Hurricanes fight back to beat Western Force as bench turns the game in Napier
Friday, 13 March 2026
At McLean Park, Napier: Hurricanes 31 (Cam Roigard 35’, Brad Shields 49’, Devan Flanders 52’, Callum Harkin 60’, Warner Dearns 68’ tries; Jordie Barrett 3 con) Western Force 23 (Darby Lancaster 23’, 70’, Lopeti Faifua 74’ tries; Ben Donaldson con, 2 pen). HT: 5-8.
The Hurricanes overpowered the Western Force 31-23 in Napier on Friday night to secure back-to-back wins over Australian sides and move top of the Super Rugby Pacific standings.
Clark Laidlaw’s side flexed their depth by unleashing All Blacks Ruben Love, Tyrel Lomax and Asafo Aumua, along with Japan captain Warner Dearns, in the second half, though Lomax’s comeback was cut short by a fresh ankle injury late in the game.
The replacements made an immediate impact as the Hurricanes rallied from 8-5 down at halftime to claim their third win in four games, scoring four tries in 20 minutes.
Dearns sealed the result by charging down a kick from Force Wallabies first five-eighth Ben Donaldson and sprinting through to score in the 69th minute.
The Hurricanes led 31-11 at that stage but conceded two late tries to surrender a bonus point while lock Isaia Walker-Leawere was in the sin bin. Walker-Leawere was shown a yellow card for a reckless cleanout on Darcy Swain, though the television match official ruled it did not warrant an upgrade to red.
The Force have never beaten the Hurricanes in New Zealand but struck first when Darby Lancaster stepped Bailyn Sullivan to score the opening try.
After earlier being denied by the bounce of the ball, Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard responded five minutes before halftime, selling a dummy five metres out and slicing through a gap in the Force defence.
The Force did a great job of suffocating the Hurricanes in the first half. With little space to attack, the hosts were forced to kick in behind.
Donaldson kicked his second penalty to stretch the Force lead to six, prompting the Hurricanes to roll on the heavy artillery. Aumua, Lomax, Dearns and Xavier Numia entered early in the second half to join halftime replacement Love.
There was an immediate lift in intensity. Brad Shields powered over for the go-ahead try on his 100th Super Rugby start before Hawke’s Bay’s Devan Flanders added another three minutes later.
Callum Harkin scored on the hour mark after a burst from Aumua, before Dearns charged down Donaldson’s kick to seal the win.
The Force crossed twice late to avoid a heavy defeat and deny the Hurricanes a bonus point.
What they said
Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw to Sky Sport: “It was a mixed bag. We started slowly and we know the Force up front, they have a lot of Wallabies in their pack, and it felt they got on top of us physically in the first half. In the second half for 25 minutes we looked really good again, we put the ball in the right end of the field and scored a couple of nice tries, then we finished poorly too. It’s a weird feeling. It feels like we’ve lost a game.”
The big picture
This was the ninth meeting between the Hurricanes and Western Force in New Zealand and the Hurricanes have won them all. They have also won their last eight games in Napier, justifying their decision to take home games to the regions.
What’s next
More Friday night action awaits the Hurricanes, who head to Dunedin to face the Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium next week in their third straight Friday fixture. After a three-week stint in New Zealand, the Force return home and will enjoy a bye before hosting the Chiefs on March 28.