Hurricanes party like it’s 2016 as Cake Tin heaves and Wellington becomes title town again after Chiefs demolition
Monday, 22 June 2026
So this is what title town feels like. Not only for long-suffering fans, but the entire Hurricanes team except veteran Brad Shields, the only returning player from their solitary championship a decade ago.
“I can’t actually describe the feeling right now… I started in 2019 so to finally be able to get a chip is pretty unreal, and a few of us can say the same,” standout prop Xavier Numia told The Post as Hurricanes players and hordes of loved ones spilled out of the dressing room to their post-match celebrations.
“It’s something you only dream of. I probably didn’t think I was ever going to achieve it in my career.”
Since that 2016 Super Rugby title, won against South Africa’s Lions on a freezing Wellington night, the Hurricanes had lost seven knockout matches including a home semifinal against the Chiefs two years ago.
On Saturday night, as a brutal north-westerly swayed the goalposts and sent the ball flying in all directions, it was never in doubt as coach Clark Laidlaw’s Hurricanes scored nine tries and bolted to a scarcely believable 60-5 victory. Official attendance was 33,198, smaller than expected with the weather perhaps a factor, after tickets sold out in minutes last week.
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Those who did attend will never forget it, as player of the final Ruben Love (two tries and a 25-point haul) grabbed the microphone off interviewer Jeff Wilson and roared: “Rugby is back in the 04!”.
Tunes like Sweet Caroline, Why Does Love Do This To Me and, finally, We Are The Champions were belted out around the stadium before co-captains Jordie Barrett and Du’Plessis Kirifi - former classmates at New Plymouth’s Francis Douglas Memorial College - received their winners’ medals and hoisted the trophy.
With Numia and fellow prop Pasilio Tosi thumping the drums, they roared the team song We Are The Hurricanes then were enveloped by partners, children and wider whanau who stormed the field.
Then under the grandstand there was a stark contrast: Chiefs skipper Luke Jacobson near tears as he was quizzed about what went wrong in their fourth straight final defeat.
Barrett - who produced a magnificent game in the decider - made his Hurricanes debut in February 2017 and felt the title drought more than most.
“It took 125 games for me so it’s pretty special. On my phone all week memories have been popping up from end of year celebrations and being in reviews and basically not being in the final,” Barrett said.
“Du’Plessis’ and my first Super Rugby final, and to get what we wanted was unbelievable. It’s been one of the slowest weeks of my rugby career, but in some ways I knew this group had that sort of game in them. It was just a matter of bringing it… we got a bit of luck tonight but we put ourselves in a position to earn the right.”
Laidlaw, the Scotsman who formerly coached the All Blacks Sevens, got the job done in year three at the helm, with a crack coaching team including former All Blacks Cory Jane and Jamie Mackintosh, and Jason Holland who Laidlaw succeeded in 2024.
“We’ve been shaped unbelievably by our coaches and management,” Barrett said.
The Hurricanes were the only side in Super Rugby’s 30-year history to top 100 tries in a season, with wingers Fehi Fineanganofo and Josh Moorby scoring a record-breaking 17 apiece. But this title was also anchored on defence and a dominant forward pack with huge men like Numia, Asafo Aumua and Warner Dearns rampaging everywhere like midfield backs.
Said Kirifi: “The Hurricanes have always been able to score tries but this year we’ve shown that we can win games with our shoulders.”
The team met fans again on Sunday for a waterfront celebration but focus shifts quickly, with new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie naming his first squad at 12pm on Monday.
Numia, Fineanganofo and Moorby are big chances of first-time callups, with the Hurricanes likely to provide one-third of the 34-man squad.
“Whatever happens, happens. I just wanted to make sure that I enjoyed my footy this year. Big shout out to my partner (Black Ferns prop Marcelle Parkes) and her family and my family, for doing a lot of stuff that took a lot of stress off me,” Numia said.
“I wasn’t even thinking about All Blacks, my main focus was to perform to the best of my ability for the team and hopefully get a chip. Happy that we’ve done that - pretty stoked I can call myself a champion.”