{"id":283832,"date":"2026-02-14T12:36:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T12:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/283832\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T12:36:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T12:36:19","slug":"rugbypass-top-50-players-for-super-rugby-pacific-2026-10-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/283832\/","title":{"rendered":"RugbyPass’ Top 50 Players for Super Rugby Pacific 2026: 10-1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

To celebrate the launch of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> season, RugbyPass has put together the inaugural top 50 list to predict the best players in Super Rugby Pacific for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

The list, compiled by the Australasian RugbyPass writers, considers recent form and achievements only at Super Rugby Pacific level to predict who will shine in the upcoming 2026 season.\u00a0With over 450 players contracted to squads across Super Rugby Pacific, the Top 50 is the best of the best.<\/p>\n

New Zealand<\/a> teams produced 33 selections on the list, Australia<\/a> have 12, and the two Pacific teams have five players. The most selections come from the Chiefs, with 10, with the Hurricanes<\/a> a close second with eight, and the Crusaders<\/a> in third with seven selections.<\/p>\n

The Super Rugby Pacific Top 50 list for 2026 will count down each day, with the final 10-1 rankings below.<\/p>\n

10. Rob Valetini<\/a> (Brumbies, No.8)
The Brumbies<\/a> have been renowned for their forward pack for the last decade, with Valetini at the back of it. He\u2019s one of the world\u2019s best ball carriers, and he continues to churn out monster seasons for the Brumbies. In the last three seasons of Super Rugby Pacific, he has averaged over 150 carries a season. He\u2019s still just 27 years old as he approaches 100 Super caps. It\u2019s not just the tough carries for Valetini; it\u2019s all of the forward play that the Brumbies excel at. They were the top-ranked side in lineout success and ruck success last season, as well as second in scrum success. The maul is always a real weapon for them, and that will be the case again this year.<\/p>\n

9. Leicester<\/a> Fainga\u2019anuku (Crusaders, Winger)
Fainga\u2019anuku may have been out of Super Rugby for a couple of years, but his return propels him into the top 10. He\u2019s won multiple Super Rugby championships and scored 30 tries so far in just five seasons of Super Rugby. In his last season, he began playing in the Crusaders\u2019 midfield a fair bit to use his strong carry. The 26-year-old continued that over at Toulon, returning with more versatility for the Crusaders to use. Expect Fainga\u2019anuku to be one of the best players in Super Rugby this year at either centre or wing.<\/p>\n

8. Wallace Sititi<\/a> (Chiefs, No.8)
The rapid rise of Sititi is well documented, from his emergence in the 2024 Super Rugby season to World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year. The 23-year-old is preparing for just his third season of Super Rugby with the Chiefs, who have played three straight finals. Sititi\u2019s 2025 Super season was disrupted by injury; he only played 392 minutes. His 2024 season was dynamic, emerging as a power runner who could break the line. The Chiefs<\/a> have Sititi, Luke Jacobson<\/a>, and another two All Blacks<\/a> in Simon Parker<\/a> and Samipeni Finau<\/a> to call upon, making it one of the most powerful loose forward units in the competition. If Sititi is healthy and firing, the Chiefs will go a long way to capturing the elusive title.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Head-to-Head <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Last 5 Meetings<\/p>\n

Average Points scored<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

7. Timoci Tavatavanawai<\/a> (Highlanders, Inside Centre)
What Tavatavanawai did for the Highlanders<\/a> in 2025 was special. As a No.12, he led the competition in turnovers with 25, beating out all the specialist fetchers in the competition. This extra dimension to his game made Tavatavanawai one of the best in Super Rugby. He\u2019s long been one of the hardest players to tackle, topping the defenders beaten charts for Moana Pasifika<\/a> for a number of years. But adding the turnovers made him an All Black. In his game against the Blues<\/a> early in the season, he grabbed three turnovers, helping end a long losing streak against New Zealand teams. He\u2019s recovered from a broken arm suffered in the NPC and is ready to dominate Super Rugby once again in 2026.<\/p>\n

6. Jordie Barrett<\/a> (Hurricanes, Inside Centre)
Barrett returns to Super Rugby as a URC champion, having won the European competition with Leinster<\/a> during his sabbatical. It\u2019s the first club title he\u2019s won after a number of years with the Hurricanes. He debuted in 2017 after their maiden title the year before. The early years of Barrett\u2019s Super Rugby career were as a fullback, but he\u2019s transformed into a 12 since 2022 with the All Blacks. Barrett is going to be the anchor of the Hurricanes\u2019 attack, bringing strong defence and leadership. It\u2019s been 10 years since the Hurricanes won a title, and with Barrett back, they are due.<\/p>\n

5. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii<\/a> (Waratahs, Fullback)
Prime Suaalii is only just getting started. In his first season of Super Rugby, he showed flashes of dominance and what he could do. A sublime solo effort against the Chiefs helped the Tahs knock off the highly fancied Chiefs in one of the games of the year. At home, the Waratahs<\/a> were incredible in 2025. They\u2019ll need to lift on the road in 2026 and Suaalii is ready to help them do that. After a sensational Test year with the Wallabies at 13, particularly the two Tests against Argentina<\/a> on Australian soil, he will go up another level in this year\u2019s Super Rugby season. At centre or fullback, Suaalii will tear edge defences apart in 2026.<\/p>\n

4. Fraser McReight<\/a> (Reds, Openside Flanker)
The highest-ranked Australian player on the list, Fraser McReight<\/a>, is the world\u2019s best openside. His poaching has always been the strength of his game, but he\u2019s an athlete with great skills. His support play means he\u2019s often involved to link and play a role in many tries for the Reds, while he has the breakaway speed to nab a few himself. He\u2019s scored about five tries with five assists the last few seasons. He won 19 turnovers in 2025, despite playing fewer games than many others. He\u2019s consistently top five in the competition in turnovers won, with 18 in 2024 and 22 in 2023. When McReight has multi-turnover games, it goes a long way towards the win. The Reds<\/a> will make a run at the top four this year, and if McReight stays fit and firing, they will get there.<\/p>\n

3. Will Jordan<\/a> (Crusaders, Fullback)
There is no better line break threat in the game than Crusaders fullback Will Jordan. The explosive speed and the upper body strength make Jordan a game breaker. Not since Christian Cullen<\/a> has there been a No.15 who can pierce the line as regularly as Jordan can. He\u2019s got great instincts for the chip and chase and the afterburners to finish, too. Last year, it was Jordan and Sevu Reece<\/a> who ignited the Crusaders when they needed a spark. At 27 years old, Jordan is still in the top-tier category for speed. If the champs are to repeat, Jordan will have another big one.<\/p>\n

2. Cam Roigard<\/a> (Hurricanes, Halfback)
The Hurricanes have the best playmaker in the competition, and that is Cam Roigard. No player had more try assists than Roigard last year, who finished with 12. With seven tries, no player had more than the 19 try involvements that Roigard had. After doing his knee in 2024 against the Highlanders, Roigard returned in 2025 with great form. He\u2019s ready for his fifth season of Super Rugby, and he\u2019s only 25. This could be the year that Roigard does something special, leading the Hurricanes to the promised land.<\/p>\n

1. Damian McKenzie<\/a> (Chiefs, First five)
The competition\u2019s leading points scorer from 2025, McKenzie, is the No. 1-ranked player for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season. The mercurial No.10 has consistently been one of the best players in Super Rugby for his entire career. In the early years, he dominated as a fullback, putting up insane numbers in defenders beaten and line breaks with the likes of Aaron Cruden<\/a> playing inside at No.10. Since becoming the Chiefs\u2019 first five, McKenzie has dialled back the audacity and become a guiding hand in their attack. He has the kicking game, the goal-kicking percentage, the running game, and the passing game. The Chiefs have made three straight finals as a result, and McKenzie\u2019s first Super title has been hard to attain. But there will never be a better time for him than this year, with all that experience and the roster the Chiefs have. It\u2019s Super title or bust in 2026 for the competition\u2019s best player.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To celebrate the launch of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, RugbyPass has put together the inaugural top…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-283832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}