Watch: Hurricanes star’s video of celebratory boat trip removed over water safety concerns
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
An Instagram video showing members of the Hurricanes rugby team out on a boat in the dark has been removed from social media following water safety concerns.
The footage, shared by Du’Plessis Ariu Kirifi showed his co-captain Jordie Barrett and Callum Harkin on the water without wearing life jackets.
A video of members of the victorious Hurricanes team going out in a boat has been removed from social media after concerns were raised around water safety.
The video recorded and shared to Instagram by Du’Plessis Kirifi showed Jordie Barrett, Callum Harkin and Tevita Mafileo out on the water in the dark on Wellington Harbour.
Both Barrett, who appeared to controlling the motor, and Harkins could be seen without a life jacket on, which sparked a backlash in the comments around water safety.
A spokesperson for the local Harbourmaster told Stuff that “in the Wellington Region (in common with much of the country) life jackets are required to be worn in boat less than 6 metres long, like the one on the video”.
The spokesperson hoped those on board had lights on at the time so other boats could see them, which he said was a requirement.
“We saw they had phones on board, hopefully at least one or two were in waterproof bags to raise the alarm if needed (two forms of communications is required).”
On the positive side, he said, the group had appeared to have checked the weather before heading out. “[They] picked a great, flat calm, Wellington day, which is an important way to stay safe,” he said.
A Coastguard spokesperson told Stuff on Tuesday there was “nothing to suggest they [were] doing anything illegal” in the video, but by Wednesday, another spokesperson said the comment was “provided in error”.
“Coastguard is not an enforcement agency. Matters of this kind sit with the relevant Harbourmaster and Maritime New Zealand,” they said. “Coastguard’s role is search and rescue, along with promoting safe behaviour on the water.”
A Hurricanes spokesperson told Stuff that following internal reviews “the players understand the concerns raised regarding the video”.
It comes as the Hurricanes annihilated the Chiefs 60-5 in Saturday night’s Super Rugby Pacific final in Wellington to win their first title in a decade.
The video has since been removed from social media.
This story was updated on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, after the Coastguard’s statement that comments by a spokesperson on Tuesday regarding the video were “provided in error”.