The Hurricanes entered a Friday night contest in Napier against the Western Force as favourites, with the best record on both sides of the ball after four rounds of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Once more, the men from the Kiwi capital showed their class in the second period after a tight first half, although the visitors had a late run that closed what was at one point a 20-point gap to eight.
Nonetheless, the Hurricanes improved to 3-1 on the season and sent the Force into a bye week nursing a 1-4 record after a three-week New Zealand road trip.
Here are some takeaways from the Canes’ 31-23 win.
A Darby double
Darby Lancaster is ticking all the boxes for a modern winger with Test stardom potential. On Friday night in Napier, the 22-year-old found numerous ways to put the Hurricanes under pressure.
Defensively, his cover work dragged players into touch on a couple of occasions when the Hurricanes’ playmakers got the ball wide, as they’ve done with precision throughout the opening rounds of the season. The Hurricanes also looked to take the ball to the line and put through grubber kicks, and Lancaster was one of a few Force players to disrupt those kicks.
On attack, Lancaster’s footwork shone as he beat one of New Zealand’s better backline defenders, Bailyn Sullivan, in a straight one-on-one to score the first try of the game. A second try from the youngster was a product of pace. A break in the 79th minute saw Lancaster push for a third, and while he didn’t win the race to his kick, he did gain 80 meters of territory for his team when their backs were against the wall.
If anything, the one-time Wallaby looked to do too much, getting involved in rucks unnecessarily and getting pinned in the contest as the Hurricanes exploited his vacant blindside.
Still, you can’t knock the hustle.
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No substitute for class
The 44th minute of this contest saw a quartet of tight five players enter the fray for the Hurricanes, with All Blacks XV prop Xavier Numia joining All Blacks Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax, as well as Japan captain Warner Dearns. Ruben Love had subbed on at the halftime break.
The new additions to the game made an immediate impact, inspiring a momentum shift that carried the Hurricanes on a 26-3 run to start the second half.
The Hurricanes have been elite in second halves to start this season, and the ball-in-play intent on display in the first half gives a big clue as to why; the Canes were happy to chew through phases and make the Force defend for extended periods before kicking. The Force’s defence was resilient, but outpaced during the third-quarter onslaught.
The Hurricanes have been the best attacking team in Super Rugby through the four rounds preceding this one, scoring more points and tries than any other team and leading the competition in carry meters, linebreaks, defenders beaten, and offloads.
Generations collide
The Western Force were extremely competitive in the first half of this contest, with 37-year-old Kurtley Beale a powerful factor in their half-time lead.
The 95-Test Wallaby was exuding class with his touches, and doing so in the midfield, a position he hasn’t played much of since 2018.
The veteran faded a little in the second period and was replaced at the hour mark after contributing 10 carries with three defenders beaten, nine tackles and a turnover won.
After Beale left the field, Force rookie Nathan Hastie picked up where he left off, inspiring his team with some special touches down the stretch.
A monster 50/22 was one highlight, with Hastie striking the ball from at most 10 meters out from his own try line and watching the ball bounce out 15 meters from the Hurricanes’ line. Lopeti Faifua crashed over 20 seconds after the ensuing lineout, making it an eight-point game with five minutes remaining.
Hastie has been superb for the Force this season and is eligible for the Wallabies as a born-and-raised Perthite. The team lost influential Walaby halfback Nic White to retirement after last season, but could have just found themselves the next man up for the gold jersey in the former Highlander.