Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw surprised by reports Fehi Fineanganofo is staying in NZ
Saturday, 30 May 2026
Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw hasn’t heard any word regarding reports star wing Fehi Fineanganofo has got out of his Newcastle Red Bulls contract and is staying in New Zealand.
It comes after podcaster Andy Rowe told Sports Nation New Zealand Rugby had pulled some strings and got the All Black in waiting out of his two-year deal.
Fineanganofo has been in hot form since signing with Newcastle in January, equalling the Super Rugby single season try-scoring record (16).
If Fehi Fineanganofo has wormed his way out of his Newcastle Red Bulls contract, it’s news to Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw.
He was surprised to be asked about a report shortly after the Hurricanes’ loss to the Crusaders on Friday night, claiming he had not heard what would be welcome news.
“We’ve made no secret we’d love him to be here if he can be here, but I genuinely haven’t heard anything along those lines,” Laidlaw said.
He was referring to a Sports Nation report that New Zealand Rugby (NZR) had ‘blocked’ Fineanganofo’s two-year deal with Newcastle.
Fineanganofo signed with the free-spending UK club in January, before wowing for the Hurricanes and equalling the Super Rugby try scoring record (16) for a season.
With All Black written all over him, NZR has been working behind the scenes in a bid to keep the talented 23-year-old in the country.
Andy Rowe, host of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast, told Sports Nation he had good news for New Zealand Rugby fans, but ‘terrible’ news for Newcastle fans.
“My sources on the ground in Newcastle are telling me they’re very, very upset that the deal is off.
“My understanding from the way that the news was leaked to me from Newcastle was they were very upset that New Zealand Rugby had – quote, unquote – blocked the deal.
“New Zealand Rugby Union have done what we all hoped they’d do, pulled some strings, done a Waisake Naholo and said: ‘Mate, you’re pretty much guaranteed to be in the All Blacks squad, so stick around, we’ll give you a black jersey and we’ll give you a long-term contract’.”
Fineanganofo (hamstring) missed the Hurricanes’ defeat on Friday night, and Laidlaw confirmed he won’t return for next week’s first round playoff match in the capital.
Nor would loose forward Devan Flanders (concussion), while All Black fetcher Du’Plessis Kirifi (shoulder) was also unlikely to feature.
The Hurricanes could also lose lock Isaia Walker-Leawere, who copped a blow to the cheek against the Crusaders and is set for an x-ray to determine the severity of the blow.
Laidlaw maintained the Hurricanes didn’t rest a ton of players for their final regular season match, instead insisting many players were unavailable for what was their eighth straight match after their second bye week.
“It’s been a big haul, not only for the players but your staff, physios and analysts and coaches. So it’s nice to now take a breath and work out who we’ve got the next 24 hours.”
The Hurricanes will face the Reds or Brumbies on Friday night, knowing they will advance to the semifinals regardless of the result.
Not that Laidlaw wants to burn the ‘Lucky Loser’ card, as the Chiefs did last year when they lost to the Blues, a result which cost them a home final.
This year, the ‘Lucky Loser’ doesn’t just drop one seed, they will be the fourth seed for the remainder of the playoffs.
“We’ve worked way too hard since January to get a home playoff, we don’t want to give that up if we can help it. So we will be all in trying to win the quarter, for sure.”
The Hurricanes stuck with their pre-match plan to pull Cam Roigard, Tyrel Lomax and Xavier Numia at halftime, when the visitors trailed 26-7 in a game they had nothing on the line, at least in terms of the standings.
That said, despite having the top seed locked in ahead of the fixture, Laidlaw said there was ‘disappointment and frustration’ after the Crusaders, themselves missing plenty of fire-power, racked up 873 metres, beat 42 defenders and made 18 clean breaks en route to outscoring the Hurricanes seven tries to two.
“There was enough on the line for us wanting to improve, and some guys that played tonight and, obviously, quite a few will play over the next few weeks in the playoffs. So, it’s important that we don’t brush over areas that we can control.”
Walker-Leawere isn’t the only player who left the high-scoring match through injury.
The Crusaders, days after losing Will Jordan and Scott Barrett for the rest of the season, are sweating on injuries to tighthead props Fletcher Newell (knee) and Seb Calder (calf).
Already without All Black loose head Tamaiti Williams for the year, both sustained leg injuries during the match, with the sight of All Black Newell hobbling off the park especially alarming.
“It’s not ideal,” coach Rob Penney said, adding Gus Brown was next cab off the rank, while George Bower can also cover tighthead.
The Crusaders are unlikely to welcome back hooker George Bell next week, but lock Tahlor Cahill and centre Braydon Ennor could return from the injury ward.