The Hurricanes captains

After 20 years of Super Rugby, the competition is expanding to 18 teams in 2016. As we look forward to the start of this year’s competition that kicks off at the end of February, we’ve taken a look at the some of the Hurricanes players that have lit up Super Rugby thus far.Over 200 players have worn the Hurricanes jersey in 20 years of Super Rugby and exactly 15 have worn the captain’s armband.

Dane Coles leads the team into 2016, having made his captaincy debut in one match last season.

A summary of the Hurricanes captains and a selected memorable match that they led the team in is below (names are in order of when they were first appointed captain).

1. Mark Allen

Captaincy tenure: 1996-98
Number of games as captain: 30
Wins/losses: Won 13, lost 17 (winning percentage 43.33%)

Magic match: 1996. Hurricanes 32 - Transvaal 16, Napier
The Hurricanes’ first win in Super Rugby. It took three matches for the Hurricanes to register it, following a first-up 28-36 loss to the Blues in the opener at Palmerston North and a 28-35 defeat to the Brumbies in Canberra in round two. Mark ‘Bull’ Allen also scored a try in this match, along with fullback Christian Cullen, centre Alama Ieremia and wing Tana Umaga. Cullen set up Allen’s try with a scything run and the fullback scored his try after bursting through and chipping ahead. First five-eighth Jamie Cameron landed five of seven shots at goal. The Hurricanes went on win two more games in the inaugural season. Allen was captain the following year when the Hurricanes made the semi-finals for the first time, and again in 1998, but was forced to retire midway through the third year with a neck injury.

2. Jon Preston

Captaincy tenure: 1998
Number of games as captain: 3
Wins/losses: Lost 3

Magic match: 1998, Hurricanes 32 – Brumbies 29, Canberra
Halfback Jon Preston filled in as skipper for injured founding captain Bull Allen (see above). The Hurricanes made it five wins from eight when they became the first New Zealand team to beat the Brumbies in Canberra with this win, following bonus point wins in Cape Town and Pretoria to become the first NZ team take a maximum 10 points from their South African tour. Christian Cullen raced in to score a 79th match winning try. Martin Leslie scored their other try and Preston kicked both conversions and six penalties for a personal haul off 22 points. The Hurricanes faded away over the remainder of the season.

3. Norm Hewitt

Captaincy tenure: 1998-2000
Number of games as captain: 15
Wins/losses: Won 9, lost 6 (winning percentage 60%)

Magic match: 2000, Hurricanes 28 – Crusaders 22, Wellington
Another winning first – the Hurricanes’ first ever win over the Crusaders. This was the Hurricanes’ last home game in 2000 at the shiny new Wellington Stadium and (66-match Hurricane) Hewitt’s last home game for the team. Hooker Hewitt had the best view in the house as outside backs Jonah Lomu and Christian Cullen scored two tries each and Tana Umaga had a direct hand in setting up two more. Umaga‘s 39th minute try saving tackle on Crusaders wing Caleb Ralph was also to prove decisive. This win put Hewitt’s Hurricanes in semi-final contention, but they lost key games on their overseas tour that followed and slipped to eighth. Hewitt went on to captain Wellington to a rare NPC title later that season.

4. Jason O’Halloran

Captaincy tenure: 1999
Number of games as captain: 8
Wins/losses: Won 2, lost 5, drew 1 (winning percentage 25%)

Magic match: 1999, Hurricanes 34 – Sharks 18, East London
Jason O’Halloran had captained New Zealand A against England, Tonga and Samoa in 1998 and coach Frank Oliver handed him the Hurricanes job in 1999. O’Halloran was a try scorer in this gritty win. Oliver made five changes to his misfiring starting XV that had won once in five matches all season and who were coming off a mauling by the Cats. The changes worked, the Hurricanes playing with extra purpose and hunger for a badly needed bonus point victory. Buoyed by the East London crowd support that warmed to the Hurricanes, the Hurricanes harried the Sharks into mistakes. Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga, O’Halloran and Inoke Afeaki each scored tries and the Canes had the game won at 25-5 at halftime. They held on for their first ever win over the Sharks.

5. Gordon Slater

Captaincy tenure: 2001-02
Number of games as captain: 22.
Wins/losses: Won 10, lost 12 (winning percentage 45.45%)

Magic match: 2002, Hurricanes 22 – Reds 18, at Palmerston North
Gordon Slater played 55 games and five seasons for the Hurricanes between 1997-02 and was captain for two years. With records of five wins and six losses in both 2001 and 2002, the Hurricanes finished ninth both years. But some of these victories such as one such 20-13 win over the Brumbies and this one had the stamp of Slater’s rugged Taranaki style of play written all over them. The Reds led this one 11-9 at halftime, before first home five-eighth David Holwell kicked his fourth penalty and future captain Rodney So’oialo crossed to put the Hurricanes in front 19-11. Reds centre Daniel Herbert set up a dramatic conclusion by scoring, but Slater’s Hurricanes clung on. Slater retired in 2005 having played 144 matches for Taranaki.

6. Tana Umaga

Captaincy tenure: 2003-07
Number of games as captain: 35
Wins/losses: 19 wins, 16 losses (winning percentage 54.28%)

Magic match: 2005, Hurricanes 22 – Blues 10, Auckland
It took the Hurricanes 10 years to beat the Blues. There had been a 42-45 loss to them in 1997 and a 26-26 draw in 2005, amongst other close results. Founding Hurricane Umaga had been involved in all the ups and downs of the first decade. When he lined up against the Auckland-based side to play his 100th game he was also playing to help propel them into the 2005 semi-finals. The first half was tense, with scores locked at 3-3 at the break, before the Hurricanes opened the contest up with three explosive tries. Flanker Ben Herring scored off his own grubber and then wing Lome Fa'atau and lock Ross Kennedy scored tries for an unassailable 22-3 lead and an ensuring their playoff spot. Umaga retired at the end of 2007 with 122 caps to his name. He is now coaching the Blues.

7. Jerry Collins

Captaincy tenure: 2004
Number of games as captain: 3
Wins/losses: 1 win, 1 loss, 1 draw (winning percentage 33.33%)

Magic match: 2004, Hurricanes 42 - Golden Cats 25, Wellington
Jerry Collins led from the front and captained most sides he played in at least once, from his Northern United club side as a teenager to the All Blacks in a couple of 2007 RWC pool matches. In 2004 he captained the Hurricanes three times in the absence of regular skipper Tana Umaga who was out injured. This match here was Collins’s sole win as Hurricanes skipper. The powerful loose forward, who made the fulltime switch from No. 8 to blindside flanker in 2004, had an arm-chair ride as 21-year old midfielder Ma’a Nonu, starred. Nonu scored a dazzling solo 30 metre try and set up another of the Hurricanes’ five tries. First five David HolIwell, returning after suffering a bro­ken hand, kicked seven from eight to finish with 17 points. 2004 wasn't to be a vintage year for the Hurricanes who finished eleventh with just four victories. Although if their 20-21 loss to the Sharks and 26-all draw with the Blues the following week had been wins then they would have comfortably finished mid-table.

8. Rodney So’oialo

Captaincy tenure: 2005-09
Number of games as captain: 49
Wins/losses: 32 wins, 16 losses, 1 draw (winning percentage 65.30%)

Magic match: 2009, Hurricanes 30 – Crusaders 24, Christchurch
It was no coincidence that the Hurricanes made the semi-finals three times (2005, 2008 and 2009) and the final once (2006) in the five seasons that Rodney So’oialo was either stand-in skipper or fulltime captain. The Crusaders remained a bogey team throughout So’oialo’s career, making this win over them one to savour. This was the Hurricanes’ first win in Christchurch since 2001, a run that included three semi-finals and the final. In a tense finish for Hurricanes fans, The Hurricanes had established a 30-13 lead but the Crusaders threatened to snatch victory in the dying minutes after right wing Jared Payne and then former Hurricane and No. 8 Thomas Waldrom scored tries to see them roar back into the contest. The Crusaders now just needed a converted try to snatch a last-gasp victory. Captain So’oialo was then sinbinned! But the 14-man Hurricanes held on until fulltime.

9. Conrad Smith

Captaincy tenure: 2007, 2012-15
Number of games as captain: 61
Wins/losses: 35 wins, 26 losses (winning percentage 57.37%)

Magic match: 2012, Hurricanes 26 – Blues 25, Auckland
Conrad Smith’s captaincy debut was against the Reds in 2007, a 16-25 loss. He next took the reins in 2012 and led the side in 60 matches in four seasons. In 2012 he led from the front in every match and subsequently won the New Zealand Super Rugby Player of the Year award. The Hurricanes scored 58 tries in 16 matches and Smith was involved in many. In this match, Smith finished off an audacious broken field break from halfway by first five-eighth Beauden Barrett to score. Barrett calmly added the extras with the final play of the game. Previously, the Blues had been hot on attack down the other end of the field and playing to hold on to or extend their 25-19 lead. But the Hurricanes won a turnover and launched one final assault and Barrett sliced into a gap, beating two defenders and offloading on his outside to Smith in the clear.

10. Paul Tito

Captaincy tenure: 2007
Number of games as captain: 1
Wins/losses: 1 loss.

Magic match: 2007, Hurricanes 39 – Chiefs 32
Paul Tito’s one match as captain was a 17-30 fifth round defeat to the Stormers. Three weeks earlier the 84-match lock he had produced the key play in this win over the Chiefs, the team he made his Super Rugby debut for several years earlier. Tito scuttled 30 metres to score in the corner in the 78th minute to break a 32-32 deadlock and make the final score 39-32. First five-eighth Jimmy Gopperth calmly added the fulltime sideline conversion, after kicking a penalty with 10 minutes to go to even up the scores. This match was also notable for being Ma'a Nonu's 50th Hurricanes game and he celebrated with a 40-metre runaway try in the first half.

11. Andrew Hore

Captaincy tenure: 2008, 2010-11
Number of games as captain: 28
Wins/losses: 11 wins, 15 losses, 2 draws (winning percentage 39.28%)

Magic match: 2011, Hurricanes 28 – Reds 26, Wellington
Hooker Andrew Hore had filled in as captain briefly in 2008 for regular skipper Rodney So’oialo, before taking the leaders’ mantle in 2010 in coach Colin Cooper’s eighth and final year in charge. So’oialo remained in the team as a player. Hore let his actions do the talking in his two years at the helm. This match was a classic, with first five-eighth Aaron Cruden kicking a penalty with the last play of the game to give the Hurricanes victory. Cruden's winning kick from 35 metres out was the perfect finish to Hore's 100th game for the Hurricanes. Hore became the fourth ever player to reach the milestone for the franchise as the Hurricanes grabbed their third win of the season and their fourth in a row against the Reds. The Hurricanes had scored four sizzling tries in the first half to lead 22-5 at halftime, Hore having provided the final pass to prop Neemia Tialata’s score in the corner. But the visitors had come back with two tries and through the boot of playmaking first five-eighth Quade Cooper to take a one-point lead late in the match.

12. Tamati Ellison

Captaincy tenure: 2009
Number of games as captain: 1
Wins/losses: 1 win

Magic match: 2009. Hurricanes 22 – Highlanders 17
Ellison took the reins from Rodney So’oialo for this second round match with the latter suspended for a week following an opening round loss to the Waratahs. Second five-eighth Ellison had been Wellington’s captain and he would go on and captain the Junior All Blacks in the Pacific Nations Cup that followed this Super Rugby season. Against the Highlanders, the Hurricanes came back from 10-17 down to tie up the scores with a converted try to lock Jason Eaton and then a 78th minute match winner from broken play to Conrad Smith, sparked by a Highlanders spilt ball and a kick and chase and regather by first five-eighth Piri Weepu. The Hurricanes went on to make the semi-finals for the sixth time in 2009, falling to the Chiefs.

13. Victor Vito

Captaincy tenure: 2011, 2013
Number of games as captain: 3
Wins/losses: 2 wins, 1 loss

Magic match: 2011, Hurricanes 34 – Western Force 28
Victor Vito had had a big year in 2011, starting every match for the Hurricanes at No. 8 and ending it as part of the All Blacks’ winning Rugby World Cup squad. He took over the captaincy in this match with regular skipper Andrew Hore rested – and it wasn’t a match for him to forget in a hurry. The Hurricanes scored the winning try and took the lead for the first time since midway through the first half with just 5 minutes to play. Trailing 27-28, fullback Cory Jane accepted a clever pass by first five-eighth Aaron Cruden and scooted over the whitewash to put the Hurricanes in the lead. But the drama wasn’t over. The Force strung together 17 phases at the death and only dogged home town defence held them out. Earlier, Ma’a Nonu had scored two of the Hurricanes first three tries, both in conjunction with centre Conrad Smith. Cruden also kicked six from six attempts on goal. Also of not, lock James Broadhurst scored the Hurricanes’ 300th home try, after centre and then assistant coach Alama Ieremia had scored their first at this same venue in 1996.

14. Jeremy Thrush

Captaincy tenure: 2014-15
Number of games as captain: 3
Wins/losses: 2 wins, 1 loss

Magic match: 2014, Hurricanes 16 – Crusaders 9
Jeremy Thrush achieved most things on the rugby field in his New Zealand rugby career, including captaining the Hurricanes in three matches in 2014, filling in late in the competition for Conrad Smith who was nursing a broken thumb. For the most part this match was a battle of attrition between evenly matched sides, with Thrush leading his team in a huge defensive effort. His locking partner, Blade Thomson, scored the only two tries of the match, including the 73rd minute match winner, scooping up a crafty grubber kick by right wing Cory Jane and racing 50 metres. The spectacular try lifted the Hurricanes and they held on to the end, after previously losing key players Victor Vito and Alapati Leiua to injury in the opening 10 minutes. The next week, an injury depleted Thrush-led Hurricanes lost 16-24 to the Chiefs, and they missed the playoffs.

15. Dane Coles

Captaincy tenure: 2015-16
Number of games as captain: 1
Wins/losses: 1 win

Magic match: 2015, Hurricanes 42 – Force 13
New captain Dane Coles enters the 2016 season with 80 Hurricanes caps under his hood, one of them as captain which resulted in this comfortable five tries to two win. Coles led a committed, dominant all-round team performance as they started the season with their third straight win. Forwards power and speed out wide saw the pull clear with 20 consecutive points after halftime, to inflict the heaviest ever home defeat on the Force in their 10th year of playing in the Super Rugby competition The Hurricanes attacked the Force’s traditional strengths around the rucks and dominated the set-pieces, scoring first half tries to right wing Cory Jane and lock Mark Abbott. This was extended with second half tries to No. 8 Victor Vito, left wing Julian Savea and fullback James Marshall.