The Super Rugby squads from a Southland viewpoint
The 2025 Super Rugby Pacific squads were all named on Tuesday. Logan Savory takes a look at four talking points from a Southland viewpoint.
The 2025 Super Rugby Pacific squads were all named on Tuesday. Logan Savory takes a look at four talking points from a Southland viewpoint.
Former Stag’s Hurricanes selection…
Former Menzies College, Southland Boys’ High School, Invercargill Blues, and Stags No 8 Arese Poliko is what some might regard a surprise 2025 Super Rugby selection.
Poliko, who now plays for Taranaki, has been named in the Hurricanes squad.
Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw said Poliko “is one of those players with an incredible mindset”.
"Not only has he proven that he’s a high performer on the field, but he’s also shown a real sense of gratitude and a hunger to get stuck in and attack the coming season,” Laidlaw said.
Poliko only took up rugby at the age of 15, playing football before that. He was born and raised in Australia up until the age of 12 when he and his family moved back to their home country of Samoa.
Poliko linked with the Rugby Academy of Samoa which triggered a chain of events that led him to rural Southland.
Menzies College, in Wyndham, was on the lookout for some players to help its first XV and Poliko took up the opportunity to make the shift as an 16-year-old.
He left his five sisters and parents to chase the rugby dream, spending three years living in at a homestay in Wyndham. He went on to play premier club rugby for the Invercargill Blues club before in making his Stags debut.
He played six matches for the Stags in 2022 before last year heading north to Taranaki where he has family.
He will join another former Stag in Pasilio Tosi in the Hurricanes squad.
Pacy winger’s Highlanders callup…
Michael Manson has earned a fulltime Super Rugby contract in what is one of the storylines attached to the 2025 Highlanders squad announcement.
It’s understood the 23-year-old was initially offered a wider training contract. He was juggling that opportunity with the prospect of returning to the United States to play for Utah in the Major Rugby League competition.
However, the Highlanders have since offered Manson a fulltime contract for the 2025 campaign in what is a deserved opportunity for a player with some x-factor in attack.
The former schoolboy sprinting star has emerged as one the Stags strike weapons in recent seasons scoring 12 tries in his 18 games in the maroon jersey.
The other obvious Staglanders…
On top of Manson’s Highlanders call up five other Stags players, who had already been confirmed, will return to the Highlanders’ main squad for the 2025 Super Rugby campaign.
They are Ethan de Groot, Jack Taylor, Mitchell Dunshea, Sean Withy, and Hayden Michaels.
By the end of the 2024 Super Rugby season Dunshea and Withy were key figures in the Highlanders pack and are likely to play important roles in 2025.
Withy is one of the leading contenders to take on the Highlanders captaincy role.
Taylor and Michaels’ task is to also push for more game time in 2025, although in Michaels’ case he will have a fellow Stag, Withy, in front of him as the No 7 jersey.
Meanwhile as expected Sevu Reece, who is now aligned to Southland was as expected named in the Crusaders squad.
Impressive No 8’s omission…
Stags coach Matt Saunders was puzzled soon after the end of the NPC season as to why no Super Rugby team hadn’t already snapped up 20-year-old No 8 Semisi Tupou Taeiloa.
“There has got to be some sort of Super involvement... Surely someone will have to have a look at him,” Saunders said at the time.
“Club rugby - he’s too good for it, without being rude to other players. I’ll be stunned if someone doesn’t look at him for a wider training group or something like that.
“They say he is too short at lineout time, but who cares? It’s baffling that he is not with someone already to be fair.”
Tupou Taeiloa wasn’t picked up but to Rugby Southland’s credit they have been proactive and have managed to get him involved training with Moana Pasifika to ensure he’s at least around a Super setup to help with his development.
Who knows, that may help lead to some sort of Super Rugby opportunity.
