The new Super Rugby Pacific season is fast approaching, with the 12 teams putting the finishing touches on their preseason preparations.
There has been significant change across many of the squads, in New Zealand in particular, while six teams have welcomed new coaches.
Read on as we preview the Blues, Brumbies, Chiefs and Crusaders.
Coach: Vern Cotter
Captain: Patrick Tuipulotu/Dalton Papali'i
Last year: While they made it all the way to the semifinals, where they were hammered by the Crusaders 52-15, there was a sense throughout the season that the Blues were a level or two down on their efforts from the previous year. Ladder-leaders and eventual runners-up in 2022, the Blues just didn't look like the same team, despite finishing with a 10-4 record and running up big scorelines over the Waratahs, Rebels and Highlanders. They were forced to manage their All Blacks throughout the year, as was the case with each of the Kiwi franchises, and then lost skipper Dalton Papali'i through the closing weeks of the regular season after the flanker was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Richie Mo'unga. Leon MacDonald's team were often devastating in attack, and led all teams for metres gained and clean breaks, with Mark Telea producing a scintillating season that saw him beat an astonishing 102 defenders -- 30 more than anyone else in the competition. But MacDonald's promising tenure would ultimately end without an elusive piece of silverware, taking the Auckland-based's title drought out to 20 years, excluding their trans-Tasman series triumph of 2021.
This year: Former Scotland Fiji coach Vern Cotter returns to his homeland to take on the challenge of coaching the Blues, who have already been dealt a cruel blow with the loss of returned lock Patrick Tuipulotu to a broken jaw. Elsewhere, there is no Beauden Barrett who is away in Japan on sabbatical, while hard-working utility forward Tom Robinson has also moved on. Stephen Perofeta will get first crack at the No. 10 jersey outside of All Blacks scrum-half Finlay Christie, while Cotter will be hoping the World Cup omissions of Hoskins Sotutu and Akira Ioane have lit a fire under the talented back-row duo. German-born Anton Segner is another player to watch, with the loose forward expected to push for Test honours in the coming years. The Blues have the Hurricanes and Crusaders twice, so too the Highlanders whom they meet in the Super Round in week two, but their draw looks reasonable, particularly if they can pick up road wins against the Hurricanes and Waratahs early in the season and start the year with some momentum.
Draw: Drua [H], Highlanders [Melbourne], Hurricanes [A], Waratahs [A], Crusaders [H], Moana Pasifika [A], Force [H], Bye, Brumbies [H], Reds [A], Rebels [A], Hurricanes [H], Highlanders [H], Crusaders [A], Chiefs [H].
Coach: Stephen Larkham
Captain: Ryan Lonergan/Allan Alaalatoa
Last year: It was another semifinal finish for the Brumbies in 2023, with their campaign ending in New Zealand for a second straight year. That defeat away to the Chiefs must have had coach Stephen Larkham questioning his decision to send a weakened team across the Nullabor to Perth in Round 13 of the regular season, a defeat that ended up costing the Brumbies second spot and a home semifinal. Still after seeing off an Ardie Savea-inspired Hurricanes in a dramatic Canberra quarterfinal, the Brumbies had their chances early against the Chiefs, but were unable to turn sustained field position and possession into scoreboard pressure. Still, they were by far and away the best performed Australian outfit, with Rob Valetini, Nick Frost, Tom Hooper, Len Ikitau, Tom Wright and a rejuvenated Jack Debreczeni often leading the way. It's true, too, that Larkham also had to juggle Wallabies rest weeks, so criticism of the Force call must be tempered somewhat. Elsewhere, Corey Toole's transition back to 15s from the Australia sevens squad was outstanding, while the likes of Rory Scott and Luke Reimer showed the benefits of another season under breakdown guru Laurie Fisher.
This year: Larkham has steeled his focus on the Brumbies after he was overlooked for the Wallabies job in favour of Joe Schmidt, but he is armed with the knowledge that a Super Rugby title in either of the next two seasons would make him an almost irresistible candidate to succeed the Kiwi. And he has a squad to do just that, despite the loss of key veterans Nic White and Pete Samu. White's shift to the Force creates the opportunity for Ryan Lonergan to truly own the No. 9 role, while Reimer and Scott will battle for the right to partner Hooper and Valetini in the back-row. As is the case with all the Australian teams, the Wallabies' early World Cup exit means players returned to preseason earlier than ever, and if Valetini's comments after his John Eales Medal win are anything to go by there is a real burning desire to hit the ground running in 2024. Just which way Larkham turns at No. 10 will be interesting, with Noah Lolesio's World Cup joker stint in Toulon sure to have been of great value, and Debreczeni looks to really push his case for a Test call-up after a fine return to Super Rugby last year. The Brumbies have what looks like a soft start to the year, making their Super Round clash with the Chiefs a huge contest; win that, and they may well be on a path to a top-two finish, something that has proved a bridge too far the past two seasons. Allan Alaalatoa, meanwhile, is believed to be targeting a return from his Achilles rupture midway through the year.
Draw: Rebels [A], Chiefs [Melbourne], Force [H], Highlanders [A], Moana Pasifika [H], Reds [A], Waratahs [H], Blues [A], Hurricanes [H], Fijian Drua [H], Waratahs [A], Crusaders [H], Rebels [H], Force [A].
Coach: Clayton McMillan
Captain: Luke Jacobson
Last year: For much of 2023 the Chiefs were the team to beat. An All Blacks-laden forward pack, the brilliance of Damian McKenzie, and a breakout year from Shaun Stevenson carried the Waikato outfit all the way to a home final, only for them to run into a Crusaders team that knows how to get it done in the final game of the season better than anyone else. Adding to the Chiefs' pain was the knowledge that they had already twice beaten Scott Robertson's side during the regular season. Still, there was so much to like about what the Chiefs did in 2023, as they played a brilliant brand of rugby that maximized their strengths from 15-1. While their lineout had its issues, the Chiefs pack laid an otherwise superb platform, giving McKenzie time and space to provide for the likes of Stevenson, Emoni Narawa and Etene Nanai-Seturo. In the big dance, it was the Chiefs' discipline that let them down. First-half yellow cards to Luke Jacobson and Anton Lienert-Brown, followed up by another to skipper Sam Cane after the break, saw the Chiefs play 30 minutes of the match with only 14 men. They were gallant in hanging in the game for so long, and even had the chance to win it late, but McKenzie couldn't hit the target from long range, leaving Mo'unga to complete his Crusaders dynasty.
This year: One of two Kiwi teams without a new coach [and the Highlanders have also repatriated Jamie Joseph as a director of rugby], McMillan has a significant departure list to manage. The end of the World Cup cycle has seen All Blacks Cane, Brodie Retallick and Brad Weber all move on, while Pita-Gus Sowakula, John Ryan, Bryn Gatland, Solomon Alaimalo, Atu Moli, Angus Ta'avao and Alex Nankivell have all opted for pastures afresh. But there is good news in the return of Quinn Tupaea who did not play at all last season, while All Blacks graduates Stevenson, Narawa and Samipeni Finau will be expected to take another step forward after their Test experience from 2023. In the absence of Retallick, rising locks Josh Lord, Naitoa Ah-Koi and Tupou Vaa'i will also be expected to take more of a leadership role up front. But the eyes of the competition, and even the wider rugby world, will be firmly fixed on McKenzie as he finally gets clear air to make the All Blacks No. 10 jersey his own. Sure, Beauden Barrett will be back later in the year, but this is undoubtedly McKenzie's moment to shine. If he plays with the style and execution of 2023, the Chiefs have more than enough talent elsewhere around the park to go one better than last year.
Draw: Crusaders [H], Brumbies [Melbourne], Reds [A], Drua [H], Highlanders [H], Crusaders [A], Moana Pasifika [H], Hurricanes [A], Bye, Waratahs [A], Force [H], Moana Pasifika [A], Rebels [A], Hurricanes [H], Blues [A].
Coach: Rob Penney
Captain: Scott Barrett
Last year: Seven titles in seven years: There was truly no stopping this mighty era of Crusaders dominance. Coach Scott Robertson and talisman fly-half Richie Mo'unga bowed out of Super Rugby in supreme style, lifting yet another trophy, this time on the road in Hamilton against the Chiefs, after blowing away the Blues in a semifinal a week earlier. Led by skipper Scott Barrett, in the form of his career, the Crusaders turned to the usual suspects of Mo'unga, Leicester Fainga'anuku and Will Jordan to create attacking havoc, while Dallas McLeod, Fletcher Newell and Tamaiti Williams emerged as All Blacks and the ever reliable Codie Taylor, Sam Whitelock and Mitchell Drummond provided the glue to hold it all together. Simply, the Crusaders just knew how to get it done under Robertson, who was unveiled as the All Blacks coach-elect early in the year; a move that removed that cloud of uncertainty from the red-and-blacks, but earned a hefty chunk of ire from Ian Foster's supporters. Whitelock's decision to play in the decider despite a nagging Achilles injury also irked the All Blacks coach, but it reflected both the champion lock's character and the high regard in which he held Robertson and the famous Crusaders jersey.
This year: Spare a thought for Rob Penney, yes that Rob Penney, the same one the Waratahs punted midway through their winless 2021 season, who steps into the unfillable shoes of Robertson. Thankfully, unlike the short shift he was handed in Sydney, Penney takes over a squad that retains a swathe of Test quality, albeit without the outstanding Mo'unga, Whitelock and Fainga'anuku. Barrett's presence will be huge for the red-and-blacks, particularly with Taylor opting for a non-playing sabbatical that will see him miss all but the closing few weeks of the regular season. Elsewhere, former club stalwart Ryan Crotty and Owen Franks both return to Christchurch, while Levi Aumua's much-debated move from Moana Pasifika offsets the departure of Jack Goodhue and the loss of the luckless Braydon Ennor, who ruptured his ACL in Bledisloe II last year and then suffered an infection. Fergus Burke's Achilles injury has opened up the opportunity for talented former New Zealand Under 20s fly-half Rivez Reihana to step into Mo'unga's boots, while Taha Kemara and Taine Robinson are the other options. Penney has suffered a late setback with Jordan ruled out of the entire season, but the returning Sevu Reece will still offer a spark out wide, so too talented youngster Macca Springer, while David Havili may need to take on a great role in midfield. It is undoubtedly a new era for the top half of the south island, but there is more than enough class across this Crusaders squad to challenge for the title yet again.
Draw: Chiefs [A], Waratahs [Melbourne], Drua [A], Hurricanes [H], Blues [A], Chiefs [H], Force [H], Bye, Brumbies [H], Reds [A], Rebels [A], Hurricanes [H], Highlanders [H], Crusaders [A], Chiefs [H]