Super Rugby news 2024: Suaalii star set to make Tahs debut in very familiar place
Super Rugby’s prized recruit Joseph Suaalii will have a sense of deja vu when he gets set to make his highly anticipated Waratahs debut in February as the 2025 draw is announced.
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Cross-code star Joseph Suaalii is likely to experience an overwhelming sense of deja vu when he runs out at Allianz Stadium to make his Super Rugby debut next February.
The new-look Waratahs will start their climb from the Super Rugby cellar by hosting the Highlanders at home, with star back and rugby junior Suaalii treading the same turf he has as a Rooster in the NRL over the past three years.
The 21-year-old may be the highest-profile recruit for the Tahs given his $4.8 million deal to swap codes but is far from the only star set to line up in the sky blue jersey in 2025, with NSW snaring Wallabies Taniela Tupou, Isaac Kailea, Andrew Kellaway and Rob Leota following the axing of the Melbourne Rebels.
The Waratahs have been given every chance to make a strong start to the new year after their horror wooden spoon season, with new coach Dan McKellar’s side following the Highlanders clash with four of their first five games at home and their only away match in the opening month a one-hour flight away to face old sparring partners the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium in round 5.
The demise of the Rebels leaves Australia with four teams in an 11-side Super Rugby Pacific competition that will run across an extended 16-round fixture next year before a finals series to be contested by the top six clubs.
Super Rugby Pacific CEO Jack Mesley said the previous quarter-final concept, in which eight of the 12 Super Rugby Pacific teams made the post-season had been a “bone of contention” and being left with an 11-team league had accelerated the streamlining.
“The format we have for six, I think will enhance those final rounds of the regular season and create a lot more intrigue,” Mesley said.
“Not only is it six (teams), it’s the rankings of where you finish in those six that becomes really important.
“I’d expect we’d get a few more unexpected results in the first week of the final series, which I think will create some really good intrigue, as opposed to one (versus) eight.”
The Brumbies, Reds and Rebels made the finals last season, with the Reds and Brumbies inside the top six and both expected to challenge again.
The Reds start their season with a bye following the club’s three-match tour of the UK in January and the first week of February before hosting Moana Pasifika in round 2.
They then tackle a tough fortnight of travel, heading to Perth and then Christchurch before rounding out the opening month of competition against traditional rivals the Waratahs.
After a stunning Anzac Round clash against eventual champions earlier this year, the Reds have earnt rights to a rematch when they host the Blues on Anzac Day in a match set to be a highlight of their calendar.
The Brumbies face a challenging start, heading to Fiji to take on the Drua in round 1 before returning to Canberra before a pair of matches across the ditch against 2024 grand finalists the Chiefs and Blues.
Meanwhile, the Force alternate home games with clashes on the east coast in the opening month before heading to New Zealand to take on the Crusaders in round 5.
All teams will play 14 fixtures, including seven home and seven away games, with two byes throughout the 16-round season, with the Australian franchises playing each other and the Fijian Drua twice.
New Zealand franchises play each other and Moana Pasifika twice, including a Tonga blockbuster between the Chiefs and Moana Pasifika.
“We try to think about our market coverage across Australia, New Zealand and the islands, so part of the challenge and the opportunity is to spread those out and make sure that we’ve got some good coverage,” Mesley said.
“And I think we’ve got a draw that does that pretty well. The 11-team competition gets us to place those byes a little more consistently as well, so that we’re not having rounds that have fewer games and across the 16 weeks we’ve got it spread so that we’ve got those big fixtures throughout and every team has seven home and seven away (games).”
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