Super Rugby Pacific final: Hurricanes hit new heights as Damian McKenzie presses self-destruct button
Saturday, 20 June 2026
ANALYSIS: Jordie Barrett knocked the ball on after 21 minutes and immediately clapped his hands in frustration.
It was his first error of a near-flawless opening quarter of rugby from the Hurricanes and All Blacks No 12 in his side’s 60-5 annihilation of the Chiefs.
Barrett was everywhere. Not for first time there appeared to be three Barretts on the rugby field.
But Scott and Beauden were nowhere to be seen - it was their younger brother alone who was popping up everywhere, throwing passes, making line breaks and catching high kicks in the swirling Wellington wind.
Barrett wasn’t the only Hurricane to excel as they blew away the Chiefs with a 19-0 lead after just 25 minutes.
Josh Moorby, who deserves to be in the All Blacks squad named on Monday, was superb. Asafo Aumua and Pasilio Tosi were like angry bulls. Billy Proctor was the perfect cog in midfield, Xavier Numia had his dancing shoes on and Ruben Love mixed control with brilliance.
It was a stark contrast to the nightmare suffered by Damian McKenzie in the most one-sided Super Rugby final in history.
The Chiefs No 10 couldn’t work out the wind and, along with halfback Cortez Ratima, put his own side under pressure with a number of errors off the boot.
Even when he did find a bit of space, McKenzie threw an intercept pass that pointed to a lack of composure. When he decided to run it was into the yellow brick wall
Great No 10s win titles, especially when they are presented several opportunities to do so in a stacked team such as the Chiefs.
McKenzie might spend some time at No 10 for the All Blacks in July, but he isn’t their long-term solution ahead of either Richie Mo’unga or Love.
The Super Rugby final in Wellington ended that debate for good as he was completely outplayed by Love.
When Barrett smartly smuggled the ball back in contact to set up Callum Harkin’s try just before halftime, it just rubbed salt into McKenzie’s wounds.
Barrett wasn’t the only performer who looked world-class. Warner Dearns dominated All Blacks Tupou Vaa’i and Josh Lord.
It is such a shame that injury robbed supporters of a chance to see Dearns go up against the Highlanders’ Fabian Holland this year. Dearns, 24, and Holland, 23, are arguably the two best young locks in the world.
In the No 2 jersey, Aumua confirmed that he must in the in the All Blacks matchday squad. The power in his running was such that he lifted Quinn Tupaea off his feet from one charge.
Now far more disciplined than his younger self, Aumua will be desperately needed in South Africa later this year.
One other player deserves a mention for two superb second-half efforts that showed that the Hurricanes have raised the bar significantly with their conditioning levels this year.
Peter Lakai sprinted back 60 metres to clean up a Chiefs kick and shortly after made a 50-metre attacking burst that set up a spectacular finish for Love.
The Hurricanes have moved the game to the next level, but it was another grim chapter in McKenzie’s finals history.