Super Rugby 2015 - Team by Team Snapshot
- 2073
Blues:
Big gain: Josh
Bekhuis
Big loss: Ma'a Nonu
Go-to Player: Jerome
Kaino
Players to watch: Ihaia West, Simon
Hickey
Crucial to success: How often Kaino, Steven Luatua and Luke Braid play as a loose
trio
Brumbies:
Big gain: return from injury of David Pocock
and Stephen Moore
Big loss: Ben Mowen
Go-to Player: David Pocock
Player to watch: Rory Arnold
Crucial to success: Pocock remaining injury-free
Bulls:
Big gain: Adriaan Straus
Big loss: Flip van der Merwe (to injury)
Go-to Players: Handré Pollard, Jan Serfontein
Players to watch: Lappies Labuschagne, Jesse
Kriel
Crucial to success: Winning away from Loftus Versfeld
Cheetahs:
Big gain: Willie Britz
Big loss: Adriaan Strauss
Go-to Player: Willie le Roux
Players to watch: Michael van der Spuy, Clayton Blommetjies
Crucial to success: Improving their parlous defence
Chiefs:
Big gain: Sonny
Bill Williams
Big loss: Tanerau Latimer
Go-to Player: Aaron
Cruden
Players to watch: Seta
Tamanivalu, Damian McKenzie
Crucial to success: Team synergy, after having lost more than half their 2014 squad
Crusaders:
Big gain: Robbie
Fruean
Big loss: Corey Flynn
Go-to Players: Richie
McCaw, Kieran Read, Dan
Carter
Players to watch: Mitchell Drummond, Codie
Taylor
Crucial to success: A better start than 2014’s three defeats in their first
five games
Force:
Big gain: Steve Mafi
Big loss: Matt Hodgson (to injury)
Go-to Player: Nick Cummins
Players to watch: Kyle Godwin, Kane Koteka
Crucial to success: Winning games without their talisman Matt Hodgson
Highlanders:
Big gain: no-one of note
Big loss: Josh Bekhuis
Go-to Players: Aaron
Smith, Ben Smith
Player to watch: Malakai Fekitoa
Crucial to success: Shoring up their insecure defence
Hurricanes:
Big gain: Ma'a Nonu
Big loss: André Taylor
Go-to Players: Ma'a
Nonu,
Conrad Smith
Player to watch: Jason
Woodward
Crucial to success: Overcoming major changes in coaching staff, the player
squad, and a tough start to their schedule
Lions:
Big gain: no-one of note
Big loss: Franco van der Merwe
Go-to
Player: Warren
Whiteley
Players to watch: Howard Mnisi, Martin Muller
Crucial to success: How often Warren Whiteley, Jaco Kriel and Derick Minnie play together
as a loose trio; plus suffering few injuries - lack of depth is an issue
Rebels:
Big gain: Mike
Harris
Big loss: Jason Woodward
Go-to Player: Scott
Higginbotham
Player to watch: Sean
McMahon, Jack Debreczeni
Crucial to success: Winning sufficient possession to enable a potentially
exciting backline to show their attacking skill
Big gain: James
O'Connor
Big loss: Quade Cooper (broken collarbone)
Go-to Player: James O'Connor
Players to watch: Karmichael Hunt, Duncan Paia'Aua
Crucial to success: James O'Connor
Sharks:
Big gain: Mouritz
Botha
Big loss: no-one crucial to team success
Go-to Players: Patrick Lambie, Bismarck du Plessis
Player to watch: Pieter-Steph du Toit
Crucial to success: Will the squad gel with their array of coaches and
consultants, and adapt to a new game-plan?
Stormers:
Big gain: Gert Smal as Director of Rugby
Big loss: the warrior-king Jean de Villiers (to injury)
Go-to Player: Duane
Vermeulen
Players to watch: Nic Groom, Kobus van Wyk
Crucial to success: Maintaining defensive standards after the loss of defence
guru Jacques Nienaber; plus vastly improving
attacking skill
Waratahs:
Big gain: Dave Dennis’s return from injury
Big loss: Kane Douglas
Go-to Player: Michael Hooper
Players to watch: Taqele Naiyaravoro, David
Horwitz
Crucial to success: Michael Cheika being able to
give the same attention to detail as he did last season for the Waratahs, now
that he is doubling as Wallaby coach