Hurricanes Rugby

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.