Hurricanes not spooked by ‘24 factor as they embrace Super Rugby Pacific title favouritism
Monday, 18 May 2026
The déjà-vu factor rings loud and clear for the Hurricanes as they steel for the finishing burst of a Super Rugby Pacific season that sure has that familiar feel to it.
And, guess what? Not only are they not spooked by the eerie parallels to their 2024 campaign, that ended with a bitter semifinal defeat to the Chiefs at home after they topped the regular season standings, they are ready to face those demons head-on.
Clark Laidlaw’s Canes continued their impressive march through 2026 at Eden Park on Saturday night as they ran in seven tries and rescued what looked a lost bonus point with an 82nd-minute score to standout loosie Peter Lakai that completed a notable 47-24 victory.
The result not only improved the Canes to 10-2 for the year, (they finished 12-2 in ‘24) and kicked them five points clear of the second-placed Chiefs with two to play (Highlanders at home and Crusaders away), but it snapped a seven-year losing skid against the Blues at Eden Park and saw them bank consecutive victories over the Auks in a season for the first time since 2019.
The cold, hard facts are that Super Rugby ‘26 is now for all intents and purposes a two-horse race between the Canes and Chiefs, who cannot be hauled in for second by a fading Blues outfit who have now dropped two on the bounce and appear just too one-dimensional to mount a realistic title challenge from third.
The Crusaders loom as a dangerous joker in the pack, especially if they can get a few heavy-hitters back, but it would be a monumental task for the defending champs to win three consecutive finals matches on the road to lift yet another championship.
Truth is the Canes are travelling beautifully. On Saturday night they were at their cool, clinical best as they effectively put the Blues away with a 21-0 first-half shutout, and sealed the deal with a surging third quarter that saw them lead 40-7 with a quarter of an hour remaining. From their powerhouse front row, a pair of locks on top of their game, to a loose trio that bossed the breakdown, their forwards were on point, and their backs dined out on the opportunities served up.
Wings Kini Naholo and Fehi Fineanganofo – with a record-equalling 16th of the season – scored a try apiece, Jordie Barrett continued his standout campaign with another command display in midfield, Ruben Love and Callum Harkin did their jobs splendidly, and stand-in starting halfback Ereatara Enari revelled in his chance to shine in Cam Roigard’s injury absence.
And the news only gets better for the Canes, with Laidlaw confirming both Roigard and All Blacks prop Tyrel Lomax, who hasn’t played this season, trained on Saturday and are nearing returns – Lomax potentially this week, and Roigard possibly the week after.
One thing that is sure: the Hurricanes are now the warm title favourites as they face an extended finals run without having to leave the capital.
“We want to be the best team. We want to finish first,” said Laidlaw when asked if he embraced those rising expectations. “We understand you’ve got to start again in the playoffs. But if you don’t have expectations, you’re probably going pretty rubbish. It’s something we’ve managed way better this year around us concentrating on us.
“It feels like the men are in a sweet spot around their preparation on a Monday. We just come into work and it’s real even … not too high, not too low.”
So, would anything short of a title be disappointing?
The Canes coach laughed. “You trying to set me up for that? It would be disappointing, yeah, but being disappointed or thinking we can win doesn’t mean to say we’re going to win. But we’re not here to shy away from trying to win this competition.”
Barrett was part of that Canes team in ‘24 that blinked when the lights were brightest. and said that experience had informed their campaign this year.
“We sat down at the start of the year and understood some of the metrics it takes to win this competition,” said the in-form All Black. “There are a lot of guys carrying that with them. You see how motivated the boys are. We want to win this season, and we’re not going to shy away from that.
“We got jumped two years ago at home against the Chiefs. We were loose with the ball and still had opportunities to win that game. We got beat, and that’s all it takes in do-or-die footy. Our main focus is to get there in first place, and whoever we get in the quarterfinal, we’ll do what we need to. That’s all we’re aiming for at the moment.”
Meanwhile, Laidlaw was not keen to get involved in any bigger-picture ramifications around dazzling wing Fineanganofo whose pending departure for Newcastle has come under the spotlight with form Highlanders flyer Caleb Tangitau now out long-term with an Achilles rupture.
“We’ve said at length he’s made his decision, and he would have made it for the right reasons,” said the Canes coach who’s known his wing since his days as a teen in the sevens programme. “He’s definitely electric. I’m not too fussed around higher honours. I just enjoy him in Super Rugby. You want the top New Zealand players playing here.”
Asked about the changed national wing landscape, Laidlaw smiled: “It’s no surprise. People talk about sevens all the time. Most of the top wingers in the competition have played sevens, so I’d love us to support our sevens programme and keep putting our best young players in there.”
Laidlaw confirmed Fineanganofo may have to wait a week for his crack at the Super Rugby try record outright after he pulled up “a wee bit lame” on Saturday night, and was likely to need a game off.
At Eden Park, Auckland: Hurricanes 47 (Warner Dearns 8min, Jordie Barrett 11min, Pasilio Tosi 38min, Kini Naholo 55min, Fehi Fineanganofo 60min, Raymond Tuputupu 63min, Peter Lakai 82min tries; Ruben Love 6 con) Blues 24 (Malachi Wrampling 50min, AJ Lam 66min, Kurt Eklund 75min, Sam Darry 80min tries; Beauden Barrett con, Stephen Perofeta con). HT: 21-0.