The 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season (branded as Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship reasons) was a professional club rugby union tournament organised by New Zealand Rugby. Announced on 11 November 2020, the tournament was the second season of Super Rugby Aotearoa, featuring the 5 New Zealand Super Rugby sides, ran from 26 February to 8 May 2021. The tournament was won by the , who defeated the 24–13 in the final at Orangetheory Stadium, earning them their second consecutive Super Rugby Aotearoa title, and fifth straight Super Rugby competition title.

The tournament ran parallel to Australia's 2021 Super Rugby AU season, and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman followed the conclusion of both seasons, a crossover tournament featuring each Australian team playing each New Zealand team once, followed by a final.

Law variations

The 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season saw further law variations, furthering those brought in during the 2020 season. Goal-line drop outs were brought in for when an attacking player was held up or knocked the ball on in goal. When a kick was forced in goal by the defending team then a goal-line drop out would also take place. These rules were used successfully in the Australian 2020 Super Rugby AU season. Extra time was also used again in 2021, again consisting of a 10-minute period, however differing from the 2021 Super Rugby AU season, the team scoring the first points of any kind in this period would win the match.

A captain's referral was also brought in for 2021, similar to those used successfully in cricket and tennis, with New Zealand Rugby becoming the first to trial it in rugby union. Each team was allowed one referral per match which could be used in one of three scenarios: a decision occurring in the final five minutes of a match, an offence in the build up to a try being scored or an act of foul play. All other law variations from the 2020 season were again used in the 2021 season.

Standings TablePosTeamPWDLPFPAPDTFTATBLBPts 1Crusaders 8 6 0 2 237 165 +72 30 18 3 1 28 2Chiefs 8 5 0 3 187 230 −43 18 31 0 0 20 3Blues 8 4 0 4 210 191 +19 28 21 2 2 20 4Highlanders 8 3 0 5 201 226 −25 26 28 1 1 14 5Hurricanes 8 2 0 6 200 223 −23 24 28 1 3 12Points allocation

Round-by-round The table below shows the progression of all teams throughout the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season. Each team's tournament points on the standings log is shown for each round, with the overall log position in brackets.

2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa team progressionTeam R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10FinalBlues 4 (1st) 4 (3rd) 9 (2nd) 9 (2nd) 10 (2nd) 14 (2nd) 14 (2nd) 15 (3rd) 15 (3rd) 20 (3rd) N/AChiefs 0 (3rd) 0 (4th) 0 (5th) 4 (4th) 8 (3rd) 8 (4th) 12 (3rd) 16 (2nd) 20 (2nd) 20 (2nd) LostCrusaders 4 (2nd) 9 (1st) 14 (1st) 18 (1st) 18 (1st) 18 (1st) 22 (1st) 23 (1st) 28 (1st) 28 (1st) WonHighlanders 0 (4th) 5 (2nd) 5 (3rd) 5 (3rd) 5 (5th) 9 (3rd) 10 (4th) 14 (4th) 14 (4th) 14 (4th) N/AHurricanes 0 (5th) 0 (5th) 0 (4th) 1 (5th) 5 (4th) 5 (5th) 6 (5th) 6 (5th) 7 (5th) 12 (5th) N/AKey: Win Draw Loss Bye DNQ

Matches

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Final

Crusaders: FB 15 Will Jordan RW 14 Sevu Reece OC 13 Leicester Fainga'anuku IC 12 David Havili LW 11 George Bridge FH 10 Richie Mo'unga SH 9 Mitchell Drummond N8 8 Cullen Grace OF 7 Tom Sanders BF 6 Ethan Blackadder RL 5 Sam Whitelock LL 4 Scott Barrett (c) TP 3 Michael Alaalatoa HK 2 Codie Taylor LP 1 George Bower Substitutes: HK 16 Brodie McAlister PR 17 Tamaiti Williams PR 18 Oliver Jager LK 19 Mitchell Dunshea LF 20 Whetu Douglas SH 21 Bryn Hall CE 22 Dallas McLeod OB 23 Braydon Ennor Coach:Scott RobertsonChiefs: FB 15 Damian McKenzie RW 14 Jonah Lowe OC 13 Anton Lienert-Brown IC 12 Alex Nankivell LW 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo FH 10 Bryn Gatland SH 9 Brad Weber (c) N8 8 Luke Jacobson OF 7 Lachlan Boshier BF 6 Pita Gus Sowakula RL 5 Mitchell Brown LL 4 Tupou Vaa'i TP 3 Angus Ta'avao HK 2 Samisoni Taukei'aho LP 1 Aidan Ross Substitutes: HK 16 Bradley Slater PR 17 Ollie Norris PR 18 Sione Mafileo LK 19 Naitoa Ah Kuoi LF 20 Zane Kapeli SH 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi CE 22 Rameka Poihipi OB 23 Chase Tiatia Coach:Clayton McMillan Man of the Match: Richie Mo'unga

Assistant Referees: James Doleman Paul Williams Television match official: Brendon Pickerill

Notes

Statistics

Leading point scorers No. Player Team Points Average Details 1 Damian McKenzie 111 13.88 4 , 17 , 19 , 0 2 Richie Mo'unga 104 11.56 2 , 22 , 15 , 1 3 Jordie Barrett 95 11.88 3 , 16 , 16 , 0 4 Otere Black 71 8.88 1 , 18 , 10 , 0 5 Josh Ioane 47 7.83 2 , 11 , 5 , 0 6 Codie Taylor 35 3.89 7 , 0 , 0 , 0 7 Mitchell Hunt 32 4.00 1 , 4 , 8 , 0 8 Will Jordan 25 3.13 5 , 0 , 0 , 0 Jona Nareki 25 3.57 5 , 0 , 0 , 0 Sevu Reece 25 2.78 5 , 0 , 0 , 0 Source: Points

Leading try scorers No. Player Team Tries Average 1 Codie Taylor 7 0.78 2 Will Jordan 5 0.63 Jona Nareki 5 0.71 Sevu Reece 5 0.56 5 Kurt Eklund 4 0.80 Damian McKenzie 4 0.50 7 Asafo Aumua 3 0.60 Jordie Barrett 3 0.38 Connor Garden-Bachop 3 0.50 Salesi Rayasi 3 0.38 Hoskins Sotutu 3 0.38 Source: Tries

Discipline PlayerTeam Red Yellow Round (vs. Opponent) Alex Hodgman 1 0 Round 8 (vs. ) Du'Plessis Kirifi 0 2 Round 1 (vs. ) Round 6 (vs. ) Ardie Savea 0 2 Round 2 (vs. ) Round 6 (vs. ) Scott Barrett 0 1 Round 1 (vs. ) Ethan Blackadder 0 1 Round 1 (vs. ) James Blackwell 0 1 Round 1 (vs. ) Dane Coles 0 1 Round 10 (vs. ) Josh Dickson 0 1 Round 3 (vs. ) Ash Dixon 0 1 Round 2 (vs. ) Mitchell Hunt 0 1 Round 10 (vs. ) Ngani Laumape 0 1 Round 7 (vs. ) Tyrel Lomax 0 1 Round 5 (vs. ) Sam Nock 0 1 Round 3 (vs. ) Sevu Reece 0 1 Final (vs. ) Hoskins Sotutu 0 1 Round 8 (vs. ) Codie Taylor 0 1 Final (vs. ) Sio Tomkinson 0 1 Round 2 (vs. ) Ofa Tu'ungafasi 0 1 Round 4 (vs. ) Brad Weber 0 1 Round 3 (vs. )

Players

Squads

The following 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa squads have been named. Players listed in italics denote non-original squad members.

+ squad Forwards Leni Apisai • Adrian Choat • Gerard Cowley-Tuioti • Sam Darry • Kurt Eklund • Blake Gibson • Josh Goodhue • Alex Hodgman • Dillon Hunt • Akira Ioane • Nepo Laulala • James Lay • Ray Niuia • Dalton Papalii • Jacob Pierce • Taine Plumtree • Marcel Renata • Tom Robinson • Hoskins Sotutu • Luteru Tolai • Karl Tu'inukuafe • Patrick Tuipulotu • Ofa Tu'ungafasi • Soane Vikena Backs Otere Black • Finlay Christie • Caleb Clarke • TJ Faiane • Bryce Heem • Rieko Ioane • AJ Lam • Jone Macilai-Tori • Emoni Narawa • Sam Nock • Stephen Perofeta • Harry Plummer • Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens • Jonathan Ruru • Zarn Sullivan • Mark Tele'a • Tanielu Teleʻa Coach Leon MacDonald

+ squad Forwards Naitoa Ah Kuoi • Joe Apikotoa • Kaylum Boshier • Lachlan Boshier • Mitchell Brown • Sam Cane • Samipeni Finau • Tom Florence • Nathan Harris • Luke Jacobson • Zane Kapeli • Mitchell Karpik • Ezekiel Lindenmuth • Josh Lord • Sione Mafileo • Laghlan McWhannell • Liam Messam • Atu Moli • Ollie Norris • Reuben O'Neill • Simon Parker • Aidan Ross • Bradley Slater • Pita Gus Sowakula • Angus Ta'avao • Samisoni Taukei'aho • Viliami Taulani • Tupou Vaa'i Backs Bryn Gatland • Anton Lienert-Brown • Jonah Lowe • Damian McKenzie • Etene Nanai-Seturo • Alex Nankivell • Rameka Poihipi • Rivez Reihana • Xavier Roe • Shaun Stevenson • Bailyn Sullivan • Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi • Chase Tiatia • Kaleb Trask • Quinn Tupaea • Sean Wainui • Brad Weber • Gideon Wrampling Coach Clayton McMillan

+ squad Forwards Michael Alaalatoa • Scott Barrett • Ethan Blackadder • George Bower • Tom Christie • Whetu Douglas • Mitchell Dunshea • Cullen Grace • Sione Havili • Oliver Jager • Andrew Makalio • Brodie McAlister • Joe Moody • Fletcher Newell • Luke Romano • Tom Sanders • Quinten Strange • Codie Taylor • Isi Tu'ungafasi • Nathan Vella • Sam Whitelock • Tamaiti Williams Backs George Bridge • Fergus Burke • Brett Cameron • Mitchell Drummond • Ere Enari • Braydon Ennor • Leicester Fainga'anuku • Chay Fihaki • Jack Goodhue • Bryn Hall • David Havili • Will Jordan • Manasa Mataele • Josh McKay • Dallas McLeod • Richie Mo'unga • Isaiah Punivai • Rene Ranger • Sevu Reece Coach Scott Robertson

+ squad Forwards Jermaine Ainsley • Teariki Ben-Nicholas • Liam Coltman • Ethan de Groot • Josh Dickson • Ash Dixon • Bryn Evans • Shannon Frizell • Billy Harmon • Kazuki Himeno • Josh Hohneck • Ricky Jackson • Ayden Johnstone • James Lentjes • Daniel Lienert-Brown • Marino Mikaele-Tu'u • Sione Misiloi • Pari Pari Parkinson • Jack Regan • Hugh Renton • Manaaki Selby-Rickit • Liam Squire • Jeff Thwaites • Siate Tokolahi Backs Solomon Alaimalo • James Arscott • Michael Collins • Folau Fakatava • Connor Garden-Bachop • Sam Gilbert • Scott Gregory • Kayne Hammington • Mitchell Hunt • Josh Ioane • Vilimoni Koroi • Caleb Makene • Nehe Milner-Skudder • Josh Moorby • Jona Nareki • Fetuli Paea • Ngane Punivai • Aaron Smith • Josh Timu • Sio Tomkinson • Thomas Umaga-Jensen • Freedom Vahaakolo Coach Tony Brown

+ squad Forwards Fraser Armstrong • Asafo Aumua • James Blackwell • Dane Coles • Gareth Evans • Alex Fidow • Vaea Fifita • Devan Flanders • Brayden Iose • Du'Plessis Kirifi • Kane Le'aupepe • Tyrel Lomax • Tevita Mafileo • Liam Mitchell • Xavier Numia • James O'Reilly • Reed Prinsep • Pouri Rakete-Stones • Ricky Riccitelli • Ardie Savea • Scott Scrafton • Isaia Walker-Leawere Backs Vince Aso • Jordie Barrett • Jamie Booth • Luke Campbell • Jackson Garden-Bachop • Wes Goosen • Simon Hickey • Ngani Laumape • Orbyn Leger • Ruben Love • Pepesana Patafilo • Billy Proctor • Salesi Rayasi • Cameron Roigard • Julian Savea • Jonathan Taumateine • Danny Toala • Peter Umaga-Jensen • Lolagi Visinia Coach Jason Holland

Referees The following referees were selected to officiate the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season:

+ 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa referees

References

External links