Hurricanes vs Chiefs

The Hurricanes came flying out of the blocks and never let up. Playing with the wind at their backs and the roar of a capacity 34,500-strong crowd behind them, Wellington produced arguably the greatest 40 minutes of rugby ever seen in a Grand Final.

By the halftime whistle, the hosts had already secured the bonus point and led 29-0. The Chiefs had no answer to the ferocious pace, relentless offloading, and clinical finishing of a Hurricanes side that had scored 104 tries during the regular season and had just added nine more in their semi-final demolition of the Blues.

Cam Roigard pulled the strings from scrum-half, while fly-half Ruben Love — on the cusp of an All Blacks call-up — orchestrated the backline with composure beyond his years. The midfield axis of co-captain Jordie Barrett and Billy Proctor cut clean through the Chiefs' defensive line time and again.

Out wide, Fehi Fineanganofo cemented his name in the history books. The wing touched down in the first half to bring his season tally to 16 tries, equalling the all-time Super Rugby single-season record jointly held by Ben Lam and Joe Roff. He went past it in the second half with another try, becoming the competition's outright record-holder for most tries in a single campaign.

The Chiefs, who had been tipped by many pundits to finally break their Grand Final hoodoo, were reduced to damage limitation from the opening exchanges. The loss of All Blacks back-rower Wallace Sititi (concussion) and centre Lalakai Foketi (calf) had left them short of firepower, and they struggled to build any sustained pressure.

Damian McKenzie — the only player to have featured in every minute of the Chiefs' last three Grand Finals — tried valiantly to spark his side, but the Hurricanes' defensive line speed suffocated any attacking ambition. The visitors' only points came via a second-half try as a consolation, by which point the result had long ceased to be in doubt.

The victory ended a decade-long drought for the Hurricanes, who had not lifted the trophy since beating the Lions 20-3 in the 2016 final. It was also the first time these two Waikato River rivals had met in a Grand Final, with the head-to-head in finals now sitting at 2-2.

For the Chiefs, the pain of another Grand Final defeat will be acute. They have now lost four consecutive finals — to the Crusaders (2021, 2023, 2025) and the Blues (2024) — and must rebuild for 2027 under head coach Jono Gibbes.

Key records set on the night:

• Fehi Fineanganofo broke the all-time Super Rugby single-season try-scoring record (17 tries)
• Hurricanes became the first team to score 110+ tries in a single Super Rugby season
• The 55-point margin is the biggest in a Grand Final since the 2012 final (Chiefs 37-6 Reds was the previous record under the current format)
• Jordie Barrett became the first Hurricanes co-captain to lift the trophy since Dane Coles in 2016

The tone was set inside the first five minutes. After winning a turnover inside their own half, the Hurricanes spread the ball wide where Josh Moorby stepped inside two defenders to score in the corner. Ruben Love's conversion made it 7-0.

Fineanganofo scored his record-equalling try in the 12th minute, finishing a sweeping backline move that began with Roigard sniping from a ruck on halfway. The Chiefs' defensive alignment was caught narrow, and the pass from Barrett put Fineanganofo into space.

Asafo Aumua crashed over from close range after a dominant rolling maul in the 19th minute, and Peter Lakai added a fourth try before the half-hour mark to secure the bonus point inside 30 minutes.

Cam Roigard capped a man-of-the-match performance with a try just before halftime, dummying from the base of a ruck five metres out and diving under the posts. The halftime scoreline read 29-0, and the Chiefs trudged off to a chorus of jubilant yellow-clad supporters.

The second half followed the same pattern. Fineanganofo scored his record-breaking second try within three minutes of the restart, and the floodgates opened. Moorby added his second, replacement hooker Jacob Devery crossed, and Kini Naholo brought up the 60-point mark with a try in the 73rd minute.

The Chiefs managed a consolation try through wing Kyren Taumoefolau with five minutes remaining, but by then the party was in full swing at the Cake Tin.

The Hurricanes' triumph is the culmination of a remarkable season. They finished top of the regular-season table with 11 wins from 14 matches and a points difference of +264, before powering through the finals with victories over the Blues (57-21 in the semi) and now the Chiefs.

For head coach Clark Laidlaw, the title vindicates an expansive attacking philosophy that has redefined Super Rugby Pacific. "A home final in front of a sold-out stadium, it doesn't get much better than that," Laidlaw said in the lead-up. The reality exceeded even those expectations.

The focus now shifts to the international window, with several Hurricanes players — including Roigard, Love, Fineanganofo, and Barrett — expected to feature prominently for the All Blacks in the upcoming July Nations Championship series.