Hurricanes v Force Stat Attack

Round 5 v Force: Won 31-23

The Hurricanes and the Force first met at New Plymouth in 2006 with the home side winning 29-5. Since then they have gone on to play 17 matches: the Hurricanes have won 14 times to the Forces two. There was the Golden Point drawn match at Perth last year.

The Force’s two wins were at home in Perth. They have yet to beat the Hurricanes after nine attempts in New Zealand.

Almost unbelievably, the Hurricanes have now won their last 21 home matches against Australian teams. This sequence started immediately after their 24-29 loss to the Waratahs at Wellington in 2015. Since that match the Hurricanes have gone on to beat the Brumbies four times, the Force four times, the Rebels six times, the Reds three times and the Waratahs four times. Fourteen of those victories have been at the Westpac/Sky Stadium, four in Palmerston North and three in Napier.

The Hurricanes have played 15 matches in Napier winning 12 and losing three. The three losses were against the Crusaders (1998) and twice against the Bulls (2003 and 2011). Since that second loss to the Bulls the Hurricanes have won their last eight matches in a row in Napier.

This was the fourth time in their four matches played so far in 2026 the Hurricanes were the second side to score points.

The Hurricanes made five changes to the starting XV from that which took the field against the Waratahs in the previous match. One of those changes was in the backs and four in the forwards.

The Hurricanes starting XV had a total of 808 Super Rugby caps between them: 519 in the forwards and 289 in the backs.

For the third time in four matches this season, the Hurricanes made no attempt to kick a penalty goal.

The Hurricanes win took them to the top of the Standings, up from third place the previous week. They are actually level on points (15) with the Blues and the Brumbies but have a better differential than those two. The Hurricanes are plus 85 points compared to the Blues (+55) and the Brumbies (+43).

The Hurricanes have conceded the fewest tries (11) and points (77) this season. Admittedly they have only played four matches whilst the majority have played five.

Cameron Roigard scored his first try of the season: his 20th in 51 matches for the Hurricanes. It was his first try against the Force.

Devan Flanders’ try was his 10th in 60 matches. It was his first against the Force. It was significant in that it was also the 1500th try to be scored in all Super Rugby matches by the Hurricanes.

Callum Harkin scored his second try in his 14th match. His first try was also against the Force: in the drawn match at Perth last year.

Playing in his fourth match for the Hurricanes and coming off the bench for the first time, Warner Dearns scored his maiden Super Rugby  try.

Jordie Barrett’s six points (three conversions) took him to 29 points in five matches against the Force. In all Super Rugby matches he now has 812 points to his name.

Barrett has scored 38 points at Napier which takes him into first place for most points scored at McLean Park. The old record was held by David Holwell with 33 points.

Since making his Hurricanes debut against the Sunwolves at Tokyo in 2017, Barrett has attempted 399 shots at goal and has an overall 71.4% success rate with the boot.

Jone Rova played his fourth match for the Hurricanes: it was his first start.

Five players namely Caleb Delany, Riley Higgins, Tyrel Lomax, Ruben Love and Jordi Viljoen all made their first appearance of the season. They took the number of players used in the first four matches to 34.

Viljoen made his Hurricanes debut back in 2024 against the Force and scored a try. He played in four matches that season and just one last year. He has missed 29 of the Hurricanes 35 matches played since his debut.

One positive thing has come out of the dearth of matches he has played: he has yet to be on a losing side.

Warner Dearns, Ruben Love, Josh Moorby, Jone Rova and Jordi Viljoen all played their first match at Napier.

Isaia Walker-Leawere was awarded the Hurricanes first yellow card this season. It came after 307 minutes of play. Whilst he was cooling his heels on the “naughty chair” the Force scored 12 points.

Darby Lancaster scored two of the Forces three tries. Lopeti Faifua scored the other. Neither of them had previously scored against the Hurricanes.

Ben Donaldson kicked eight points and his total against the Hurricanes in all matches is now 37 points. Of that total 18 have been scored for the Waratahs and 19 for the Force.

Donaldson’s eight points took his total in 2026 to exactly 50: he is the first player to bring up a half-century of points this season.

Kurtley Beale played his first match for the Force against the Hurricanes having previously appeared against them for the Waratahs and the Rebels.

Todd Petrie was in charge of his first match involving the Hurricanes. However, he had previously been an assistant referee on several occasions.

Overall, the Hurricanes have now played 426 Super Rugby matches. They have won 246 (57.7%), lost 173 and drawn seven.