Hurricanes

History

Early years: 1996–1997

The Hurricanes were formed in 1996 as one of five New Zealand Super 12 teams, and were originally called the Wellington Hurricanes. The team's first coach was former All Black Frank Oliver, while Bull Allen was named as captain.

Their first match, played at Palmerston North Showgrounds against the Auckland Blues, was the first ever Super 12 match. They lost it 36–28. The team performed below expectations in the inaugural year of the competition and finished ninth. In 1997 the team made the semi-finals, losing in Canberra to the ACT Brumbies. However the consistent form shown during this season would not be seen again for many years.

Expect the unexpected: 1998–2002

Following their 1997 season, the Hurricanes failed to qualify for the semi-finals until 2003. Despite this, they were still known for the attacking nature of their backline that included the All Blacks stars Tana Umaga and Christian Cullen. The team played with flair and could score at any moment, whatever their position on the field, giving rise to the teams catch cry of 'expect the unexpected'. However the team struggled for consistent performances and at crunch time in matches, leading to patchy form and results.

After the 1999 World Cup, Jonah Lomu's contract with the NZRU expired he was linked to many clubs around the world, in rugby league as well as union and also the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. On 23 November 1999 it was announced that the winger had re-signed with the NZRU and agreed terms with the Wellington Rugby Union, despite a reported £1.1 million offer by Bristol. The move to the Wellington union meant he could be included in the protected group of players for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes also opened 2000 with a new stadium. The highlights of that year included the victory over eventual champions the Crusaders, 41–29, in front of a packed house. At the end of the season the Hurricanes still had a chance of making the semis and only had to beat the Bulls to stay in contention. However, the Hurricanes played one of their worst games of the year, losing the match to one of the worst performing teams at that point in the competition's history and lost the possibility of qualifying for the semi-finals. The team finished eighth on the table.

Despite the Wellington Lions (whom most of the Hurricanes squad were chosen from) winning the 2000 NPC, the Hurricanes finished ninth in the final standings in 2001; one worse than the year before. Another ninth placing in 2002 resulted in Graham Mourie, who had led the team since 2000, resigning.

New era: since 2003

In spite of reports that Colin Cooper, the then Crusaders assistant-coach, had said he was "not yet ready to jump ship" and wanted to stay with the South Island franchise, the Hurricanes were able to lure him away from the champions and made him their head coach for the 2003 season.

Cooper, along with newly appointed captain Tana Umaga, helped to mould the inconsistent and ill-disciplined Hurricanes into one of the top teams in the competition. 2003 was the beginning of a new era for the Hurricanes as they reached the semi-finals for just the second time in their history on the back of a strong seven-game winning streak mid-season. Their success came partly with the break-out year for mid-fielder Ma'a Nonu, his strong performances and partnership with captain Tana Umaga pushed out former All Black Pita Alatini and saw him score six tries en route to the All Black squad. The team also benefited from the steady hand of David Holwell at first five-eighth and an improving and mobile forward pack.

Hurricanes stalwart Christian Cullen would leave New Zealand shores for Irish club Munster after his omission from the All Blacks 2003 World Cup squad, despite scoring eight tries during the season.

All Black great Jonah Lomu was left out of the 2004 squad, due to a life-threatening illness that would eventually result in a kidney transplant. He would never again play for the Hurricanes.

The majority of the team was retained for 2005. including new centre Conrad Smith. The Hurricanes came back in 2005 to the form that saw them make the playoffs two years prior. Former New Zealand Colt Flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth was the real "find" of the season, scoring 139 points, which helped offset the departure of David Holwell to Ireland. The Hurricanes had tried to sign Australian playmaker Brock James, who had starred the previous NPC season for Taranaki and the Blues, and young star Luke McAlister indicated that he would like to play in Wellington. With both Daniel Carter and Aaron Mauger at the Crusaders capable of playing first five-eighth the team also made an attempt to lure Andrew Mehrtens to Wellington, without success.

In 2006 two new teams entered the competition, the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs from South Africa and the Perth-based Western Force from Australia, creating the Super 14. Rodney So'oialo was appointed captain of the Hurricanes to succeed former All Black captain Tana Umaga. The team won all but four matches. They made their first Super Rugby final but lost to the Crusaders in a match played under thick fog. Following the match there was an incident in a nightclub involving Chris Masoe and Tana Umaga. The club finances benefitted from on-pitch success, with NZ$1.36 million profit on its 2006 turnover of NZ$7.44 million.

Home Grounds and Franchise Area

Grounds

The Hurricanes play the majority of their home matches at the 34,500 capacity Hnry Stadium (formerly named Sky Stadium) on Wellington's waterfront. The stadium is affectionately known as The Cake-Tin due to its distinctive shape. It was opened in 2000 to replace Athletic Park, where the team had been previously based.

Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North and McLean Park in Napier have also played host to Hurricanes home matches. In the initial years of the competition, the Hurricanes played once or occasionally twice, away from their Wellington base depending on whether they had five or six home games per year. However, in recent years, the team has seldom ventured from Hnry Stadium, playing at-most one match per year in Palmerston North or Napier.

Region

The team represents the Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay, Wanganui, Manawatu, Wairarapa-Bush, Horowhenua-Kapiti and Wellington unions. In 2013, Taranaki severed its ties with the club, signing its allegiance to the Chiefs in the hope of attracting Chiefs home matches to New Plymouth. On 7 February 2025, the Chiefs announced that also East Coast had changed its provincial affiliation from the Hurricanes to the Chiefs.

Ownership and Finances

In 2012, it was announced that a new company, Hurricanes Investment Ltd Partnership, had purchased a licence from the NZRU to operate the club.

While the NZRU retains ownership of the team, as well as control of the contracts of the players and head coach, the licensee is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations. Hurricanes Investment Ltd Partnership is a joint venture between the Wellington Rugby Football Union owning 50 per cent of shares with the remaining 50 per cent held by a consortium of private investors, led by noted economist and author Gareth Morgan. In July 2013, it was announced that the Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union had purchased a 3 per cent stake in the company Hurricanes' Investment Ltd Partnership, with $100,000 contributed towards the company.

On 8 December 2025, it was announced that a joint venture of NZ Sport Investment (NZSI) between Property Developer Malcolm Gillies and Porirua's Summit Capital had purchased the 50% share that Wellington Rugby Football Union had in the franchise. NZR had also supplied both the Hurricanes and WRFU with a small temporary investment loan as have had done previously with other clubs. Other already existing investors are believed to still have had shares in the franchise.

Development team

The Hurricanes have fielded a development team in competitions such as the Pacific Rugby Cup and in matches against other representative teams for several seasons. Known as the Hurricanes Hunters or Hurricanes Development XV, the squad is selected from the best emerging rugby talent in the Hurricanes catchment area and is composed of Hurricanes contracted players, wider training group members, under 20s, and selected club players.

Honours

Super Rugby (1996–Present)

Champions (2)

2016, 2026

Runners-up (2)

2006, 2015

Playoff Appearances (16)

1997, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024,2025, 2026

New Zealand/Australasian Conference Champions (2)

2015, 2016

Records and achievements

Season standings

A season-by-season summary of the Hurricanes regular season results is shown below:

^1 Teams were awarded four points for a bye during the Super Rugby seasons from 2011 to 2013. Each team took two bye rounds each season. These additional 8 points are included in their season points tally.

^2 All matches after Round 7 were cancelled. the season remained incomplete and no champion was awarded.

^3 Super Rugby Aotearoa was announced as a stand-in replacement competition for Super Rugby, between New Zealand Super Rugby sides. It was played as a round robin competition, with no finals. All teams played the other four teams twice, with the title awarded to the highest ranked team at the conclusion of the round robin fixtures.

^4 Super Rugby Aotearoa adopted the same format in 2021 as the inaugural tournament in 2020, with the addition of a final between the top two ranked teams at the conclusion of the round robin stage.

^5 Super Rugby Trans Tasman was a crossover competition between the teams involved in Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU. Each team from Super Rugby AU played each team from Super Rugby Aotearoa once, and vice versa. A final was played between the top two seeded teams at the conclusion of the round robin matches.

Results per opposition

Hurricanes Super Rugby results vs different opponents Super Rugby Match Results

Individual records

Most Points in a career: 1,238 (Beauden Barrett)

Most Points in a season: 223 (Beauden Barrett, 2016)

Most Points in a match: 30 (Jordie Barrett, v Highlanders, 2021), (David Holwell, v Highlanders, 2001)

Most Tries in a career: 65 (TJ Perenara)

Most Tries in a season: 17 (Fehi Fineanganofo, 2026), (Josh Moorby, 2026)

Most Tries in a match: 4 (Ben Lam, v Rebels, 2018), (Ngani Laumape, v Blues, 2018), (Baylin Sullivan, v Chiefs, 2025), (Fehi Fineanganofo, v Brumbies, 2026), (Josh Moorby, v Moana Pasifika, 2026)

Most Conversions in a career: 249 (Beauden Barrett)

Most Conversions in a season: 57 (Ruben Love, 2026)

Most Conversions in a match: 9 (Beauden Barrett, v Rebels, 2012), (Otere Black, v Sunwolves, 2017), (Ruben Love, v Brumbies, 2026)

Most Penalty goals in a career: 189 (Beauden Barrett)

Most Penalty goals in a season: 40 (Beauden Barrett, 2013, 2014)

Most Penalty goals in a match: 7 (Jamie Cameron, v Blues, 1996), (David Holwell, v Highlanders, 2001)

Most Dropped goals in a career: 1 (Jackson Garden-Bachop), (Tusi Pisi), (Christian Cullen), (Tane Tu'ipulotu), (Beauden Barrett)

Most Dropped goals in a season: 1 (Jackson Garden-Bachop, 2020), (Tusi Pisi, 2013), (Christian Cullen, 1999), (Tane Tu'ipulotu, 2008), (Beauden Barrett, 2016)

Team Records

Highest Regular Season Placing: 1st (2016, 2024, 2026)

Most Wins in a Season: 14 (2015)

Most Points in a Season: 455 (2026)

Most Tries in a Season: 113 (2026)

Fewest Wins in a Season: 3 (1996)

Fewest Points in a Season: 163 (1999)

Fewest Tries in a Season: 13 (1996)

Biggest Win: 83–17 (66 point win in 2017 vs Sunwolves – Tokyo)

Biggest Loss: 7–60 (53 point loss in 2002 vs Blues – Wellington)

Most points ever scored in a game: 83 (2017 vs Sunwolves – Tokyo)

Fewest points ever scored in a game: 0 (2020 vs Stormers – Cape Town)

Longest Winning Streak: 10 (2016 vs Reds – 2017 vs Rebels), (2018 vs Jaguares – 2018 vs Reds)

Longest Unbeaten Streak: 10 (2016 vs Reds – 2017 vs Rebels), (2018 vs Jaguares – 2018 vs Reds)

All Time Records

Games played: 440

Games won: 243

Games lost: 172

Games drawn: 7

Winning percentage: (57%)

Points for: 8,257

Points against: 9,556

Tries for: 747

Playoffs

Games played: 23

Games won: 9

Games lost: 14

Games drawn: 0

Winning percentage: (39%)

Home Wins: 8 (80%)

Home Losses: 2

Away Wins: 1 (7%)

Away Losses: 12

Points for: 553

Points against: 577

(Record updated as of 2025 season)

Current squad

The squad for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season is:

Wider training group

The following players were named in the Hurricanes wider training group for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season:

Current coaches

Head coach

Clark Laidlaw

Assistant coaches

Cory Jane — defence (2020–present)

Brad Cooper — attack (2025–present)

Jamie Mackintosh — forwards (2023–present)

Bryn Evans — line-out and kick-off (2024–present)

Jason Holland – (2026–present)

Former head coaches and captains

Head coaches

Notes:

Captains

Bull Allen (1996–1998, 30 games – Captain)

Jon Preston (1998, 3 games, Allen injured)

Norm Hewitt (1998–2000, 15 games – Captain)

Jason O'Halloran (1999, 8 games, Hewitt injured)

Gordon Slater (2001–2002, 22 games – Captain)

Tana Umaga (2003–2005, 35 games – Captain)

Jerry Collins (2004, 3 games, Umaga injured)

Rodney So'oialo (2006–2009, 49 games – Captain)

Paul Tito (2007, 1 game, So'oialo injured)

Tamati Ellison (2009, 1 game, So'oialo injured)

Andrew Hore (2010–2011, 28 games – Captain)

Victor Vito (2011, 2 games, Hore rested; 2013, 1 game)

Conrad Smith (2007, 1 game; 2012–15, 60 games – Captain)

Jeremy Thrush (2014, 3 games, C. Smith injured)

Dane Coles (2015, 1 game, C. Smith rested) (2016–2018 – Captain)

Brad Shields (2017, D. Coles injured; 2018, D. Coles injured; 2024–2025 – Captain)

TJ Perenara (2016, 2 games, D. Coles injured; 2017, 7 games, D. Coles injured)

Ardie Savea (2019–2023 – Captain)