Hurricanes player ratings vs Brumbies | 2026 Super Rugby Pacific qualifying finals

Well, statement made. The Hurricanes ran the Brumbies off the park to kick off the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific qualifying finals, winning 66-12 in Wellington.

The result was a continuation of the dominance Clark Laidlaw’s squad has shown all season, and only further cemented their status as title favourites. Tries were scored by Caleb Delany, Warner Dearns (x2), Cam Roigard (x2), Ngane Punivai (x3) and Billy Proctor, but it was the latter who shone brightest.

Here’s how the Hurricanes rated in the win.

1. Xavier Numia – 8

The Hurricanes’ scrum went to work early, powering forward and winning a penalty on first attempt. From that point on, there was a confidence to the front row at set piece time, and while it didn’t always pay off with more whistles, it was a reliable weapon all night long for the hosts. Numia’s side of the contest looked especially good, despite being up against Wallaby veteran Allan Alaalatoa.

The prop had some unorthodox but very productive contributions around the ruck, being involved in some recycles that led directly to linebreaks. Nine tackles without a miss.

2. Asafo Aumua – 8.5

The powerful hooker certainly made his presence felt with some big collisions with the ball, emerging from the contest as one of the most-employed carriers without wasting any of his touches. Aumua’s lineout throwing looked good throughout, and his contributions to the scrum were clearly working out well for his team. Both the Hurricanes’ scrum and lineout operated at 100 per cent.

3. Pasilio Tosi – 7.5

The big man got busy with a breakdown steal early and had some strong work around the ball. His few carries added to his team’s momentum. Again, deserves credit for the scrum’s dominance.

4. Caleb Delany – 8.5

The industrious lock had a couple of linebreak assists in the opening half alone, one to Ruben Love and one to Warner Dearns, proving his skill set at the head of the pod. Missed the kickoff receipt following the Dearns try and knocked the ball on just shy of half-time when momentum was hanging in the balance, but overall delivered in the engine room.

5. Warner Dearns – 8

Dearns’ contests at lineout time kept the Brumbies on edge, and he looked to be a powerful force on both attack and defence at maul time. The Brave Blossoms captain’s tackle success rate wasn’t as good as he would have liked it to be, including one miss that led to Tane Edmed’s try. The lock did claim two tries of his own in the match, though.

6. Brad Shields – 8.5

The veteran was often the fastest out of the Hurricanes’ line defensively, making tackles and not entertaining the idea of any Brumbies ball movement. Shields had some great contributions throwing himself into the contest when the ball was loose, and generally had the body language and attitude of someone who knows what this time of year is all about.

7. Du’Plessis Kirifi – 8.5

A real captain’s performance, despite a couple of errors. Guilty of running away from support on his early break and throwing a poor pass 10 minutes later, but what Kirifi added through his power and accuracy around the ruck kept the Cane-train rolling at pace, and his carries were missile-like.

8. Peter Lakai – 8

Dealt with the collision area well, winning post-contact metres with regularity and combating the physicality of Rob Valetini, who has the best collision stats in the comp. 14 tackles without a miss on the night.

9. Cam Roigard – 8.5

A superstar performance with the ball, breaking the line twice and scoring twice in the first half. It was a difficult night for box-kicking, and Roigard put one out on the full and otherwise opted for some short, safe clearances.

10. Ruben Love – 8.5

A couple of wobbly passes in the opening quarter, including one that led to a knock-on, and he quickly regretted the decision to leave a ball that ended up being a 50/22 when he was covering in the backfield.

Most of his other touches, however, were golden. The timing of the pass was on point, assisting linebreaks, and he took his opportunities well to make linebreaks of his own. In windy conditions, some of the conversions were remarkable.

11. Kini Naholo – 7.5

Not many chances early, but he had a couple of tackles without imposing himself physically in those collisions. A good clearance in the 23rd minute and did well to stay in the field of play long enough to deliver the try assist to Billy Proctor after Love’s 27th-minute break.

12. Jordie Barrett – 8

A robust showing from the inside centre, without the opportunity to contribute too much on attack. Plenty was asked of him defensively, and he led his side with 15 completions while missing just once. Many of those efforts were on the Brumbies’ big men, with Barrett’s physicality up to the task.

13. Billy Proctor – 9

Some really strong contributions when first to reach breakdowns, securing possession for his team. Contributed well to a few breaks with support lines and had a try assist to go with a linebreak assist or two. The centre’s covering defence was strong, and he generally provided the glue-guy performance of a world-class centre. A game-high 15 carries on the night.

14. Josh Moorby – 7.5

Some defensive reads out wide left something to be desired, with the ball able to bypass the winger in tight spaces. Nothing came of those plays, though, and Moorby found ways to have a positive impact on attack. His restart take reversed the Brumbies’ first piece of momentum in the match, and he provided a handful of brief but helpful carries.

15. Callum Harkin – 7.5

Difficult conditions for the fullback to operate, but Harkin put in a largely tidy performance for his team. One kick went the wrong direction, but there were some well-placed efforts as well that helped put his team in the right area of the field. The backfield coverage was nowhere to be seen for Corey Toole’s try. Two linebreaks and a try assist capped the fullback’s night.

Reserves

16. Raymond Tuputupu – 6

The hooker dropped off a few tackles immediately after entering the contest and gave away two penalties, but threw well at lineout time and delivered a try assist to Ngane Punivai.

17. Pouri Rakete-Stones – 6

Made his tackles but couldn’t keep his feet at scrum time.

18. Tyrel Lomax – 6

Had a few carries without putting much into them and stood his ground at scrum time.

19. Isaia Walker-Leawere – 4

The lock didn’t live up to the execution of Delany and looked off the pace with his team firing on all cylinders. Guilty of a high tackle in the 61st minute.

20. Brayden Iose – 8.5

The No.8 brought huge energy off the bench, getting his hands dirty immediately and setting the tone despite the game being already won.

21. Ereatara Enari – 8

Pushed Pollard out in a late tackle, saving the try, and was generally energetic and impactful.

22. Jone Rova – 7

23. Ngane Punivai – 8.5

Came into the game and poured salt in the wound with three tries.