the Blues in front of 47,000 Aucklanders who have been more than happy to rub it in for the last year. Hamilton can't even win the one thing it seemingly had an eternal lock on either, having lost its spot of chlamydia capital of New Zealand to the nearby East Cape. Just to rub it in, Auckland's pinched the number one spot for gonorrhoea as well.
Big games
Round one at Eden Park stands as an early chance of vengeance against the Blues, in a rematch of last year's final. The two sides meet again four rounds later, but the most important games look like the very tough run home: the Chiefs have away games at the Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders to finish the regular season.
Chiefs 2025 squad
Forwards: Aidan Ross, Ollie Norris, George Dyer, Reuben O'Neill, Samisoni Taukie'aho, Brodie McAlister, Bradley Slater, Tupou Vaa'i, Manaaki Selby-Rickit, Josh Lord, Jimmy Tupou, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Jahrome Brown, Kaylum Boshier, Samipeni Finau, Simon Parker, Wallace Sititi, Luke Jacobson, Sione Ahio Jared Proffit, Fiti Sa
Backs: Xavier Roe, Cortez Ratima, Damian McKenzie, Daniel Rona, Kaleb Trask, Anton Lienert-Brown, Quinn Tupaea, Rameka Poihipi, Gideon Wrampling, Leroy Carter, Liam Coombes-Fabling, Emoni Narawa, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Shaun Stevenson, Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Malachi Wrampling, Josh Jacomb
On Friday we finish with a look at the defending champion Blues
