Hurricanes face a tough sell for qualifying final against Brumbies, as Crusaders sell out in 20 minutes

Wednesday, 3 June 2026

Ruben Love and the Hurricanes are hoping to be at Hnry Stadium for the next three weekends after qualifying No 1.

What: Super Rugby Pacific qualifying final, Hurricanes v Brumbies. Where: Hnry Stadium, Wellington. When: Friday 7.05pm, Sky Sport 1.

ANALYSIS: It doesn’t seem right, yet is the cold reality of Super Rugby Pacific (outside Christchurch, at least).

As the Crusaders gleefully put up the ‘house full’ sign for their Saturday qualifying final against the Blues at One NZ Stadium - 20 minutes after tickets were offered - thousands and thousands of yellow seats at Hnry Stadium remained unsold, three days out from the top-seeded Hurricanes’ return home.

A half full (or half empty, depending on your point of view) Cake Tin - capacity 34,500 - would still be viewed as a healthy attendance on Friday night against the sixth-ranked Brumbies.

That would still better the Hurricanes’ record home crowd this season of 16,246, when they beat the Crusaders 38-31 on May 1 en route to a dominant regular season when they clinched top spot with a week to spare with a capital crowd average of just 14,200.

Clark Laidlaw’s Hurricanes couldn’t have done much more to wow their fans and entice new ones this year, averaging 40 points and six tries per game and showcasing crowd-pullers like Fehi Fineanganofo, Ruben Love, Warner Dearns and Jordie Barrett. But it’s a rugby reality that feverish week in, week out support is a thing of the past and fans are pickier and choosier of their big night out.

A clunky finals system - which means the Hurricanes will play a semifinal as the luckiest loser if the Brumbies produce a monumental upset on Friday - also does them few favours.

The TAB rates the Hurricanes $1.07 favourites to beat the Brumbies ($7.50), as the visitors face this remarkable hoodoo of no Australian side having won a playoff in New Zealand since 1997 - 21 games ago.

Fans keeping a tight rein on their hard-earned will likely cast their eyes further ahead to Saturday next week when the Blues loom as the most likely semifinal visitors. Despite being dreadfully out of form the Blues, too, can progress if they lose as long as the Hurricanes and Chiefs both win at home.

Just to recap - this weekend’s three winners progress to the semis, as does the highest-ranked loser, who automatically become No 4 seed and travel to face the top-ranked winning side.

Jordie Barrett leads the Hurricanes out in their season opener in February.

Then, if results all go to form, the best two teams the Hurricanes and Chiefs will square off for the title at Hnry Stadium on June 20.

It’s a long-winded way to reach an obvious conclusion - although three weeks of playoffs is coveted by the various franchises in that it gives them bonus cash as hosts, and a top-six also means an Australian presence even if the Brumbies and Reds (who play in Hamilton) are both massive underdogs.

All ticket revenue goes to the home side, minus the visiting team match fee they must pay to their opponents. Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge told The Press their revenue bonus would be worth $400,000-500,000 for a 25,000-sellout against the Blues. The novelty of a superb new indoor stadium where the Crusaders haven’t yet lost, and the likelihood they won’t play there again this year and will head to Hamilton for a semifinal on June 12, makes these tickets a lot hotter.

Laidlaw names his side at 4pm on Wednesday - likely near full strength apart from Fineanganofo (hamstring), Du’Plessis Kirifi (shoulder) and Devan Flanders (concussion) who will miss another week.

A modest turnout in Wellington - with rain and strong winds unhelpfully forecast for Friday - would mean a negligible profit after stadium hire and the visiting team match fee. Then the hope would be for 25,000-plus for a semifinal and a sellout for the final - a welcome boost for a Hurricanes franchise thriving under new management but still trying to recover from a $2 million loss last year.

New majority owner and chair Malcolm Gillies and his CEO Tony Philp have made it a priority to spend more on game-night entertainment, make tickets affordable ($25 for adults, $10 for children) and encourage fans onto the field to meet their heroes at fulltime.

The rewards should flow from that, as long as the Hurricanes keep winning. It’s just taking a while to get there.