Seven Wallabies and five All Blacks headline Super Rugby Pacific's inaugural Team of the Year

Super Rugby Pacific has named its inaugural Team of the Year, with Player of the Year Quinn Tupaea and POTY runner-up Timoci Tavatavanawai paired together in the midfield. The XV contains eight New Zealand players — five of them All Blacks — and seven Australians, all of whom are capped Wallabies.

The team was assembled using the POTY vote tallies, with the highest vote-getter at each position across the season earning selection. The Reds and Highlanders lead the way with three representatives apiece, while the Chiefs and Western Force contribute two each. The Hurricanes, Blues, Crusaders, Brumbies and Waratahs each have one player in the side.

The front row is an all-New Zealand affair. Highlanders loosehead Ethan de Groot had arguably the finest season of his career, winning more scrum penalties than any other player in the competition while also taking on the captaincy. Hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho was among the leading try-scorers and one of the most prolific ball-carriers in the league, trailing only Highlanders teammate Wallace Sititi in carries per 80 minutes. Hurricanes tighthead Xavier Numia further strengthened his All Blacks case with a standout campaign, his inclusion made more notable given how broadly the Hurricanes’ votes were spread across their squad.

The second row is an all-Australian pairing of Jeremy Williams and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto. Western Force captain Williams led the competition in lineout wins, including a league-best 16 steals, while Salakaia-Loto reached new heights for the Queensland Reds, ranking among the competition leaders in dominant carries.

The back row proved the most fiercely contested area of selection. Blues breakout Anton Segner — born in Germany and one of New Zealand’s most talked-about All Blacks prospects — claimed every individual award at the Blues’ end-of-season ceremony. Crusaders utility Leicester Fainga’anuku made headlines with a successful positional switch from midfield to the loose forwards. Reds captain Fraser McReight, widely regarded as one of the world’s best flankers, continued that form in 2026 and stepped into the captaincy under head coach Les Kiss without missing a beat.

The halfback pairing is entirely Australian. Brumbies scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan finished the season as the third-highest points scorer in the competition and made 316 passes — more than any other player by a considerable margin. Fly-half Ben Donaldson was among the leading POTY contenders for much of the campaign before missing matches late in the season, and ranked first in metres kicked throughout the year.

Tupaea and Tavatavanawai complete a midfield that encapsulates the season’s closest individual battle, with the pair separated only by a tiebreaker in the final POTY count.