Hurricanes playmaker Harry Godfrey set to miss 2026 Super Rugby season

Hurricanes playmaker Harry Godfrey is set to miss the entire 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season after sustaining a knee injury during a training session with Hawke’s Bay. Godfrey suffered an ACL rupture and requires surgery, the Hurricanes confirmed on Wednesday.

This is another significant update for Godfrey, who missed a large part of this year’s Super Rugby campaign with a lower leg injury. Godfrey started the first five matches of the Hurricanes’ season at first five-eighth before picking up that long-term issue.

Before that injury, Godfrey had started the Super season as one of the form No. 10s in the competition, which included two tries in as many matches at home against the Fijian Drua and Blues – scoring 24 points in that round three New Zealand derby.

Am on returning Boks

Am on returning Boks

Godfrey returned to the field in the opening round of the NPC season, lining up in the halves with Ere Enari against Counties Manukau. The 22-year-old started six matches for the Magpies before picking up the season-ending injury at training.

“It’s hugely disappointing for us and Harry to get a serious injury in the NPC and take him out of contention for the Super Rugby Pacific season ahead,” Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw said in a statement.

“It was pretty obvious last year that Harry was stepping up to become a real valued member of the squad. The way he was playing in the NPC this year, I think you could see that maturity was starting to come.

“We will support him post-operation at the end of the month. I’m sure he’ll be back bigger and better and stronger. We have a good track record here of players returning well from injury, so our medical crew and strength and conditioning team will get to work through November and help with Harry’s recovery.”

The Hurricanes will confirm an injury replacement for Godfrey when their squad for the 2026 season is announced next month.

In other NPC news, seven All Blacks have been released to play in this weekend’s quarter-finals. Waikato make the trip south to face Ranfurly Shield holders Otago on Friday, before Bay of Plenty face Tasman on Saturday afternoon.

Godfrey’s Hawke’s Bay teammates take on Taranaki at McLean Park on Saturday, before the final quarter-final of the 2025 season is contested between Canterbury and Counties Manukau on Sunday at Apollo Projects Stadium.