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'He didn't have his strongest game... I think he would think the same'
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Hurricanes name All Blacks duo as 2026 Super Rugby co-captains
By Henry Lee
The Hurricanes have announced two All Blacks as their co-captains ahead of their Super Rugby Pacific opener in 2026, after having the bye in round one.
Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw has named All Blacks vice-captain Jordie Barrett as one of the team’s co-captains, while one of last year’s captains, Du’Plessis Kirifi, will partner Barrett at the head of their five-man leadership group.
The two All Blacks won’t be alone in their leadership of the Wellington-based franchise, being helped by a group known as Nga Kaitiaki, led by Barrett and Kirifi alongside last year’s co-captains Brad Shields, Asafo Aumua, and Billy Proctor.
Despite being the All Black vice-captain, this will be Barrett’s first official captaincy role with the Hurricanes, while Kirifi will return to his role from last season.
Barrett has played 111 times for the Hurricanes across several seasons, scoring 794 points for the club in that time. Kirifi, on the other hand, has made 93 appearances for the Wellington-based Super Rugby Pacific franchise, having made his debut against the Waratahs in 2019.
Barrett, who has 78 Test caps to his name, said that although he and Kirifi are the captains, they have strong leadership behind them throughout the whole franchise.
“It’s a great honour to be backed by the coaches and playing group to co-captain the side alongside Du’Plessis this season,” Barrett said after the announcement.
“Playing for the Hurricanes has always meant a lot to me and I’m confident we have the squad to have a successful season.
“We have a great group of leaders who I know will support Du’Plessis and I throughout the season, and we can’t wait for the competition to begin.”
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For Kirifi, he’s excited for the challenge in 2026, especially being one of the leaders for this team once again.
“Leading the Hurricanes alongside Jordie is not only an honour, but extremely humbling. The love I have for this team, the region, and its people is immense, and I’m excited for the challenge that’s in front of us and what we can do together,” Kirifi added.
“O le ala i le pule o le tautua. The pathway to leadership is through service. We can’t wait to serve this team and its people to the best of our abilities.”
It will be Laidlaw’s third year as head coach of the Hurricanes, after taking over from Jason Holland ahead of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Laidlaw believes that although their specific number of captains has changed, they think that this model is going to motivate the team going forward.
“The co-captains are an exciting pair, they are two outstanding professionals, Hurricane men through and through, who are super competitive around their performance. They connect really well across the team on and off the field, and they bring a different lens to our environment,” Laidlaw said.
“We feel Nga Kaitiaki needs to lead the club between the five of them. With Jordie and Dupes as the co-captains, we believe it’s a really strong leadership model,” Laidlaw added.
“We’re all working well together behind-the-scenes in pre-season to drive the group forward. Jordie’s come back in with a real enthusiasm after being away, and Dupes is quite similar, apart from picking up a little niggle in pre-season.
“He came back early from his All Blacks rest and was training particularly well, so once Dupes is fit again and they’re both on the field and leading the team, it will be exciting. We’re looking forward to it.”
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