The 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season is done and dusted, it is now time to hand out the grades for the Australian sides.
ACT Brumbies
A-
The ACT Brumbies were once again Australia’s leading team in 2024. For the third year in a row, they made it to the Semi Final stage against a New Zealand side away and bowed out at that stage. This time it was eventual winners The Blues that halted their campaign.
The Brumbies have been slowly evolving their game under coach Stephen Larkham to take them away from the set piece dominated style of play. Their usual weapon of scoring from rolling mauls has been done away with – The Reds now have that mantle – and have scored a stack of tries from counter attacking opportunities with a number of those originating from their own half.
The big worry for the Brumbies in 2024 was their scrum. Alarm bells started ringing when the Fiji Drua had them on skates on their clash in May and only got worse when the Crusaders extracted numerous penalties against the big names of James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa.
Slipper was battling injuries for most of the year and even missed a few games towards the end of the year with a calf injury. He battled on and tried to make it for the Semi Final game but couldn’t get past the warmup.
One shining light for the side in 2024 was Tom Wright. Wright has had his issues transitioning his game to Test level with his decision making getting found out at times and punished by giving away points. His form has arguably been the best across the Aussie sides in 2024 and deserves a shot at fullback under Joe Schmidt.
The Brumbies have lost some stalwarts in Darcy Swain, Tamati Tua and Jahrome Brown from any starting side plus some solid squad members like Connal McInerney, Fred Kaihea and Ed Kennedy. The first three names will be difficult to fill and after the demise of the Melbourne Rebels will hopefully be able to fill those big shoes.
Queensland Reds
B
Les Kiss came into the hot seat at the Reds this year and has done a remarkable job in transforming a side that looked to have run out of ideas under former coach Brad Thorn.
Kiss’ international experience has been instrumental as the Reds were the excitement machines of the Aussie sides in 2024 and brought about the emergence of Tim ‘The Junkyard Dog’ Ryan on the wing. His try scoring feats were nothing short of amazing in 2024 and his hat trick against the Blues at Suncorp launched his highlight reel.
Ryan’s play might see the end of Suliasi Vunivalu’s time in Rugby after a disastrous showing in 2024, topped off by his sending off against the Drua for not one, but two tripping incidents.
The Reds, for all their excitement in 2024, struggled for inconsistency. After stunning the Chiefs in Round 3 and racking up a big score against the Melbourne Rebels, it looked like they would pass the ACT Brumbies as Australia’s top side
It was not to be, as three consecutive losses to the Western Force, ACT Brumbies and their worst outing in 2024 in a loss to Moana Pasifika in a game that saw both Tate McDermott and Fraser McReight red carded.
They went within a whisker of beating the Blues but didn’t see out the 80 minutes and followed that by breaking a long hoodoo in beating the Crusaders in Christchurch.
They ended up finishing fifth with a trip to Hamilton for the quarter final. It was all over after 20 minutes as the Chiefs blew them off the park and open up a 31-0 lead that was too much to reel in.
Kiss has ben steadfast in rotating his squad to give them more game. While it might not have paid the dividends Kiss was after, Tom Lynagh and Harry McLaughlin-Phillips has benefitted from this policy. Lynagh’s selection in the Wallabies squad somewhat validates Kiss’ decision.
Another who had been solid throughout 2024 is Hunter Paisami. It looked like he was another heading for the European exit door, but a late change of mind sees him stay in Queensland. That decision seemed to lift a weight off his shoulders as his second half of the season was impressive.
For the Reds next to reach the next level in 2025, they will need to sort out their inconsistency. The arrival of Josh Canham and Filipo Daugunu will help with their squad depth with some good players already in the second row and outside backs that will cause Les Kiss some selection headaches in 2025.
Melbourne Rebels
C
The Rebels have had a remarkable 2024 season that was ultimately their last. The odds were stacked against them even before a ball was kicked with news of their dire financial position that saw them enter voluntary administration.
Despite the adversity off the field, the Rebels made their maiden finals campaign in a fully-fledged competition that coach Kevin Foote can be proud of.
The Rebels were also the definition of inconsistent in 2024. They either won by a big margin or lost by large margin. They conceded more than 40 on four occasions and came close on two others. They finished the season with seven consecutive losses where it seemed the inevitable news they were going to fold started to take its toll.
There were a few gems uncovered in 2024 – Josh Canham was one that caught their eye of everyone, except Joe Schmidt who left him out of his first Wallabies squad. His athleticism at the lineout is not in doubt but his work in the tight is something that needs refining for him to take that next step in the Test arena.
Darby Lancaster is another to have pressed their claims in 2024 and has made the Wallabies squad. A hat trick against the Highlanders announced himself on the 15-man code after impressing in the 7’s arena.
On the flipside, Carter Gordon’s time in Rugby Union came to an end in 2024 after signing with the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. It seems the 2023 saga of Eddie Jones and the Wallabies finally took its toll and is to try a sport he is not familiar with. The lure of returning home was probably too much, and the logjam of playmakers at the Reds proved too difficult to navigate.
It’s a shame to see the Rebels exit the sporting landscape but there are more questions than answers for those who got them into the situation they found themselves.
Western Force
C-
The curious case of the Western Force continued in 2024 as they only secured wins in Perth but could not get anything going away from Perth.
Simon Cron had a plethora of injuries to deal with in his forward pack but delved into his extensive black book of contacts to find replacements.
The arrival of Nic White and Ben Donaldson promised so much and there were moments throughout the season when the combination was going to pay off.
A brilliant win over the Reds looked to get their season kick started but a loss to Fiji in what looked like a cyclone and a thumping from the Blues in Auckland sucked the wind from the sails.
A stirring win over the Crusaders at home was followed by another trip to New Zealand and a real bludger of a game against the Highlanders in a one-point loss before seemingly forgetting to play against the Chiefs as they conceded 56 points.
Back-to-back wins at home got them one step in front but another flogging in Brisbane by the Reds seemed to sum up their frustrations in 2024.
The inability to keep Izack Rodda on the park did not help their cause as they finished 10th on the ladder.
Bayley Kuenzle was one shining light in 2024 as his versatility helped fill the many gaps when injuries struck. Normally playing at 10 or 12, Kuenzle shifted to the wing and his strong running was key in getting the Force into try scoring positions. His big boot also complemented Donaldson’s kicking game.
Kurtley Beale also had a cameo towards the end of the season as he answered an SOS from Cron after coming in as injury cover. It remains to be seen if he will return to the west after suffering a suspected Achilles injury in a non-contact injury in Sydney club rugby.
Cron has a few big names heading to Perth in 2025 but needs to start stringing consistent results together. While the inclusion of big names is important, it continues a revolving door scenario where it seems once they start getting results, other players move on and it is back to the drawing board. Izack Rodda leaving for France is just one example of this.
NSW Waratahs
F
The Waratahs – what can be said about the disaster that is the 2024 Waratahs season where they claimed the wooden spoon? It started off with RA taking over the reins as the Waratahs were the first to sign up to the centralisation model that former RA Chairman Hamish McLennan tried to ram through at other clubs.
If it wasn’t speculation over Darren Coleman’s coaching position, it was a devastating run of injuries in the forwards that dominated the sporting pages. It got to the point of ringing around Shute Shield clubs to see if any front rowers were available towards the end of the season.
If there was an award for reviews, the Waratahs would win by the length of the Randwick straight with their high performance and strength and conditioning programs seemingly under constant review.
The Waratahs ended the year with just two wins, and you could have written your own ticket predicting both of those would be over reigning champions, the Crusaders.
Somehow, they were in with a shout of making the finals going into the final rounds, but it was the close losses throughout the season that cost them in the end. After the first win over the Crusaders, they lost their next three by a combined margin of seven points.
The dramatic second win over the Crusaders after a thrilling finish in extra-time looked to breath life into their season, but that was when the injury dramas started to take their toll.
In May, they finally made the decision to not extend Coleman’s contract and with that the exodus of players started to be announced. The Waratahs, with the backing of RA, looked to hang their hat on a number of Rebels players heading north in 2025. But that did not eventuate as expected with the lack of a General Manager and coach key reasons no signings were made.
They have finally got one piece of the big jigsaw puzzle in place with Simon Rawilui confirmed as director performance in 2025. There is speculation former Brumbies coach Dan McKellar might take the coaching role after he and Leicester came to a ‘mutual agreement’ to part ways after just one season.
The season of disaster was confirmed when only three players were named in the Wallabies squad, but no one could argue for any other inclusions after such a poor year. The stance of Joe Schmidt on picking players leaving the code or for Europe and Japan saw the likes of Roosters bound Mark Nawaqanitawase left out.
