Super Rugby Pacific final teams: Chiefs without All Blacks star, Hurricanes bring back departing duo

Wednesday, 17 June 2026

Leroy Carter returns to starting duty for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific final against the Hurricanes.

Advantage Hurricanes? The Chiefs, bidding to avoid a fourth straight defeat in the Super Rugby Pacific final, have been forced into a backline reshuffle and will line up at a sold-out Hnry Stadium on Saturday night once again without crocked All Blacks star Wallace Sititi in their loose trio.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, take a relatively settled lineup into the final, bulking up their forward pack with a fit-again Devan Flanders in the loose and Isaia Walker-Leawere at lock in the only two changes to their starting XV. Both Flanders (Japan) and Walker-Leawere (Italy) will mark their franchise farewells with the run-on opportunities.

The preference of the in-form Flanders, who missed the previous three weeks with a head knock suffered against the Highlanders, allows Brad Shields to drop back to the Canes bench where he will cover both second row and the loose, while the bigger Walker-Leawere gets the promotion on the back of the head knock suffered by Caleb Delany in last week’s semi.

Jono Gibbes was forced to make two key changes to his Chiefs backline in the wake of their seismic 49-12 semifinal victory over the Crusaders in Hamilton, with in-form fullback Isaac Hutchinson (knee) and impressive centre Lalakai Foketi (calf) ruled out of the deciding clash as both teams seek to end significant Super Rugby title droughts.

Hutchinson’s absence has opened the way for 2025 All Black, and last week’s supersub, Leroy Carter to slot back in on the right wing, with Mr Fixit Liam Coombes-Fabling shifting back to the No 15 jersey after starting the semi on the wing.

The capable Kyle Brown comes in at centre to replace Foketi, who ran for a team-best 67 metres in an influential outing against the Crusaders. Reon Paul gets the callup to the bench to cover the outside backs.

Carter’s promotion to starting duty, after he played 44 minutes last week in his return from a niggling hamstring injury, should not hamper the Chiefs too much. The speedster looked slick off the pine, running for 52 metres on five carries, including a try, in a handy effort before he was pulled late in the piece after going beyond his minutes quota.

The hard-charging Devan Flanders returns to starting duty for the Hurricanes in Saturday’s final at Hnry Stadium.

The Chiefs pack, so dominant against the Red and Blacks, is unchanged, which means Sititi, who suffered a sickening double head knock early in the qualifying finals victory over the Reds, remains on the unavailable list under concussion protocols. His readiness for the All Blacks’ July Nations Championship tests is also under a cloud.

Though the flair and game-changing ability of Sititi, the 23-year-old who has played 19 tests for the All Blacks over the last two seasons, will be missed, Gibbes is still able to run out a highly capable international loose trio of skipper Luke Jacobson, Samipeni Finau and Simon Parker that brings plenty of power and skill.

Flanders’ return restores the Hurricanes to probably their top loose trio, alongside hard-working co-skipper Du’Plessis Kirifi and rising star Peter Lakai, though Shields is unlucky to be handed bench duty after playing so well the last fortnight.

The men from the capital also lose little in terms of impact with Walker-Leawere slotting back to the second row, and gain some much-needed bulk as the hosts steel for what should be a cracking forward encounter against the in-form Chiefs pack.

Coach Clark Laidlaw may have pondered the wisdom of promoting the dynamic Kini Naholo to a start, but has gone with continuity and form with an unchanged backline, leaving the dynamic wing to make his mark, as he did last week, off the pine.

The final presents as a tantalising matchup between the two standout teams of Super Rugby, with the Canes bringing the No 1 attack across all metrics into the contest and the visitors the competition’s dominant pack, with an incredible 17 tries directly off scrum.

The Canes have not lifted the Super Rugby trophy since 2016, when they thumped the Lions 20-3 in the final in the capital, while the Chiefs’ title drought extends back to 2013, when they won the second of back-to-back championships under Dave Rennie.

Hurricanes: Callum Harkin, Josh Moorby, Billy Proctor, Jordie Barrett (co-capt), Fehi Fineanganofo, Ruben Love, Cam Roigard; Peter Lakai, Du'Plessis Kirifi (co-capt), Devan Flanders, Warner Dearns, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Pasilio Tosi, Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia. Reserves: Jacob Devery, Siale Lauaki, Tyrel Lomax, Brad Shields, Brayden Iose, Ereatari Enari, Jone Rova, Kini Naholo.

Chiefs: Liam Coombes-Fabling, Leroy Carter, Kyle Brown, Quinn Tupaea, Kyren Taumoefolau, Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima; Simon Parker, Luke Jacobson (capt), Samipeni Finau, Tupou Vaa'i, Josh Lord, Sione Ahio, Samisoni Taukei'aho, Ollie Norris. Reserves: Brodie McAlister, Jared Proffit, George Dyer, Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, Kaylum Boshier, Xavier Roe, Josh Jacomb, Reon Paul.

Referee: Nic Berry (Aus).