Hurricanes blow away Blues to book spot in Grand Final

It was a tight contest in the first half, with the visitors leading for much of the 40 minutes as they sought to cause an upset at Hnry Stadium.

But the firepower of the Hurricanes was too much to contain as a second half burst blew out the scoreline and powered the top-ranked team to the decider.

The hosts started on fire when Cam Rogiard shook off a mid-air tackle by Beauden Barrett and sprinted clear from the quick penalty tap in the first minute.

Barrett’s brother, Jordie, got the hosts on the board shortly afterwards from close for the opener.

The Blues edged their way in front thanks to a pair of All Blacks as Caleb Clarke pieced the line, with skipper Patrick Tuipulotu diving over the next play.

The Hurricanes quickly respond through their impressive flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi at maul time as the Blues found themselves down AJ Lam and Clarke due to failed HIAs.

But replacement Payton Spencer stepped up to keep them in the hunt, kicking clear for Cole Forbes and backing the winger up to strike.

Their lead lasted until the 30th minute when Xavier Numia powered over from close range.

With a 19-14 advantage at the break, the Hurricanes kicked into gear and secured the win.

In doing so, they became the first team to score 100 tries in a Super Rugby season as they piled them on for fun.

It started with some picture-perfect counter-rucking on the Blues' line to set up Roigard for a five-pointer.

Josh Moorby sprinted away shortly afterwards to put them straight on the attack, eventually getting over the line himself.

When Asafo Aumua charged over three and touched down, it was three tries in 10 minutes and a spot in the Grand Final all but wrapped up.

The celebrations were well and truly underway as Ere Enari touched down, with Kini Naholo bringing up the half century with nine minutes to go.

Moorby put the cherry on top of the celebrations after some slick hands put the winger in for his second.

It’s the first time the Hurricanes have made the Final since their 2016 success, their lone title in Super Rugby.

Hurricanes 57 (Tries: Moorby 2, J. Barrett, Numia, Kirifi, Aumua, Enari, Naholo, Roigard; Cons: Love 3, J. Barrett 3) def Blues 21 (Tries: Tuipulotu, Spencer, Oudenryn; Cons: B. Barrett 3)

Teams:

Hurricanes: 15 Callum Harkin, 14 Josh Moorby, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett (captain), 11 Fehi Fineanganofo, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Peter Lakai, 7 Du’Plessis Kirifi, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Warner Dearns, 4 Caleb Delany, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Xavier Numia.
Replacements: 16 Raymond Tuputupu, 17 Siale Lauaki, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Brayden Iose, 21 Ere Enari, 22 Jone Rova, 23 Kini Naholo.

Blues: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Cole Forbes, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Xavi Taele, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 7 Anton Segner, 6 Torian Barnes, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu (captain), 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
Replacements: 16 Eli Oudenryn, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Flyn Yates, 19 Josh Beehre, 20 Che Clark, 21 Taufa Funaki, 22 Pita Ahki, 23 Payton Spencer.

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe
Assistant referee: Todd Petrie, Warwick Lahmert
TMO: Richard Kelly

Tickets for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final will go on sale to Hurricanes members from 10am NZST Sunday, Final Access Pass holders at 10am NZST Monday and the general public from 6pm NZST Monday.

FINALS SERIES WEEK THREE - GRAND FINAL

SATURDAY 20 JUNE

7.05pm NZST / 5.05pm AEST - Hurricanes (1) vs. Chiefs (2) - Hnry Stadium, Wellington