The Hurricanes (who were formally known as the Wellington Hurricanes) represent the lower North Island of New Zealand in Super Rugby and Super Rugby Aotearoa. Despite a relatively poor start to the competition, they won their first title in 2016 and now they regularly qualify for Super Rugby’s knockout phases.
Read on to discover even more about the Hurricanes Rugby team. On this page you’ll find a detailed history of the team as well as information on their squad and a review of their recent results.
It’s one of the many questions that rugby fans around the world would love to have answered: which club team would reign supreme if the best of the best were pitted against each other?
Chris Lendrum discussed the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season and referred to it as an opportunity to play the tournament "in the way it was intended to be run".
The Hurricanes (who were formally known as the Wellington Hurricanes) represent the lower North Island of New Zealand in Super Rugby and Super Rugby Aotearoa. Despite a relatively poor start to the competition, they won their first title in 2016 and now they regularly qualify for Super Rugby’s knockout phases.
Read on to discover even more about the Hurricanes Rugby team. On this page you’ll find a detailed history of the team as well as information on their squad and a review of their recent results.
The Hurricanes Rugby side was formed in 1996 when the Super Rugby tournament (then known as Super 12) began. Although big things were expected of the newly-formed side, they struggled in the tournament’s early days. Although they reached the semi-finals of the competition in 1997, they failed to reach the same stage of the competition again for several years and regularly finished in the bottom half of the standings.
However, a change of coach and captain for the 2003 season brought a change of fortune for the Hurricanes Rugby team. They immediately reached the semi-finals of the competition again. In addition to their 2003 semi-final appearance, they also reached this stage of the competition in 2005, 2008 and 2009. In 2006, the team went one stage better and reached the final. However, they fell to the Crusaders.
It would be several more years before the Hurricanes Rugby side reached the final of the competition again. When they finally did in 2015, they also finished top of the table in the regular season and captured the New Zealand conference trophy. However, they were once again beaten in the final and several of their top stars retired.
Thankfully, the Hurricanes Rugby side didn’t have to wait long for their first triumph. The next season they once again finished top of the table and captured the New Zealand conference. This time though, they comfortably beat the Lions in the final to lift the title for the first and only time in the team’s history.
The team haven’t returned to the final since this triumph, but they have reached the semi-finals on several occasions and remain hugely competitive.
Alex Fidow Prop 
Ardie Savea Flanker 7 
Asafo Aumua Hooker 
Ben May Prop 
Blake Gibson Openside Flanker 
Brayden Iose Number 8 
Caleb Delaney Lock 5 
Dane Coles Hooker 
Devan Flanders Lock 
Dominic Bird Lock 
Du'Plessis Kirifi Flanker 7 
Isaia Walker-Leawere Lock 
Jacob Devery Hooker 
James Blackwell Lock 
James O'Reilly Hooker 
Jared Proffit Tighthead Prop 
Justin Sangster Lock 4 
Kianu Kereru-Symes Hooker 
Leni Apisai Hooker 
Owen Franks Tighthead Prop 
Pouri Rakete-Stones Prop 
Raymond Tuputupu Hooker 
Reed Prinsep Blindside Flanker 
Scott Scrafton Lock 
Siua Maile Hooker 
TK Howden Blindside Flanker 
Tevita Mafileo Prop 
Tom Parsons Lock 
Tyler Laubscher Number 8 
Tyrel Lomax Prop 
Xavier Numia Prop 
Aiden Morgan Fly Half 
Bailyn Sullivan Centre 
Billy Proctor Centre 
Cameron Roigard 
Jackson Garden-Bachop Fly half 
Jamie Booth Scrum half 
Jordie Barrett Fullback 
Josh Moorby Fullback 
Julian Savea Centre 12 
Logan Henry Scrum Half 
Pasilio Tosi Fullback 
Pepesana Patafilo Centre 
Peter Umaga-Jensen Centre 12 
Richard Judd Scrum half 
Riley Higgins Centre 13 
Ruben Love 
Salesi Rayasi Wing 
TJ Perenara Scrum half 
Teihorangi Walden Centre 12 
Wes Goosen Right Wing Due to the team’s relative success in recent years, a whopping 65 former international players have featured for the Hurricanes Rugby team, including Ma'a Nonu, who was capped more than 100 times for New Zealand. However, the team’s most famous player of all time remains Jonah Lomu, who played for the Hurricanes 29 times between 2000 and 2003.
The current Hurricanes Rugby squad is as strong as ever though and it features 11 international players like All Blacks legend Dane Coles. Other stars include Julian Savea and Ardie Savea, who have both been capped more than 50 times by the New Zealand international team.
Hurricanes Rugby 
