{"id":534433,"date":"2026-03-12T00:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T00:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/534433\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T00:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T00:56:08","slug":"the-big-difference-between-top-14-and-super-rugby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/534433\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘big difference’ between Top 14 and Super Rugby"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Los Pumas<\/a> lock Tom\u00e1s Lavanini has been named for his Highlanders<\/a> debut against the Crusaders<\/a> in Christchurch, and the 33-year-old says his reintroduction to the Super Rugby game has hit hard.<\/p>\n

The 91-cap Argentine has fond memories of Super Rugby from his time with the Jaguares, for whom he played 49 games. His Highlanders debut in Christchurch this weekend will come as his 50th Super Rugby appearance.<\/p>\n

The Christchurch venue will host only two more Crusaders games before One New Zealand<\/a> Stadium opens in time for round 11, and Lavanini has a storied history at the current makeshift ground. In 2019, it hosted the Super Rugby final, where the Crusaders beat the Jaguares, and in 2022, it hosted a historic fixture as the Pumas beat the All Blacks<\/a> on Kiwi soil for the very first time. Lavanini started both games.<\/p>\n

While some time has passed between those two famous contests and Saturday\u2019s southern derby, Lavanini knows what to expect, with the past three months of training with the Highlanders serving as a strong reminder of the pace of Super Rugby.<\/p>\n

The lock, who has been named to start in the No. 5 jersey on Saturday night, said there\u2019s a \u201cbig difference\u201d between training at his former Top 14<\/a> clubs of Lyon<\/a> and Clermont, and training under Jamie Joseph<\/a> in Dunedin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quicker; don\u2019t think too much, just go, go and go,\u201d Lavanini told reporters this week. \u201cThat\u2019s the most difficult part, because in France, you maybe have a little bit more time to react. Here, you must be quick.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I prepared well for two months, so I\u2019m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two-meter-tall lock has had to bide his time over the first four rounds of the season, getting up to speed with the Highlanders\u2019 development team, the Bravehearts. Lavanini expressed \u201cno frustration\u201d with the call to delay his debut, saying, \u201cI respect the coach and the decision of the coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now at his seventh professional club, Lavanini says the Highlanders have made him feel at home in New Zealand\u2019s Deep South, with his kids picking up English well, complementing the Spanish and French they already speak.<\/p>\n

Having now found his \u201crhythm\u201d, Lavanini is excited to reach a new milestone in his career, one that has been a long time coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was waiting for the moment,\u201d he said of playing his 50th Super Rugby game. \u201cIt didn\u2019t happen in the Jaguares, but it\u2019s happening here, so I\u2019m happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it\u2019s just a number, but it\u2019s a special number. To get my 50th game here is very special, especially with my family here. I\u2019m really happy with the opportunity, so it\u2019s time to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Pumas lock Tom\u00e1s Lavanini has been named for his Highlanders debut against the Crusaders in Christchurch, and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534434,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-534433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}