The six performers of the week from Super Rugby Pacific qualifying finals

The Super Rugby Pacific semi-finals will be all Kiwi affairs, with Australia’s abysmal record in finals across the Tasman continuing.

They have suffered 23 consecutive defeats since 1996. Though the Reds didn’t disgrace themselves in their 46-24 loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton, the Brumbies were horrible, blown off the park 66-12 by a rampant Hurricanes in Wellington. Remarkably, the Hurricanes had lost their three previous playoff matches against the Brumbies.

The Blues get a second life, but after being put to the sword 52-31 by the Crusaders, their chances of snapping a four-game losing streak and upsetting the top-qualifying Hurricanes in the capital on Saturday night appear bleak.

Who were the performers of the week in the quarter finals of Super Rugby Pacific?

Reuben Love (Hurricanes) 

The Hurricanes have made 16 trips to the Super Rugby playoffs since 1996 and have never had a larger victory. No one has scored more points in a single playoff game for the Hurricanes than Reuben Love. With nine conversions, a penalty, and a perfect 10/10 goal-kicking record, he amassed 21 points, surpassing Jordie Barrett’s previous record of 20 points, also set against the Brumbies in a 35-16 win in 2017. Love joins Beauden Barrett (2012) and Otere Black (2017) in kicking nine conversions in a single game for the Hurricanes.

In the swirling wind and horizontal rain at Hrny Stadium, perfection from the tee deserves acclaim. It continues his outstanding season, with 50-for-63 accuracy, ranking second among kickers with at least 25 goals. He trails the Highlanders’ Cam Miller, who kicked at 85% accuracy in 2026.

Love was electric in general play, unleashing a Hurricanes attack that set a playoff record for most points by any team. The previous record was 61 by the Bulls in the 2009 final against the Chiefs. Love directly assisted tries for All Blacks centre Billy Procter with a slashing break and a third for replacement winger Ngane Punivai with a sideline-to-sideline cross-kick.

There was an early handling blemish and a misjudgment of a bounce that resulted in a Brumbies 50/22. Otherwise, Love shows increasing vibrancy and maturity, surely forcing the All Blacks selectors to consider him a genuine option for the number ten jersey.

In one of the great nights of Hurricanes rugby, they passed their previous highest score of 56 against the Brumbies, inflicting the largest ever defeat on the two-time champions. Even unobtrusive workhorse Caleb Delany scored his first try in 28 games since a 44-14 win against the Western Force on February 23, 2024. He then delivered a Nathan Cleary-style pass for a try to fellow lock Warner Dearns. The Hurricanes have reached or passed 50 points in six of 15 games this season and scored 95 tries, just six short of their 2017 record.

The Hurricanes extended their home winning run against Australian teams to 23 consecutive matches. This sequence began right after their 24-29 loss to the Waratahs at Wellington in 2015.

The most points by an individual in any game against the Brumbies is 35 by Morne Steyn for the Bulls in a 50-35 win in Pretoria in 2009. The most points in any playoff game is 27, by the Bulls’ Derick Hougaard, in a 27-12 semi-final win in Pretoria in 2007.

Christian Lio-Willie (Crusaders)

The top tackler, with his partially ruined ears, in the Crusaders’ 2025 title triumph, is coming home with a wet sail again. A supremely consistent player who covers all three back row positions, he was assertive in his nine carries, delivering a magical offload for one of Johnny McNicholl’s three tries. His handling was equally impressive for Taha Kemara’s score. He made 15 tackles, a turnover, and secured the most lineouts with four catches. In the New Zealand Herald this week, former All Blacks halfback Ant Strachan called Lio-Willie “Super Rugby’s in-form No 8, on both sides of the ball.” In 15 matches this season, he ranks third in the competition for most carries (160) and fifth in tackles (183).

In 14 out of 14 starts in 2026, Blues and All Blacks lock Sam Darry ranks inside the top ten of the competition for tackles (195) and lineouts won (54). Against the Crusaders, he had 14 tackles, an epic 40m break from one of his five carries, and he won three lineouts.

Johnny McNicholl (Crusaders)

No Will Jordan, no worries. The 10-Test Welsh international became the first Crusaders player to score a playoff hat-trick and collected his first trifecta for the Crusaders since an 85-26 win against the Melbourne Rebels in Christchurch on July 9, 2016. Secure underneath the high ball and incisive on attack, the evergreen 35-year-old in his 60th match for the Crusaders showed no signs of slowing down.

The Crusaders’ biggest score in a Super Rugby playoff game is 52 points, achieved in a 52-15 victory over the Blues in a Super Rugby Pacific semifinal in 2023. Their biggest score against the Blues is 59 in 2012. Captain David Havili had another memorable night with a try. He’d be a great choice as a midweek captain in South Africa. Meanwhile, from the excellent Rugby Database, the most wins by a player against a single team is.

20/22 Codie Taylor (Blues)

20/23 David Havili (Blues)

18/22 Sam Whitelock (Highlanders)

17/18 Mitchell Drummond (Blues)

17/18 Scott Barrett (Blues)

17/27 James Slipper (Waratahs)

Cortez Ratima & Damian McKenzie (Chiefs) 

Ratima hasn’t set the world on fire in 2026, starting eight of 13 matches and playing just 100 more minutes than All Blacks XV halfback Xavier Roe. Ratima delivered a timely reminder of why he’s been a 21-Test All Black.

His linebreak set up the first Chiefs try for Kyren Taumoefolau, and he made another searing break moments later to create more attack for the hosts. Skittery kicks and sluggish passes were not part of this display; his clearances, both by pass and with the boot, were outstanding. That allowed 74-Test All Black (380 points, 58 wins) Damian McKenzie to enjoy a record-breaking night.

With two tries, two penalties, and five conversions, he scored a Chiefs playoff record 26 points, passing his own record of 22 in a 37-17 win over the Brumbies in a Hamilton semi-final last year. The most points McKenzie has scored in any game for the Chiefs was 28 in a 58-24 win over the Southern Kings in 2016.

McKenzie’s lightning initiative in the 46th minute stretched the Chiefs’ lead beyond a converted try. Meanwhile, his quick lineout throw from behind the back to spark an Isaac Hutchinson try was outrageous. McKenzie has won 99 of his 149 games (1577 points) for the Chiefs, a record for most wins without a Super Rugby title, passing Tendai Mtawarira, who had 96 victories in 160 matches without a crown.

Fraser McReight (Queensland Reds) 

The best player in Australia. For an often underwhelming Reds, McReight has been inspirational. Against the Chiefs, he made 17 tackles, pilfered two turnovers, and carried nine times. McReight ranks second for most tackles this season with 204, a handful behind Highlanders’ workhorse TK Howden. He is the leading turnover merchant at ruck time in Super Rugby and possibly world rugby. He is a vital part of a Wallabies side hoping to avoid ten defeats in a calendar year, an ignominy that befell them for the first time in 2025.