Phil Gifford has twice been judged New Zealand Sportswriter of the Year, has won nine New Zealand and two Australasian radio awards, and has been judged New Zealand Sports Columnist of the Year three
times.

OPINION

As Super Rugby Pacific finished with a magnificent 41-10 victory for the Blues over the Chiefs in the final at Eden Park, it’s time for season-ending awards – and a brickbat.

Player of the year

Patrick Tuipulotu. The moment in the final when Tuipulotu burst upfield with the ball, beating four attempted tackles, summed up what the Blues’ captain has been managing all season, leading by example. He’s shown the way to his players with a gutsy, relentless work ethic, rather than fist-in-the-palm, overheated team talks. (In passing, the mystery of the year has to be whether Tuipulotu’s knee injury three weeks ago was initially misdiagnosed, when it was predicted he’d be out for seven weeks, or, driven by his determination to play, something approaching a miracle occurred.)

Coach of the year

Vern Cotter. After the final, Blues player after Blues player evaded the question, “What’s Stern Vern Cotter really like?” To be fair, after 21 years without the Super Rugby title, to the Blues it probably doesn’t matter exactly how the still physically imposing former Bay of Plenty dairy farmer united the Blues. To a man this year they put team above self, most notably on defence. The great Sir Brian Lochore once suggested that “every man dragging himself up to make a tackle when his body’s screaming for a rest is what makes a winning team”. Cotter’s Blues proved the point at Eden Park.

Greatest advantage

Harry Plummer began the season as a well-respected, steady five-eighth. He finished it as the most commanding figure in the classy Blues backline, controlling games at first five with understated ease. When you added in his hugely accurate goalkicking (seven out of seven with a slippery wet ball in the final), the transformation from a handy squad member to a vital cog in the machine was complete.

Best try

Hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho’s astonishing try against the Reds in the quarter-final in Hamilton had everything, from a icy cool backflip pass to a no-look inside feed to Taukei’aho by wing Emoni Narawa, who was was suspended in the air above the touchline. No wonder the Reds defenders looked gobsmacked as Taukei’aho galloped 20m to score.

Biggest heart

Sevu Reece. In the Crusaders’ annus horribilis, Reece was endlessly energetic and inspirational. He became the leading try-scorer in Crusaders history, but more importantly, as part of a team struggling all season, he never stopped trying, whether it was scrapping for the ball at a breakdown or chasing down attackers on defence.

Shooting star

Chiefs No 8 Wallace Sititi announced himself as a national-class player in the semifinal with the Hurricanes. In the final, with his team so often on the back foot and possession for the Chiefs as rare as a Cook Strait ferry you can rely on, Sititi never really had the chance to show his running skills. But despite a basically anonymous final, he remains a fascinating prospect for the future.

Best match-up

A Blues-Hurricanes final would have been great too, but thanks to a superb semifinal effort by the Chiefs we got a final that matched not only neighbours who are old rivals, but also drew a massive sell-out crowd to Eden Park, which offers seats for 9500 more people than Wellington and 14,500 more than Hamilton.

Most joyous occasion

Teams that had to face the Fijian Drua in Lautoka would disagree to a man, but the Drua players responded so well to their wildly enthusiastic home crowds, the Drua in Fiji became a thrilling viewing magnet. The delight of the Drua fans was a wonderful reminder that the energy Pasifika players bring to the field is often matched by their supporters.

Biggest backroom drama

The Crusaders tumbling from winning seven titles in a row to not making the quarter-finals was almost on par with Greek tragedies regarding the level of drama. What happens in Christchurch now, as the future of coach Rob Penney is decided, has a grim fascination too. With the rugby rumour mill in Canterbury aflame, I’d suggest the future for Penney will be decided by what emerges from confidential player interviews. Despite the results, if the team stays with him, expect the Crusaders’ board to back Penney too.

Blight on the game

The rolling maul remains at once a match-winner while also boring the life out of the vast majority of rugby fans, including greats like Sir Wayne Smith and New Zealand Rugby’s patron, Ian Kirkpatrick. Among the things that bug the hell out of purists about the maul is that it involves the sort of blocking that’s a major part of American football. In rugby, it just feels like obstruction. The disheartening reality is given the grinding forward play that’s too often at the heart of Northern Hemisphere and South African rugby, don’t bet on early changes to the laws around the maul.

On a happier note

Super Rugby was saved in 2024 by a sensational semifinal won by the Chiefs in Wellington and a dynamic, exciting victory for the Blues in the final. The competition needed the lift after quarter-finals that had the dramatic tension of waiting to see how quickly paint would dry. The good news is next year, there almost certainly won’t be another tedious eight-team knockout round.