Super Rugby Pacific: Hurricanes face brutal selection calls for semifinal against freefalling Blues

Monday, 8 June 2026

Hurricanes lock Warner Dearns charges to the tryline in Friday’s qualifying final victory over the Brumbies.

ANALYSIS: Not that he’ll admit it, but Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw will probably spend more time at the start of Super Rugby Pacific semifinals week fretting over some brutal selection calls, than he will the threat served up by a freefalling Blues outfit.

Laidlaw’s table-topping Canes, fresh off a statement 66-12 demolition of the Brumbies, will host the out-of-sorts Blues – the luckiest of “lucky losers” – in Saturday’s second semifinal at Wellington’s Hnry Stadium. The red-hot Crusaders will visit the impressive Chiefs in the opening affair on Friday night in a clash that has the makings of a classic.

It is the first time in Super Rugby history all four semifinalists are from New Zealand, and reflects the continued dominance of the Kiwi sides in this now trans-Tasman competition, with a bit of Fijian flavour thrown in.

The Chiefs-Crusaders matchup should be a barnburner, with a hint of unstoppable force meeting immovable object about it. Both sides are on a roll, packed with star quality, form sorts and game-changing ability, though the hosts were dealt a bitter blow in their tougher-than-indicated qualifying final 46-24 victory over the Reds in the wet on Saturday night when they lost standout No 8 Wallace Sititi to a sickening head knock.

The Hurricanes-Blues clash has no such instant classic permutations, though of course you just never know in finals footy. Vern Cotter’s Blues, humbled 52-31 by the Crusaders, look a million miles off the standard being set by the hard-charging Canes in 2026, and it might take the imagination of Peter Jackson to construct anything resembling a competitive scenario out of an apparent mismatch.

Somehow the Blues have scrambled into the semifinals on the back of four straight defeats in which they have conceded a combined 194 points at an average of 48.5 an outing. It would appear defence coach Craig McGrath is bowing out at the right time (to be replaced by ex-ABs assistant Tamati Ellison), because right now the Blues are offering the sort of resistance served up by butter to a hot knife.

They simply do not appear to be in the race, and when measured against a dialled-in, accurate, skilful and clinical Hurricanes outfit, they come up woefully short. Even the potential return of Beauden Barrett offers little hope for a Blues outfit struggling in the basic tenets of championship footy.

A brilliant hat-trick by Ngane Punivai off the bench has given Hurricanes coach Clark laidlaw plety to ponder.

There are no such issues for the Hurricanes who ran out in miserable conditions at the Cake Tin on Friday night and put on a clinic in accurate, disciplined and entertaining rugby. There was more than a hint of the Crusaders at their peak about the way Laidlaw’s men went about their business, playing the percentages beautifully, but still having the skill and courage to punish their opponents when it was on.

Which brings us to the head coach’s selection dilemmas as he works through an eight-day buildup. By rights he should just roll out the same group who were nine-out-of-10 material against the demoralised Brums whose coach felt compelled to apologise for their lack of competitiveness afterwards.

But he likely has three compelling options returning to the fold this week in the form of explosive wing Fehi Fineanganofo (hamstring) – just one score off setting a record for touchdowns in a season – form loosie Devan Flanders (head knock) and powerhouse prop Siale Lauaki (hamstring).

All three areas make strong cases for inclusion.

The freefalling Blues had no answer to Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders in their opening final in Christchurch.

Callum Harkin, Josh Moorby and Kini Naholo formed a slick starting back three on Friday, and Ngani Punivai delivered a brilliant hat-trick off the bench which drew high praise for a player who has had his injury issues. Throw potential All Blacks callup Fineanganofo in there, and it’s a five-into-four equation with no wrong answers.

Same-same in the loose where veteran Brad Shields, co-skipper Du’Plessis Kirifi and Peter Lakai ticked all the boxes as a starting unit on Friday, and Brayden Iose came off the bench with his usual impact. Flanders deserves a crack if fit, but for whom?

Even prop serves up a puzzler with the fit-again Tyrel Lomax, though “short of a gallop”, trending in the right direction and forming a powerhouse four-man rotation with Xavier Numia, Pasilio Tosi and Pouri Rakete-Stones. Lauaki’s return creates another five-into-four dilemma.

“It will be tricky,” said Laidlaw of his back-three selection. “You always want these tricky decisions. When you have injuries and you don’t have decisions, that’s when it sucks a wee touch. Hopefully they’re all fit and healthy, we can give it to CJ (assistant coach Cory Jane), he can come up with who he wants to play, and we can take it from there.”

Laidlaw hinted at Shields’ value in finals footy when he lauded the veteran’s defensive work (at one stage he got up and hit four rucks on the bounce) and spoke of him being a “calming influence who doesn’t get flustered”. He confirmed Flanders trainined on game day, and looked set to press his claims.

There is also a touch of the “destiny’s team“ about the Canes who are chasing a first title since 2016, and do so with the memories of their 2024 semifinal tumble from top spot resonating.

“We’re where we want to be,” noted Kirifi. “There were some things we outlined at the conclusion of last year, and we’ve worked really hard to nail those things this year. But we’re also aware we can still improve.”