Hurricanes rout – A relentless rainstorm in Wellington turned the ACT Brumbies’ Super Rugby playoff hopes into a 66-12 loss to the Hurricanes, triggering a New Zealand-only semifinal lineup. The Chiefs advanced after a 46-24 win over the Queensland Reds in Hamilton, and the Cru
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The rain didn’t just fall in Wellington. It soaked the moment, smothered execution, and then turned into a rout.
The ACT Brumbies were flushed out of the first round of the Super Rugby playoffs with a 66-12 loss to the Hurricanes on a downpour night. Brumbies head coach Stephen Larkham later apologized to fans for what he said was a performance that left him with nothing but embarrassment.
No Australian team has ever won a playoff match in New Zealand.
In Hamilton, the Queensland Reds fell 46-24 to the Chiefs in similarly torrential rain conditions, leaving Australia with only disappointment to carry into the next week.
The defeats set up two all-New Zealand semifinals next weekend. The Chiefs will play the Crusaders in Hamilton on Friday, and the Hurricanes will play the Blues in Wellington on Saturday. The Blues received a second chance as the highest-ranked quarterfinal loser after losing 52-31 to the Crusaders.
In Wellington, the Hurricanes made it feel inevitable once they got moving.
It began Friday on a rainy. wind-swept night where the Hurricanes were in marginal conditions but still launched early and kept pressure on. The Brumbies caught Hurricanes fullback Callum Harkin in defense and forced him back over his own goal line. anticipating a scoring opportunity from a five meter scrum. The Hurricanes responded by promoting the ball back into the field of play. Seconds later, they scored the first try of the match.
Another followed quickly. and by halftime the Hurricanes led 38-7 — the most points the Brumbies have conceded in the first half of any match. Their defense was, in Larkham’s words, a mess of effort and consequences. With scrumhalf Cam Roigard darting around the fringe and flyhalf Ruben Love running at the line and distributing. the Hurricanes punctured the Brumbies again and again.
“It’s embarrassing. It was frustrating and disappointing and all the adjectives you would like to use,” Larkham said. “It seemed like the harder we tried the worse things got out there.
“For our fans back in Australia, we appreciate your support — particularly the ones who follow us no matter what. We had an up and down season and you rode it with us. We managed to get through to the finals and there was probably some hope there, but we’ve let you down and we’re sorry for that.”
That sequence — warning signs, early tries, then a defensive collapse — is what made the margin so stark. Even in a match shaped by weather, the scoreboard kept widening as the Hurricanes maintained momentum and the Brumbies couldn’t regroup.
Across the other bracket, the Crusaders kept rolling at home.
The defending champion Crusaders also have had an up and down season, losing six of 15 matches. But playoffs are when they sharpen. They beat the Auckland-based Blues 52-31 in a Kiwi derby and stretched their unbeaten record in home playoffs in Christchurch to 33 matches.
They also had key individual impact. The Crusaders’ front five was superb. Veterans David Havili in midfield and Johnny McNicholl at fullback both played central roles, with McNicholl scoring three tries while also defending and kicking well.
The Blues qualified for the playoffs with an 8-7 record, but Saturday’s game carried the same theme that has haunted them at times this season: promise that sometimes didn’t hold under pressure. They were limited and predictable, and indiscipline punished them.
Blues backrower Malachi Wrampling was shown a yellow card in the first half for a high tackle on Leicester Fainga’anuku. The yellow later was upgraded to a red.
Despite being down a man, the Blues leveled the score at 14-14. Still, the Crusaders surged to a 33-14 lead by halftime, then powered through with eight tries in all.
And while the Blues faced the sting of losing a playoff match, their captain still clung to the odd relief of a second chance.
“It’s a weird one, eh?” Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu said. “In terms of the comp., I don’t know any other comp. that has a second life for a losing team. It’s weird but if it’s another chance we’ll certainly take it.”
Hamilton delivered the closest game of the quarterfinals.
The match between the Chiefs and Reds ended 46-24, and it swung on the field at the hands of flyhalf Damian McKenzie, who scored two tries among 26 points.
But as the Chiefs moved on, they also picked up a new fear for the semifinal.
They lost All Blacks backrower Wallace Sititi to a head knock. The match was suspended for some time around the 18th minute after Sititi was injured first in a collision with Reds backrower Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, exacerbated accidentally by one of Sititi’s own players.
The Chiefs posted on social media Sunday that Sititi “wanted to let you all know he is at home and feeling good. as well as sending his thanks to everyone for their love and support.” They added that “scans at Waikato Hospital did not reveal any issues and he will be assessed and cared for through the concussion protocols.”.
For the Reds, the result also ended a chapter.
Saturday’s match was the last with the Reds for head coach Les Kiss, who now will understudy Joe Schmidt in three tests in July before becoming Wallabies head coach.
Kiss described the moment with a mix of pride and damage.
“Mixed emotions in a lot of ways,” Kiss said. “I’m bloody proud of the boys in a number of ways.
“At halftime, I think we were still confident about what we were doing on the park and we were standing up to the things we said we’d do. I’m gutted for the boys more than anything.”
Now the weather-soaked quarterfinals have done something more than decide winners and losers: they have pushed Australian teams aside and left New Zealand to decide the next week’s fate, with the Chiefs, Crusaders, Hurricanes and Blues set for the semifinals.
Super Rugby playoffs Hurricanes Brumbies Chiefs Reds Crusaders Blues Wellington Hamilton Christchurch Wallace Sititi Damian McKenzie Stephen Larkham
66-12 is brutal. Rain really said nope.
I don’t even follow rugby but I saw “no Australian team has ever won a playoff match in New Zealand” and that sounds like the refs were rigged or something. Like how is that even possible for one country??
Stephen Larkham apologizing to fans just means everyone knows it was a choke job. I mean 66-12 in a downpour, sure, but that feels like coaching too. Also the “two all-New Zealand semifinals” part makes it sound like Australia is basically always doomed in these games.
So wait the Hurricanes won because of rain?? That’s like blaming weather for everything lol. But also how come the Brumbies were even in the playoffs if they can’t handle water? I swear rugby is mostly just who can slip the least. Go Chiefs? I guess.