Bridesmaids, chokers, nearly men? Chiefs aim to boot those tags to touch in Super Rugby Pacific final

Saturday, 20 June 2026

Bridesmaids, chokers, nearly men? There may be a shoe lying around that fits, but the Chiefs are rather more intent on booting any such tags to touch on Saturday night.

It’s déjà vu all over again for the Hamilton-based Super Rugby franchise. Here we are on the third weekend of June and the New Zealand side with the longest current-running title drought in the competition (13 years ‒ unlucky for some?) is rolling into another final.

Indeed, you have seen this movie before. And you know how it ends. In heartbreak (25-20 to the Crusaders in Hamilton in 2023), horror (41-10 to the Blues in Auckland in 2024) and helplessness (16-12 to the Crusaders in Christchurch in 2025).

Does capital punishment now await in Wellington against the high-flying Hurricanes?

Or does the presence of new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie ‒ the man to lead the Chiefs to their only two titles, in 2012 and 2013 ‒ sitting in the grandstands at Hnry Stadium, prove to be a magic omen in turning around their finals fortunes?

For new coach Jono Gibbes, who has this year, after a season as assistant, ably filled the big hole that was Clayton McMillan’s departure to Irish club Munster, the Chiefs’ pain of the past has not been used as a massive motivator.

But, at the same time, it has been far from glossed over, too.

“That moment itself after the final whistle, it’s extremely difficult, but the next day the sun comes up, you start the process of learning, going through stuff, and ultimately, it makes you better,” Gibbes tells the Waikato Times of his side’s approach.

“If you’re not that way inclined, then you don’t back it up and go back to the final the following year.

“To be able to live in that horrible moment straight after the final, but then 12 months later be back there, it says a hell of a lot about their character as a group, their consistency, their ambition to put themselves back in that situation.

“I think that’s pretty admirable, and something that not many people can do.”

But for all the hoodoo, monkey on the back, and absolute bitter pill it would be for fans, let alone the team themselves, to taste a fourth-straight final loss, and fifth in six years when you count the 2021 Aotearoa decider defeat, there is also something of a nothing-to-lose aspect, though, too, for the Chiefs this weekend.

It is the Hurricanes who have been the pace-setters all season, scoring tries for fun, with some 104 in 16 games (the Chiefs are second-best with 88) breaking the season record set by themselves back in 2017 of 97 from 19 games, while also notching seven 50-plus scores, which is at least three more than any other side has ever managed in one campaign.

And with playoff cakewalks at the Cake Tin the past two weeks (66-12 against the Brumbies then 57-21 against the Blues), the table-toppers have duly been installed as $1.50 TAB favourites (the Chiefs at $2.50) to seal the deal.

However, on a night where the forecast is for wet and windy, which will be considered an advantage for the Chiefs and their penchant for more of a direct, physical, patient, close-quarters confrontation than their hosts, there are sure to be nerves jangling among the sold-out, expectant crowd of 34,500, who snapped up tickets within just 15 minutes on Tuesday.

While home advantage is a boon (the Chiefs even having to travel via Auckland both ways due to flight unavailability in Hamilton), it can also elevate the pressure, and this on a Canes team in their first final appearance since their sole title win in 2016.

Going into the season it was the Chiefs who were considered the title favourites, particularly given their unrivalled squad depth, which has indeed been tested.

They also carry the psychological edge of beating the Hurricanes in their sole meeting this season, in a 22-17 extra-time thriller in Hamilton on April 18, where they stifled the Canes of opportunities, then surged back late.

Now, having won 10 of their last 11 games, and exploding out of the gates in a remarkable 42-5 first half in their 49-12 semifinal crushing of the Crusaders, the Chiefs look to be peaking at just the right time to at least produce one heck of a final, or maybe, just maybe, hoist some silverware some 4704 days after their last success.

“It’s going to be an exciting opportunity,” Gibbes says. “This is what you work towards. You just enjoy it. You just want to play your best game, fire your best shots, and have no regrets.”