The three top performers from the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific final

“It’s nine o’clock on a Saturday. The regular crowd shuffles in.” But tonight, it’s not the regular crowd. About a third of the 33,000 people have never been here before or just came for a selfie.

In a week of Big Apple sporting success, it hardly mattered. These fairweather fans were ripe. It took only 22 minutes, near 7:30 pm, for Billy Joel to bring the house down, followed by half a dozen Mexican Waves.

That wind! The only thing worse is losing the toss on a rugged Rawalpindi wicket.

The Chiefs have become the Buffalo Bills of Super Rugby. Four straight losses in the competition’s Super Bowl, each essentially bigger than the last. Even their only try scorer, Naitoa Ah Kuoi, is a Wellingtonian.

Hurricanes 60, Chiefs 5. For the seventh time in 14 wins, the Hurricanes scored 50 or more points. Who were the best performers of the Super Rugby Pacific Final?

Xavier Numia 

Huge scrums, cut-out passes from centre, bumping runs. It would be a scandal if the 91-game Hurricane Numia does not become the second All Black named Xavier.

All Black #978 Xavier Rush played eight Tests between 1998 and 2004. Xavier is the younger brother of Black Ferns Rugby World Cup winner Annalea Bodle (nee Rush), while fellow Black Fern and President of New Zealand Rugby Erin Rush and All Black and sevens legend Eric Rush are cousins.

Annaleah and Xavier were the first brother/sister combination to play a Test match on the same day at the same ground. On August 29, 1998, at the Sydney Football Stadium, Annaleah featured in the Black Ferns’ 27-3 win over Australia. Xavier played No.8 in the All Blacks‘ 14-19 loss to the Wallabies.

Isaia Walker-Leawere

The Benetton-bound lock saved his 92nd and best Hurricanes performance for last. He topped the hosts’ tackle count with 19, eight more than Billy Procter and Devan Flanders. That cross-kick came from the back blocks of Ruatoria. Outrageous but natural. A story to be retold often on 145 Waiomatatini Road.

Jordie Barrett

Charged arrow-straight and threw scarcely believable skip passes in the elements. Could Jordie be picked as the All Blacks captain? Ruben Love was officially named the man of the match. His Simone Biles impersonation for a try is worthy of an expensive picture frame, but there was equal artistry in jersey 12.

Dane Coles

The original Hurricanes winning captain (2016) raised eyebrows before kickoff when he was seen queuing for beers near Astle 31. If the spotty-faced bartender had known, he wouldn’t have paid.

Malcolm Gillies 

The self-made millionaire property developer responsible for Upper Hutt’s craft beer Disneyland, Brewtown, and the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) took over a dud. The Hurricanes might not be profitable yet. With a few shake-ups and a dominant title success, maybe they can be.