While most rugby fans in the Northern Hemisphere are getting ready for the return of the Six Nations, the Southern Hemisphere is getting ready for the beginning of the next phase of Super Rugby. Starting on February 18ᵗʰ, Super Rugby Pacific will be the biggest tournament since the pandemic caused the early cancellation of the 2020 competition. The South Africans are now gone and a part of the United Rugby Championship, and we have also lost Argentina’s Jaguares and Japan’s Sunwolves, leaving us with 5 Australian teams (the 4 from the 2020 season, and the Western Force, who were axed but returned in Super Rugby AU and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman), 5 New Zealand teams and 2 new teams in Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua.
Now I love watching Super Rugby—though I’m not sure if I’ll be able to this year as there is still no news on a UK broadcaster for the competition— as we get some wonderful attacking rugby, so as I like to do for most of the leagues that I can follow with some degree of regularity, I’ve picked 1 new signing per team who I think fans should be keeping an eye on this year. In some cases (most notably the Reds, who have only brought in a couple of new players) this was very hard, whereas for our 2 new teams, I was lucky enough to have the entire roster to pick from.
Blues
Starting with the Blues, and the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Champions may have one of the most exciting signings of the year in Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. The 28-year-old has been a superstar in rugby league and now makes his move over to show what he can do in the 15-man code. Expected to play centre, he adds a real playmaking ability into the midfield—as if they needed more attacking quality! With the World Cup fast approaching and questions over the best All Blacks centre pairing, don’t be shocked to see him getting capped in the June Tests.
Brumbies
For the Brumbies, we look at a familiar face for fans in fullback Jesse Mogg. The 3-cap Wallaby returns to Canberra after 6 years in France with Montpellier and Pau. A dynamic runner with the ball, Mogg’s presence will force Tom Banks to play at the top of his game to keep the 15 shirt, while he can also appear on the wing to help alleviate the loss of Solomone Kata.
Chiefs
An easy pick here for the Chiefs, in Josh Ioane. Aaron Cruden was clearly never a long-term option when he returned to Hamilton, and with him gone, neither Kaleb Trask nor Bryn Gatland looked like the player who could lead the Chiefs to the very top. However in young Josh Ioane, they have a player who is entering his prime and will be keen to push for a spot in the All Black’s World Cup squad, or put himself at the forefront of the discussion for the next cycle. Could he be the guy to bring the Chiefs back to the top?
Crusaders
How do you improve one of the strongest teams in rugby? Well by adding Pablo Matera. The former Pumas captain is one of the best blindside flankers in the world, a monster on defence and a great carrier, who also isn’t afraid to put boot to ball with surprisingly good effect. If you want to create a strong pack who can also get around the park to keep up with the backs, this is the kind of signing you want to make!
Fijian Drua
Probably a surprise pick here as I go for prop Manasa Saulo. You wouldn’t expect me to look at a squad of Fijians and pick a prop as one to watch, but if you can’t hold your own at the scrum, it won’t matter how exciting the attacking talent in your team is. Well Saulo comes to Super Rugby with top flight rugby experience from his time at Toulon and London Irish, as well as 43 caps. With a relatively young and inexperienced batch of props on the roster, Saulo will be a great teacher to help take the new generation of Fijian players to the next level.
Highlanders
Another player returning to known pastures, my pick for the Highlanders is Marty Banks. With Ioane, Caleb Makene and Tim O’Malley all gone, it’s just Banks and Mitch Hunt left to cover fly half. The good news is that, now on his third spell at the club, it should be easy for Banks to slip straight in. But will he be there to provide cover for Hunt, or will he be a regular at 10, allowing Hunt to shine at 15?
Hurricanes
While the return of TJ Perenara is huge, I’ve instead gone for Owen Franks. The ‘Canes roster is very young at prop, and so the arrival of a player of Franks’ experience (150 Crusaders appearances and 108 New Zealand caps from 2009-2019) will not just help shore up the scrum when he is on the pitch, but also greatly help the development of the new generation coming through.
Melbourne Rebels
Another returning player to make the list, Matt Philip comes back to Melbourne following a brief spell with Pau. While the Wallabies have been up and down over the last few years, Philip has been one of the more consistently good players. Reliable at the set piece and a strong carrier, Philip will play a key role in trying to put the Rebels pack on the front foot as the team tries to cope with the loss of Isi Naisarani.
Moana Pasifika
There were so many ways that I could go with this pick, but I eventually landed on fly half Christian Leali’ifano. The Australian fly half is of Samoan heritage, and will help provide shape and stability to the team as they find their footing against much more experienced opposition, while helping William Havili and Lincoln McClutchie grow into players of Super Rugby quality.
NSW Waratahs
While Michael Hooper’s return is the obvious pick here, I chose to look beyond the obvious and instead pick Jamie Roberts. Aged 35 and 5 years on from his last Wales cap, Roberts is still more than capable of excelling at the top of his game. His experience at centre will be vital in shoring up the defence, while his reliability and his picking of a line will be a real attacking boon for Will Harrison and co.
Queensland Reds
Without a doubt one of the hardest to pick, the Reds only have 4 incoming faces this season: 3 from Queensland Premier Rugby which is well beyond my scope of knowledge, and one from Harlequins’ academy. It is that academy player, Tom Lynagh, who gets the nod though. At 17 and with no top-flight rugby under his belt, he will surely be third choice at fly half, but if he possesses half the quality of dad Michael or brother Louis (who has been called in the England Six Nations squad), we may only be an injury or two away from seeing him come in at 15 to get some experience.
Western Force
And last but not least, we reach the Force and their new signing, Izack Rodda. Rodda brings an impressive degree of experience and international quality to partner Jeremy Thrush in the second row, while proving a solid yet dynamic carrier in the loose. The Force have been steadily improving since their return in Super Rugby AU, and Rodda is just the kind of signing they need to step up against the quality of the New Zealand franchises.
Do you think I missed someone? Let me know who your picks would have been.
It’s never nice to be last on the list, but unfortunately Mark takes this spot. Ice hockey is a physical sport and sadly Mark seriously lacked in this area, while not carrying on with the rest of the team never allows us to see if he finds ways to excel despite this. And to add to this, Mark was also not the best for the squad dynamics, being quick to judge and take offence, and preferring to stage a walk-out rather than try to resolve any issues.
Another whose stock was hurt by only appearing in the first movie. Karp is sadly not a great skater, but what puts him above Peter Mark is that he is much less of a distraction off the ice. But he is also more physical, making him a bit more of a challenge for opposition forwards to beat.
Someone who could have rose up the ranks had he remained with the Ducks, Tommy Duncan’s lack of hockey experience hurts his ranking. In fact arguably the 2 best things he brings to the team is his skating ability (due to his figure skating background) and his sister Tammy.
Oh what a shame that Tammy Duncan did not appear in D2 or D3, as I really feel that she had the potential to push herself up the rankings had she remained on the team. Like her brother Tommy, she lacked the hockey experience, but her figure skating background meant that she was a natural on the ice, while we also see that she isn’t afraid to get physical when angered.
Terry Hall was the 3ʳᵈ member of the Oreo Line, which goes a long way to show his talent. His spot on the list is unfortunately harmed by the importance of other forwards to the team, being stuck in the shadow of his older brother Jesse and not appearing beyond the original movie. If I included potential, he would fly up the list, but from what we have actually got to see, I sadly can’t rank him higher than any of the players who featured for Team USA.
If we were looking at simply puck handling and ability, Robertson would be right at the top of the list. However we are looking at hockey, and unfortunately the Texan is too much of a showman, often losing possession from showing off with the puck when a teammate was open for the pass. If there was a hockey version of the Harlem Globetrotters, he would excel with them.
This could be an unpopular pick so low in my rankings but hear me out. Yes, Tyler has a incredible shot in the knucklepuck, but it takes him some time to wind up, which gives the opposition time to blitz him. You just have to look at the final against Iceland, where he is man-marked out of the game until the last minute deception play. And aside from the knucklepuck, there isn’t much else of note to his game.
Mendoza may have been one of the hardest players to rank. The forward from Miami has something that translates well into so many sports: pure natural pace. You can’t teach that, and it is frightening to go up against, as it allows him to chase down what would usually be a lost cause if the opponent breaks away, while conversely he is impossible to catch when he breaks away. Unfortunately, his inability to stop himself with any reliability hurts his positioning, as does the quality of his teammates.
When putting my rankings together, I was shocked to see how high Averman made it up the list. Most notable for his comedic aspects in the movies, and certainly far from the most physical of players, when you watch the action back, he is a surprisingly competent player, with good puck handling and regularly finds himself on the scoresheet.
Just cracking the top 10 is Jesse Hall, and if we’re going on ability alone, he should be much higher. Older brother to Terry Hall and another member of District 5’s Oreo Line, Hall is a supremely talented forward and a natural goal scorer. So why is he so low on the list? Well that is all down to his attitude. Hall can easily get frustrated and lash out, which can cost the team. And it’s not just on the ice either, as he constantly allows himself to be distracted by Russ Tyler’s jibes before they become teammates, while he goes out of his way to not make Banks feel welcome after his move from the Hawks to the Ducks. As talented as he is, that’s not the kind of person I want on my team.
When I talked about the potential of Tammy Duncan, Ken Wu is exactly what I had in mind. Very much her replacement in D2 and D3, Wu’s Olympic figure skating background makes him a natural on the ice, and while he initially lacks physicality, he learns to stand up for himself and hold his own on the ice.
“The Velvet Hammer” is exactly what you want in a role model for young girls in sport. Her sex is never really an issue as she gives as good as any of the guys, if not better. A supremely talented skater, Moreau scores her fair share of goals for the team and it’s honestly a shame her character was never given more focus in the movies.
If ever there was someone hard to place on this list, it’s #96. If we’re talking just talent and ability, he should definitely be much lower. However, he is the captain for a reason, as he is the heart of the team—you just have to look at how the Ducks struggle when he walks out on them following an argument with Coach Orion! Charlie is the first to welcome Banks to the team, brings in Tyler to fill the open roster spot on Team USA as he recognises his talent, and then gives up his spot on the roster in the biggest game of his career as Banks returns from injury “for the good of the team”. Give me a team of Charlie Conways over a team of Jesse Halls any day!
As talented as the Ducks are, they are so often lacking in physicality compared to their opponents. Well Portman goes a long way to evening things out. The first of the (official) Bash Brothers to make the list, Portman is the ultimate enforcer in defence, but what often goes unnoticed is just how good a skater he is. Portman is the kind of player who can ruin an oppositions momentum and turn it in the Ducks’ favour.
Julie “The Cat” Gaffney was another who proved really difficult to rank. We only actually get to see her compete in a couple of matches (mostly in a Ducks team struggling to transition under a new coach), as well as scrimmages, as Bombay showed faith in Goldberg as his starter, leaving the fast glove on the bench. However what really shows her quality is the final against Iceland, where she comes in for the final penalty in the shoot-out against Gunnar Stahl (the leading scorer in the tournament) and despite having player no other hockey during the tournament, makes the save to win the Junior Goodwill Games. Gaffney has the clutch gene, and she could probably have rose even higher on the list if we saw her play more.
The other official Bash Brother, Fulton Reed is not a great skater, but improves over time, which stops him falling down this list and allows us to focus on his positives. The other obvious enforcer on the team, Reed’s physicality is huge for the Ducks and his almost telepathic link with Portman creates a deadly combination. But then to finish everything off, he has the mother of all slapshots, which (if you’re smart) you just get out of the way of if you value your body. But more than that too, having appeared to be somewhat of a loner before joining the team, Fulton appears to become one of the most loyal to the Ducks, who really become like a family to him.
Who would have thought that Goldberg of all people would end up in my top 3? Certainly not me as I started putting this list together, but he just kept rising. As a keeper, he was capable, though i still think that he was lucky for Bombay to keep loyal to him over Gaffney for so long. However as a back-up, he is more than capable. But what really pushed him up the list was his development under Coach Orion, which saw him become a defenseman, a position where he really excelled. While his skating still may not have been the best, he become a capable enough defenseman to post a shut-out against the Varsity, while also using his physicality to become an unofficial Bash Brother. Perhaps 3 is a bit higher than he should have ended, but his solid defending and ability to cover between the sticks if Gaffney was unavailable gives him a slight push over some of his teammates.
You can be forgiven for not having Guy so high on your list as the movies never really give him the focus he deserves. The final member of District 5’s Oreo Line, Germaine is the most natural and talented skater on the District 5 Ducks team and remains one of their best players throughout the trilogy. He does unfortunately get targeted in a number of games, leading to him leaving some games early with injury, but when on the ice he is a natural goal scorer, and it’s telling that the District 5 Ducks wanted him to take the penalty to defeat the Hawks.
He was the star of the Hawks and became the star of the Ducks. It’s telling of Banks’ quality that he was the only one of the Ducks to make the Varsity team in D3, whereas the rest were the junior varsity team. Being such a talented skater makes Banks a target and it’s no surprise to see him the most frequently targeted player on the ice. He may not have initially wanted to join the Ducks (understandable given he was the star of the best team and was now being asked to join a team of questionable quality) and does have some moments where he is put at odds with his teammates, but is never the aggressor in these circumstances so this doesn’t count against him and secures him the top spot in the list.
Eyes on the Ball 