Hurricanes overcome Crusaders as winger Fehi Fineanganofo scores another special try

Friday, 1 May 2026

At Hnry Stadium, Wellington: Hurricanes 38 (Du’Plessis Kirifi try 20min, Josh Moorby try 35min, Cam Roigard try 39min, Raymond Tuputupu try 51min, Fehi Fineanganofo try 64min; Ruben Love 5 con, pen) Crusaders 31 (Leicester Fainga’anuku try 7min, Noah Hotham try 45min, Rivez Reihana try 57min, Dom Gardiner try 76 min; Taha Kemara con, pen, Reihana 3 con). HT: 24-10

Fehi Fineanganofo has done it again.

The Hurricanes winger propelled his side to the top of the Super Rugby ladder with a try out of nothing in the 64th-minute in Wellington on Friday, his 15th of a remarkable season that will surely attract the attention of new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie.

The Hurricanes were holding a 31-24 lead before Fineanganofo stamped his mark on the game.

From a standing start, he stepped inside George Bower and was tackled by Dom Gardiner before letting the ball go and going again, exchanging passes with Isaia Walker-Leawere to power over a special try.

The try survived a few TMO reviews - there was a suspicion of a forward transfer by Walker-Leawere - but referee James Doleman stuck with his on-field decision.

It gave the Hurricanes enough of a buffer to withstand a late Crusaders fightback, with the impressive Gardiner - an All Blacks contender - smashing his way over for a try in the 76th minute to give the home fans some nervous moments in the final stages.

However, the Hurricanes survived and Fineanganofo’s effort on an otherwise quiet night highlighted his unique qualities.

No 7s Du’Plessis Kirifi and Leicester Fainga’anuku traded blows around the paddock, although Fainga’anuku’s influence faded after a fast start.

The hybrid project won one early lineout to show how committed he is to making the switch to the loose forwards.

Minutes later, he showed his power close to the line to score the first points of the evening - and it was nothing less than the Crusaders deserved after some excellent, multiphase build-up work.

Young winger back Kurtis MacDonald was also prominent early for the visitors.

The hulking Cantabrian was a late inclusion for Braydon Ennor, with Dallas McLeod switching to the midfield, and MacDonald took one high ball with aplomb and was effective with his kick-chase.

But after the Crusaders’ positive beginning, the Hurricanes fought their way back into the contest - flanker Kirifi scored in a similar manner to Fainga’anuku - and for 35 minutes the Kiwi rivals cancelled each other out.

But in the five minutes before the break the Hurricanes exploded into life.

First, Billy Proctor picked up the crumbs from a contestable kick and fed Peter Lakai with an offload.

Lakai showed admirable composure to draw the last defender and pass infield to Josh Moorby, who grabbed the ball at the second invitation to score.

Then, the Hurricanes exposed the 21-year-old MacDonald defensively. Cam Roigard was the catalyst with a sharp pass that put Brayden Iose outside MacDonald, who was too narrow, and the halfback was then on hand to score from Iose’s clever chip-kick.

The two-try burst gave the Hurricanes a 24-10 lead at halftime and the Crusaders responded by replacing No 10 Taha Kemara with Rivez Reihana.

An opportunistic try by Noah Hotham, taking advantage of a rare defensive misread by Warner Dearns, closed the gap to seven points but the Hurricanes were good enough to respond through replacement hooker Raymond Tuputupu.

The Manawatū product had struggled with a couple of his early throws but made up for it with some damaging carries.

Tuputupu hit a Roigard short ball at full speed to crash through a Crusaders defence that struggled at times to contain the Hurricanes’ power runners.

A slick Crusaders set-piece move opened a gap for Rivez Reihana as the Crusaders refused to lie down.

That put the game in the balance in the final quarter, but Fineanganofo’s individual brilliance was too much for the Crusaders to handle.