Super Rugby Pacific Squad Naming: Meet your 2027 Crusaders

 

The Crusaders have confirmed our squad for the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season. 

 

A new season, familiar faces returning and the next generation ready to make their mark.  

 

The forward pack combines plenty of experience with some exciting young talent. Tamaiti Williams, Fletcher Newell, George Bower, Finlay Brewis, Seb Calder and new signing Feleti Sae-Ta’ufo’ou make up the props, with Frenchman Clément Castets joining the group as a replacement for Williams until he is selectable. 

 

At hooker, Codie Taylor is joined by George Bell and Manumaua Letiu, while Scott Barrett leads a locking group featuring Jamie Hannah, Tahlor Cahill and Liam Jack. 

 

There is plenty of depth and competition across the loose forwards, with Ethan Blackadder, Dominic Gardiner, Christian Lio-Willie, and Xavier Saifoloi joined by new signing Finn McLeod, and Xavier Treacy, Oli Mathis and Johnny Lee – all three who proved their worth in the 2026 Wider Training Group to earn full contracts in 2027. 

 

In the halves, Noah Hotham and Kyle Preston provide the options at halfback – with Mitchell Drummond getting called back into the 38-man squad after spending 2026 in the Wider Training Group. 

 

One of the most familiar names in red and black returns at first five. Richie Mo’unga joins Rivez Reihana and James White in the number 10 group for 2027. 

 

The midfield sees new signings Jake Te Hiwi and Corey Evans join Leicester Fainga’anuku and Toby Bell, while Cooper Roberts has earned a call up from the 2026 Wider Training Group. 

 

Out wide, All Blacks Will Jordan and Chay Fihaki are joined by Johnny McNicholl, Macca Springer, Maloni Kunawave and Kurtis MacDonald, rounding out a backline with plenty of attacking talent. 

 

For our supporters, 2027 represents the beginning of something special. A new Head Coach, a new captain yet to be named, and another opportunity for our people to come together behind the team. 

 

Whether you’re in the stands every week, watching from home, following from another part of the world or pulling on a Crusaders jersey for the first time, you’re part of it. 

 

Scott Hansen, Crusader #25, takes over as Head Coach in 2027 after previously serving as an Assistant Coach at the club between 2020 and 2023. His return to Christchurch continues a Crusaders connection stretching back to the inaugural Super 12 season in 1996. 

 

Hansen is looking forward to bringing the group together and seeing what they can build in 2027. 

 

“We are all really excited about our squad and what we can all achieve together. There’s a lot of talent throughout the group, but just as importantly there are good people who care deeply about this club and what it represents,” Hansen says. 

 

“We’ve got a great mix of experience, guys who have been successful here before, and a blend of younger players who will be hungry for their opportunity. Our challenge now is to bring that together.

 

“There’s a lot to look forward to in 2027 and a lot of work to do, we want our people to feel part of what we’re building and proud to come on that journey with us.” 

 

French prop Clément Castets has also been named as a replacement player for Tamaiti Williams and will remain with the Crusaders until Williams is selectable. 

 

There is plenty that will feel familiar in 2027, and some things that will feel new. But the thing at the heart of the Crusaders remains the same: our players, our people, and everyone who chooses to stand with us.