Hurricanes vs Crusaders takes: Take a bow, Cory Jane, the champs are slipping

The Hurricanes and Crusaders collided in Wellington to kick off round 12 of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season, and it was the hosts who emerged with the slight majority of the 69 points scored in the game.

A seesaw second half kept the game in the balance until the final whistle, with a 76th-minute Dom Gardiner try bringing the Crusaders within seven points of a super point finish. No heroics could breach the Hurricanes’ defence, though, and the match finished with a scoreline of 38-31.

The result sees the Hurricanes return to the top of the Super Rugby Pacific standings, while the Crusaders secured a bonus point but are at risk of dropping two places to the sixth seed.

Here are some takeaways from the result.

Take a bow, Cory Jane

The Hurricanes’ defence is smothering teams in 2026, conceding just 17 points per game. That’s five points less than the next-best defence, the Chiefs.

The speed at which Billy Proctor is coming off the line to shut down the attack is making life very difficult for opposing midfielders, and the fact that no team has managed to exploit it with cross-field kicks is a testament to the defence coach’s nous and the backfield’s ability to cover space.

The Crusaders looked lost when trying to find their outside backs to attack space out wide, and you can only imagine that influenced David Havili’s bizarre choice to attempt a kick as the final hooter sounded.

The All Blacks XV defence coach’s stock has been rising throughout his time as an assistant coach with the Hurricanes, a role he took up in 2020.

There were a few voices championing Jane’s credentials during the uncertainty of the All Blacks coaching saga, and should Tana Umaga struggle to deliver results, Jane could raise his hand as a worthy candidate for the job.

The champs are slipping 

As Crusaders head coach Rob Penney said after the match, this was always going to be a game of fine margins, and that’s usually where the Crusaders find a way to win.

On Friday night, down 14 with five minutes remaining, a Johnny McNicholl interception saw the visitors run 80 metres and force a five-metre scrum, from which Dom Gardiner scored after just one phase.

Super point was on the table, and some offloads in contact got the Crusaders back on the run, making their way into the Hurricanes’ half before a wayward offload ended the break.

The Crusaders got one last chance to attack, but after their carries reached the halfway line, David Havili threw the game away with a poor cross-field kick that fell into the waiting arms of Ruben Love. It’s hard to imagine that one going down well in the review session.

The Crusaders have won eight of the last nine Super Rugby titles by making those winning moments count, by being the more clinical team in the game of fine margins, by showing patience and trusting their systems. In Wellington, Havili handed the Hurricanes the win on a silver platter; not a great way to celebrate your 150th game for the club.

The result leaves the Crusaders likely needing wins in each of their final three matches. While all three will be home games at the new One New Zealand Stadium, and potentially with reinforcements in the form of Scott Barrett, the upcoming opponents are the toughest on offer: the Blues, Chiefs, and Hurricanes.

Loose forward of the day

Ethan Blackadder returned to action for the Crusaders on Friday evening after six weeks on the sideline with a calf issue and made an impression in the tight work. The flanker was hitting breakdowns with more accuracy, making his impacts count, while completing 15 tackles in his 50 minutes on the park.

Leicester Fainga’anuku had two breakdown steals in the first half, and was as eager as ever to get his hands on the ball, which resulted in a seventh-minute try. The much-discussed hybrid has been present at the breakdown in his new role, but hasn’t been asked to move all that many bodies, leaving the jury a little light on evidence when it comes to delivering a robust verdict.

Meanwhile, his opposite number, Du’Plessis Kirifi, had a busy night on both sides of the ball, leading his team in both tackles and carries, and also provided some strong finishing power for his side’s first points of the game.

There was no shortage of loose forward talent on display in Wellington, but the most impressive would have to be Christian Lio-Willie, who was a consistent source of go-forward and played with a physical edge that set the tone for his team. The Crusaders looked at their most dangerous when employing their big ball-runners in tight, and Lio-Willie led that charge.