Super Rugby team of the week: Ruben Love gives All Blacks a genuine new option at No 10

Tuesday, 14 April 2026

ANALYSIS: Ruben Love’s progression as a No 10 came in four parts against the Blues on Saturday.

First, his goalkicking was perfect: six conversions from six attempts.

Second, his passing was crisp. He ripped one left to right pass in the first half to give Devan Flanders just enough room to make an outside break.

Third, he took on the line to set up the next phase when he understood that passing to his outsides would have simply transferred pressure onto them.

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Fourth, he got good distance with his clearing kicks.

Contenders for the All Blacks No 10 jersey need to be viewed through a harsh lens, but Love’s performances this season are standing up to scrutiny.

In fact, the All Blacks have finally found an alternative to the Beauden Barrett/Damian McKenzie/Richie Mo’unga trio, and new coach Dave Rennie must be sorely tempted to hand Love the reins for at least one test in July.

The 24-year-old represents the future, especially as he is playing his Super Rugby alongside All Blacks certainty Cam Roigard.

Rennie and his attack coach Mike Blair will also understand which way the wind is blowing in test rugby, with younger attacking No 10s now in favour in South Africa (Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu) and France (Matthieu Jalibert).

Love is in that mould and wears the No 10 jersey in The Post’s team of the week.

15 Callum Harkin (Hurricanes): Two tries and three clean breaks against the Blues in the best performance of his career. Surprised the defence with his sheer pace.

14 Josh Moorby (Hurricanes): Continued to mount his All Blacks case in Wellington on Saturday.

13 Billy Proctor (Hurricanes): Fired on all cylinders against the Blues as both a running threat and distributor.

12 Quinn Tupaea (Chiefs): Quite simply the best player in the competition over the first nine rounds.

11 Kyren Taumoefolau (Chiefs): Has found his feet at the Chiefs after a patchy start to the season. Beat five Moana Pasifika defenders during the mismatch in Rotorua.

10 Ruben Love (Hurricanes): A real bright spot in a Super Rugby competition that has been middling to date.

9 Cameron Roigard (Hurricanes): He always looked one move ahead on the chessboard against the Blues, and his clearing kicks were excellent.

8 Peter Lakai (Hurricanes): Again showed what an asset he is at the breakdown, and the Hurricanes cleverly use No 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi as a ball carrier to share the load with Lakai.

7 Anton Segner (Blues): Outstanding in a losing team against the Hurricanes, especially on attack.

6 Te Kamaka Howden (Highlanders): Made 23 tackles from 23 attempts against the Brumbies in a game the southerners did enough to win.

5 Jamie Hannah (Crusaders): The Crusaders’ lineout wasn’t the issue in the loss to the Reds - they simply failed to use the possession well.

4 Sam Darry (Blues): Another solid performance but the awkward truth is that the best Kiwi lock in Super Rugby is probably Japan captain Warner Dearns.

3 Pasilio Tosi (Hurricanes): Tyrel Lomax’s inury woes have had a silver lining: Tosi has improved exponentially due to the increased game time.

2 Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes): The hardest man to tackle in Super Rugby, particularly when he winds up from a lineout play.

1 Ethan de Groot (Highlanders): Won a string of scrum penalties against the Brumbies and carried strongly during his 67 minutes on the field.