Hurricanes say Ruben Love 'went down pretty heavily', give return timeline

Ruben Love’s 2026 Super Rugby Pacific campaign is one of the most anticipated in the competition, with the young All Black set to transition to the first five-eight position after spending the last three years impressing at fullback.

But last week, it was revealed that Love’s season debut would be delayed due to an ankle injury, and Wednesday’s team naming included an updated injury list that revealed the 24-year-old faces a recovery timeline of at least a month.

Addressing the media following the team naming, Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw shared more details on the injury.

“He stood on a foot, rolled his ankle. It was totally innocuous; he was just running along the field,” Laidlaw said, before specifying the best-case scenario is to have Love back in four weeks.

“We’re on the road. He’s not ready for next week, so you’re already talking the Force game (in round 5). If he’s ready for that, then cool.

“But he’s making good progress. He went down pretty heavily, so four to six weeks is probably a good thing given the way it looked…

“I think when a player goes down, and he’s in a bit of pain, you’re always concerned. Ruben’s pretty tough, so he doesn’t lie down. I know he’s a fullback/first-five, but he doesn’t lie down easily.

“So, it’s good news, really, given as I say, it could’ve been a lot worse.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

4

Draws

0

Wins

1

Average Points scored

51

20

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

80%

Six Hurricanes joined Love on the round 2 injury list, while a couple more are still ramping up after an extended break following All Black duty last November.

Laidlaw said he has plenty of faith in the squad depth, “but it doesn’t take much to thin your squad out.

“We’ll not be counting our chickens on that front. We’ve got a strong group to play this week.

“The injuries we do have at the minute are short-term. There are a few boys back next week, and if we weren’t on the road for two weeks in a row, there’d be a whole host of boys back the week after. So, hopefully by the time we return from tour, we’ll have a fit and healthy squad.

“Having a development team playing over the next few weeks is super helpful. There are some guys who are going to get some rugby this week, like Tyrel (Lomax) and Pasi (Tosi), who have been out of the game for a long time. Tyrel’s been out for a long period with a double injury, so hopefully he’ll be ready by the time we come home.”