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How the Hurricanes rebuilt the roster to produce this masterpiece title
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The Hurricanes became Super Rugby champions for the second time in history with the most complete final performance in the competition’s history, beating the Chiefs by 60-5.
This championship took 10 years to build, with a combination of homegrown talent and savvy recruitment decisions building a unique squad that has quite literally blown away opposition.
It has been a remarkable year and the 2026 Hurricanes have a strong claim as the greatest Super Rugby team in history. They are the first ever to crack 700 points in a season, while their 55-point margin in a final is the most ever. They were the fastest club to notch 100 tries around the world in 2026.
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Following the first title under Chris Boyd in 2016, the Hurricanes squandered the chance for multiple titles in that era. Of course, they lost the 2015 final at home to the Highlanders before the breakthrough in 2016, but suffered from 2017-19, losing the semi-final three times.
The 2017 Hurricanes were one of the best attacking sides in Super Rugby history, the debut year for Jordie Barrett and a breakout year for players like Ngane Laumape. But they came undone at Ellis Park against the Lions and it changed the trajectory of the club. That year saw the Crusaders dynasty reborn under Scott Robertson and the Hurricanes lost their chance to form their own.
The 2019 semi-final defeat to the Crusaders was the defining end of the title window, and the first turning point for the club in rebuilding towards this 2026 title.
The loss to the Crusaders in Christchurch would be the last game for Beauden Barrett at the Hurricanes, who penned a deal with the Blues and made the big-time move to Auckland. At the time it was a bitter divorce for the Hurricanes’ fans, who adored the two-time World Player of the Year and the hero of the 2016 maiden title.
However, there was a silver lining to Barrett’s departure. The Hurricanes went out and signed two schoolboy talents with Barrett’s salary no longer on the books, one was Aidan Morgan and the other was Ruben Love.
At the time Love was the New Zealand schoolboys fullback and Morgan the first five, but Love quickly found his way into the N0.10 jersey with the Canes in his early years at the club out of necessity. That gave a peek into the potential future.
Around the same time in 2021, the Hurricanes stumbled into a pot of gold with the recruitment of Cam Roigard, a relatively unknown Waikato prospect at Counties who didn’t come with a resume packed with age-grade rep teams. Overlooked by the Chiefs, Roigard wasn’t on the radar coming through.
Roigard was brought in as an injury replacement for Jamie Booth, joining the squad in 2021 as cover and earning a full-time contract for 2022 after several appearances. It would be 2023 when club legend TJ Perenara was out with an Achilles injury, when Roigard would stamp his mark, but getting Roigard in 2021 turned out to be massive in the long run.
The next key breakthrough was the growing provincial strength in the Hurricanes’ region with the Wellington side that won the 2022 NPC title, stunning Canterbury in Christchurch in the final.
A number of Hurricanes’ players were in that team including Ruben Love, TJ Perenara, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Billy Proctor, Xavier Numia, Asafo Aumua, Peter Lakai, and lesser known players at the time in Caleb Delany, Riley Higgins.
The 2022 provincial title proved that there was talent in the region capable of doing something special soon and that the Hurricanes were near. Wellington were then minor premiers in 2023, and another feeder province, Hawke’s Bay, made the final. Wellington claimed another NPC title in 2024, with a little known local club player Callum Harkin kicking an extra-time winner.
The signing of head coach Clark Laidlaw from the All Blacks Sevens programme proved to be a masterstroke from the beginning in 2024.
Laidlaw coached the All Blacks Sevens to a revival in 2023. New Zealand men’s won five of the last seven events to storm home in 2022-23 and win the series with players like Akuila Rokolisoa, Leroy Carter, and a young Fehi Fineanganofo.
The All Blacks Sevens experienced a notable drop in results when Laidlaw left, and conversely, the Hurricanes put together their best season perhaps ever finishing with the number one seed and a 12-2 regular season record in 2024. This was somewhat of a surprise as the newer generation of Hurricanes had less expectation.
Star All Black Ardie Savea had already unofficially left the club at the end of 2023, with a sabbatical in 2024 and linked with Moana Pasifika in 2025. But the loose forward combinations of Kirifi, Lakai, Braydon Iose, Devan Flanders proved to be arguably better without Savea.
One-time All Black Brett Cameron was given a chance to revive his New Zealand career, and he was phenomenal that season. Then, it was Salesi Rayasi and Kini Naholo on the left wing, scoring plenty of tries.
It was clear that Laidlaw had a system to take the Hurricanes back to the top. They had a championship-calibre roster by 2024 but came up short, losing to the Chiefs in Wellington in an upset semi-final defeat.
The 2025 season did not go to plan; a horror injury toll in the backs derailed the early part of the season, and the Hurricanes finished fourth on the ladder. After losing to the Brumbies on the road, they were bundled out when the top-seeded Chiefs lost to the sixth-seeded Blues.
Entering 2026, a number of key moves helped the Hurricanes get back the number one seed in 2026, none more so than the signing of Japanese international Warner Dearns.
The two-time Japan League One champion with Toshiba was a piece of the puzzle that the Hurricanes perhaps have never had, which is a world class lock. Dearns has been dominant in Super Rugby and a game-changer for the Hurricanes. His defensive lineout work is a huge pressure valve, he turns over so much ball. He’s been incredibly influential and the final was no different with three turnovers won.
Jordie Barrett was also on sabbatical with Leinster in 2025, and his return in 2026 brought with him a playbook of Leinster-inspired plays that have transformed the Hurricanes’ back play.
The club went all-in on Ruben Love’s move to No.10 after Cameron went down injured in the first half of the first game of the season and it has paid off. Love was named man of the match in the final and produced his best performance when the lights were brightest.
The ball players across 10-12-15 for the Hurricanes have been on another level. The link between Ruben Love, Jordie Barrett and Callum Harkin is rapid, the Canes can move the ball to the edge in a heartbeat. It’s no surprise that Fehi Fineanganofo and Josh Moorby have racked up records, with 17 and 16 tries respectively, as a result.
There are many unsung heroes on this Canes squad, some who have played key cameos at different points. Moorby, who left in 2024 and returned this season, only to make an improbable push towards an All Black call-up and equal the previous season try scoring record.
Others, like Bailyn Sullivan and Ngane Punivai who have stayed despite a lack of game time. Sullivan himself was an ex-Chief who revived his career at the Hurricanes. A few seasons ago, he had a breakout season, starting at 13 for the Canes, to solve the injury crisis. He scored four tries in one half against the Chiefs in one game. Punivai had a similar cameo in the quarter-final against the Brumbies.
Even starting centre Billy Proctor, who signed a record five-year deal as a teenager, took a long time to assume his role. In 2020, another promising young midfielder Peter Umaga-Jensen had surpassed him in the pecking order. Proctor worked hard, stayed put and eventually became the guy.
Kini Naholo, who was a starter two seasons ago, has watched Fehi Fineanganofo take Super Rugby by storm and smash the single-season try-scoring record. When called upon, Naholo has shown he’s still a superb wing. Braydon Iose went from starting No.8 two years ago to impact loosie. Ere Enari, who has bounced around a few clubs, only to show what he could do in relief duties for Roigard.
Everywhere you look there is a guy who could’ve left but didn’t, that might not have starred but added something. The Hurricanes might have made tough calls, but it means they have been open-minded about opportunity and selected what they truly feel is best for the team.
Callum Harkin was a player on the outside looking in a few seasons ago, running around for OBU before cracking the Wellington NPC team. That took time to even get to provincial level. Injury opened the door for Harkin to have a shot two seasons ago. Fast forward to now, and he scored one key first-half try and set up another in the first half of the Super Rugby Pacific final. The probability of him being in this field three years ago would have been low.
Last year, Fineanganofo sat down the pecking order, waiting for his chance after making the switch from sevens last year. At some point, he probably questioned why he made the switch. His chance came this year, and he never looked back. From the first game, he starred, and they let him run.
The Hurricanes region has long been blessed with talent that overflows into other franchises. Think of players like Aaron Smith and Lima Sopoaga at the Highlanders, the Whitelocks, Codie Taylor, the list is long. And it hasn’t flowed the other way.
For a long time the Hurricanes have resisted going outside the boundaries of the region for talent, preferring 100 per cent reliance on homegrown players. They still invest heavily in the catchment, but there’s been a slight change in philosophy to broaden the net for bargain buys outside the region.
That has resulted in signings such as Pasilio Tosi, Ngane Punivai, Bailyn Sullivan, Fehi Fineanganofo, Lucas Cashmore, and of course Roigard. Another one, ex-Crusader Jone Rova, put the cherry on top with the final try in the final. Others like Brett Cameron and Ere Enari had ties to the region as youngsters but went through other development systems. They’ve brought them back in.
They’ve finally entered the national arms race, but not at the junior recruitment levels. They’ve signed underrated, overlooked established players out of provincial rugby and found some gems. In Roigard’s case, the found potentially the world’s best No.9.
The Hurricanes have made great decision after great decision for a period of six years to build this roster and it culminated with a crescendo performance, an unthinkable 60-5 victory over the Chiefs, a bogey side. They buried the horrors of the 2024 mishap and came good on their potential.
A lot has been made about the cost to build this Hurricanes side, but for the fans, they would say it has been worth it to see a generational run like this. Hopefully, the faith will be repaid in ticket sales again next season. It’s been a while since the Cake Tin was full for the Canes, but damn, it was well worth it.
The Canes are back, and better than ever before.
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