Rugby Australia chair Daniel Herbert rates the skill, entertainment and competitiveness on display in Super Rugby this year as the best in the competition’s 30-season history.
The World Cup-winning former Wallaby centre is not usually one to aggrandise, but Herbert said he was compelled to make the call after watching another round of Super Rugby Pacific unfold at the weekend.
The standard of the competition has drawn praise so far this season. Stats show the average number of points per game to be the highest ever. Adding to that is one of the narrowest average winning margins on record.
But Herbert believes the start to the 2025 season not only sits alongside the best seen in Super Rugby since it launched in 1996, it is at the top.
“I just think it’s the best the competition has ever looked,” Herbert said. “My vintage all sort of reminisce about yesteryear, when this happened and that happened. It’s pretty clear we’ve never seen footy as good as this, or rugby as good as this.”
It’s a big call, given the many outstanding teams and seasons in the past three decades in Super Rugby. But Herbert was a player through most of the competition’s first decade, in 120 games for Queensland, and he believes the competitiveness and attacking rugby now is at “an all-time high”.
Fraser McReight of the Reds celebrates with teammates after scoring a tryCredit: Getty Images
“If you think about the history of the competition, we’ve always had teams who have played well … particularly at the start,” Herbert said.
“The Brumbies running around in 1997-98 playing a style of rugby that we hadn’t really seen before. Anytime the Hurricanes had Lomu, Cullen and Umaga as their back three, it was quite breathtaking. Then you’ve got the Reds in ’10-11, which was phenomenal. The Waratahs winning in 2014.
“But I don’t think we’ve ever seen the competition, not only as even, where all Australian teams are performing well, but playing a style of rugby we haven’t seen consistent across the board from all teams. The players are playing with a skill level we haven’t seen for some time. They’re all playing with a sense of adventure that the new law variations enable, and advantage an attacking mindset. And the referees are refereeing it brilliantly.”
Herbert’s bold call will stir debate and undoubtedly raise eyebrows; potentially viewed as over-excitement from Australia in a season where local teams are mostly performing well. Three Australian teams – the Brumbies, the Reds and the Waratahs – sit in the top five after five rounds, for only the third time in Super Rugby history, after 1999 and 2022.
Fans of New Zealand teams sitting in the bottom half may also quibble with Herbert’s view. But he believes the evenness of the competition is one of the key factors in elevating it.
Len Ikitau scored a hat-trick for the Brumbies against Fiji.Credit: Getty Images
“The Chiefs v Blues game yesterday was phenomenal. There’s been a number of really good New Zealand games as well,” Herbert said.
“They might not be as dominant as they’ve been, which is good for the competition.
Codie Taylor of the Crusaders charges forward against the Force.Credit: Getty Images
“There’s still plenty of time to go, don’t get me wrong. We’re not certainly counting our chickens, but I think the competition is at an all-time high. It’s entertaining, it’s close, they’re playing with high levels of skill, it’s an attacking mindset. I’ve not seen it this good, going right back to the start.”
Crowds remain much smaller than the halcyon days of Super Rugby’s first decade, but Herbert believes they will climb back.
Downsizing to four teams in Australia, following the shutdown of the Rebels last year, appears to be a major factor, with the spread of players adding to the depth of each franchise. Herbert declined to comment – the Rebels are still in legal dispute with RA – but the chair said coaching quality was a decisive factor in Australia’s improvement.
“The way that some of the rugby big teams, Ireland New Zealand, South Africa, recognise the value of coaching – we’ve recognised the value of getting strong Super Rugby coaches,” he said.
“You can see that Australia’s now got four teams who are really well coached. That’s showing. Yes, the talent distribution might have something to do with it, but it’s really strong coaching, in my mind.”
The Wallabies’ spring tour, the performance of the Australian sides in Super Rugby and a spate of top-level players recently re-signing has Herbert feeling good about the “momentum” in Australian rugby.
“People are seeing the momentum and they’re committing,” he said. “Twelve months ago, someone asked me and I said, ‘I wish the Lions were a year later, because I can see us by ’27 being one of the top teams in the world’.
“But if we continue this very strong momentum, I’m very optimistic about the next couple of years.”
