Where are they now? First Hurricanes team to win Super Rugby in 2016
Hurricanes players Brad Shields, Corey Jane and TJ Pernara with John Plumtree and an inset of Julian Savea.
The Hurricanes could end a 10-year Super Rugby title drought in 2026 after topping the table during the regular season and breezing into the semi-finals with a dominant win over the Queensland Reds.
The men from Wellington first won the southern hemisphere’s premier club competition back in 2016, hoisting the trophy for the first time and ending a 20-year wait.
Led by Chris Boyd, the club won 11 of their 15 regular season matches to top the Australasian conference and overall standings and secure their passage into the knockout stages. There, they defeated the Sharks and Chiefs to set up a showdown with the Lions in the final, hosted in Wellington. Boyd’s charges dominated proceedings in the final as they ran out 20-3 victors.
With the Hurricanes enjoying a stellar 2026 season, we take a look at where the 2016 stars are now 10 years after that memorable win over the Lions.
15 James Marshall
James Marshall played in 14 of the Hurricanes’ 18 matches en route to winning the title. At the end of that season, he moved to England, signing with then-Championship club London Irish.
He spent two seasons with the Exiles before signing a deal to return to the Hurricanes in 2019, where he would hang up his boots just a year later due to a hip injury.
Upon his retirement, Marshall immediately moved into coaching, taking over from Carlos Spencer at the Hurricanes. After moving to Nelson, he joined the Tasman Mako coaching team before being recruited to join Scott Robertson’s staff.
While he continues to coach at the Crusaders, Marshall is also the host of the popular rugby podcast What a Lad. His primary focus with the ‘Saders is the attack.
14 Cory Jane
Cory Jane would feature in the Hurricanes’ title defence in 2017 and had a stint in Japan with the Toshiba Brave Lupus before the 2011 Rugby World Cup-winning winger hung up his boots.
Like Marshall, Jane started his coaching career shortly after retiring from professional rugby, starting with Wellington Lions in the NPC. Specialising in defence, Jane caught the eye of the Hurricanes and joined the coaching ranks of his former team in 2020.
He remains in the ‘Canes coaching staff at the time of writing.
13 Matt Proctor
Matt Proctor’s young brother Billy is now featuring in the midfield for the Hurricanes after the former departed for Northampton Saints in 2019, linking up with Boyd at the Premiership club.
Before heading abroad, Proctor did earn a single Test cap for the All Blacks, scoring on debut against Japan in 2018.
After a largely successful spell with Northampton, Proctor returned to Super Rugby, joining Australian side Melbourne Rebels ahead of the 2024 season.
He returned to New Zealand in 2025, featured for Wellington in the NPC, and continues to play club rugby in Aotearoa.
12 Willis Halaholo
Willis Halaholo’s final season with the Hurricanes was the 2016 title-winning season, which was his last before he left New Zealand to join Welsh side Cardiff.
He qualified to represent Wales through residency in 2019 but only made his Test debut in 2021, against Scotland. Halaholo continued to represent Cardiff through to the end of the 2023/24 season before returning to New Zealand, where he represented Bay of Plenty in the 2024 NPC season.
In 2025, Halaholo switched international allegiances to make his debut for Tonga, coming off the bench in the defeat to Fiji. This after the midfield adhered to World Rugby’s three-year stand-down period after earning the last of his nine Wales caps in 2022.
The now-35-year-old continues to play club rugby in New Zealand, where he turned out in a match against his former teammate Hadleigh Parkes when Grammar TEC took on Suburbs last year.
11 Jason Woodward
Jason Woodward also left the Hurricanes after their title-winning season and linked up with Bristol before making the switch to Gloucester after just one season.
He remained with the Cherry and Whites until 2022 and then joined Sale Sharks. He would play just a handful of games before he was released by the side at the end of the 2022/23 season. He hasn’t played top level rugby since.
10 Beauden Barrett
After winning a first Super Rugby title with the Hurricanes in 2016, Beauden Barrett has continued to be one of the best players in the world, winning the World Rugby Player of the Year award in 2016 and 2017.
He has also gone on to play over 100 Test matches for the All Blacks and left the Hurricanes in 2020 to join the Blues. He has had stints in Japan with Suntory Sungoliath and Toyota Verblitz but will return to the Blues in 2025 having re-signed with the Auckland-based side and New Zealand Rugby until 2027. Barrett remains a key cog in the All Blacks set-up.
9 TJ Perenara
The Hurricanes’ top-try scorer in Super Rugby continued to represent the side until his departure to Japan in 2024. Prior to his move to Asia, Perenara missed the 2023 Rugby World Cup due to a long-term injury but returned to break the Super Rugby Pacific all-time try-scoring record.
Sevu Reece has since surpassed the Hurricanes great, who ended his international career with 80 Tests for the All Blacks and 17 tries. He joined the Ricoh Black Rams after leaving the ‘Canes and continues to represent the Japanese club.
8 Victor Vito
Double Rugby World Cup-winning forward Victor Vito joined the illustrious list of players to have won both Super Rugby and the Champions Cup after making the move to French club La Rochelle in 2016. He hung up his boots after lifting the Champions Cup title with La Rochelle in 2022.
Since his retirement, Vito has moved into the hospitality business and is a consultant at DERBY Hospitalité & Evénementiel.
7 Ardie Savea
Already a key figure in the Hurricanes team in 2016, Ardie Savea has gone from strength to strength and is a crucial member of the All Blacks squad and was named World Rugby Player of the Year in 2023 after helping New Zealand reach the World Cup final.
Following the World Cup, Savea joined Japanese side Kobelco Kobe Steelers. He went on to represent Moana Pasifika in 2025 before returning to Kobe, where he won the Japan Rugby League One season with the club. Savea was set to return to Moana in 2027 but due to their club’s collapse, it’s yet to be confirmed where his next stop is.
In 2025, Savea earned his 100th Test cap for the All Blacks becoming the 15th player to hit the milestone.
6 Brad Shields
Brad Shields returned to the Hurricanes in 2024 after leaving the side in 2017 in order to join Premiership club Wasps and chase his dream of playing international rugby. He made his Test debut for England in 2018, earning a total of nine caps for the Red Rose.
Following the collapse of Wasps, Shields headed to France, joining Perpignan before returning to New Zealand with Wellington and then the Hurricanes.
The back-rower is set to become the Hurricanes all-time leading appearance maker, overtaking his former teammate Dane Coles in the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific semi-final against the Blues.
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5 Michael Fatialofa
Second-rower Michael Fatialofa left the Hurricanes in 2018 to join Worcester Warriors. He quickly became a regular starter for the Warriors before suffering a heartbreaking career-ending neck injury.
After undergoing surgery, Fatialofa was told to prepare for life in a wheelchair, but he beat the odds and walked unaided a few months after his operation.
He now works as a Keynote Speaker and is also a Sales Consultant at Akairo Construction ltd.
4 Vaea Fifita
Vaea Fifita made his Test debut for the All Blacks in 2017 and would feature at the 2019 World Cup for New Zealand. In 2021, he left the Hurricanes and joined Shields at Wasps.
In 2022, he made the switch to Scarlets and remained at the Welsh side despite reports that he would depart. That same year, he also switched international allegiances to his country of birth, Tonga, and represented the ʻIkale Tahi at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Fifita did leave Scarlets at the end of the 2024/25 season, signing with the newly-promoted French Top 14 club Montauban, who were relegated after claiming just one win and draw in 26 league games.
3 Ben May
Remarkably, Ben May continued his career until 2022 with the tighthead prop playing professional rugby until the age of 40.
The veteran hung up his boots after becoming the first Hurricanes player to play 100 Super Rugby matches without winning a Test cap.
His Instagram profile now simply reads: ‘Kiwi farmer. Passionate hunter.’ An apt life for a former prop.
2 Dane Coles (c)
The 2016 title-winning skipper continued to play regularly for the All Blacks until 2023, when he announced his retirement from international rugby.
Coles was set to retire from all forms of rugby in 2023 but delayed his retirement to take up a deal with Kubota Spears as medical cover for injured Springbok Malcolm Marx.
The legendary ‘Canes and All Black, who played a major role in redefining the hooker position, stepped into coaching with the Wellington Lions after his short spell in Japan. He also served on the panel to appoint Dave Rennie as Robertson’s successor as the All Blacks head coach.
1 Loni Uhila
The front-rower affectionately known as “The Tongan Bear” left the Hurricanes in 2017 to join Top 14 club Clermont before signing for La Rochelle in 2020.
He was released by La Rochelle in 2022 to join Rugby Club Hyères in the lower leagues of French Rugby. He played for the club until the end of the 2022/23 season.
16 Ricky Riccitelli
Ricky Riccitelli remained at the Hurricanes until 2021, when he decided to leave the side and joined Super Rugby rivals the Blues.
Throughout his time in New Zealand, he was overlooked for All Blacks’ selection despite winning a second Super Rugby title with the Blues in 2024. In 2025, the hooker signed a deal to join French club Montpellier, where he won the Challenge Cup in his first season and helped his new side reach the knockout stages of the Top 14.
17 Chris Eves
The loosehead prop left the Hurricanes in 2019 to join the Sunwolves ahead of the 2020 Super Rugby. He had a stint in Australia with Randwick following the cancellation of the Super Rugby season due to the pandemic.
He now works as a trainer for In Volve Fitness in New South Wales.
18 Mike Kainga
The tighthead prop continues to play lower-league rugby in New Zealand at the age of 35. He has also transitioned into coaching and administrative roles within community rugby.
19 Mark Abbott
After leaving the Hurricanes in 2017, Mark Abbott headed to Japan, playing for the Sunwolves, Munakata Sanix Blues, and continued to play for the Saitama Wild Knights until 2024, when he made the move to Honda Heat.
20 Callum Gibbins
Livewire flanker Callum Gibbins signed for Glasgow Warriors in 2017 and became a fan favourite with the Scottish side. He left Glasgow in 2020 to join Major League Rugby side, Old Glory DC. He signed with the American side as a player-coach and has moved into the latter after hanging up his playing boots.
He has since made the step up to coaching at the international level, leading Canada’s defence.
21 Jamison Gibson-Park
Now widely regarded as one of the finest scrum-halves in the game, Jamison Gibson-Park has enjoyed a hugely successful career following his departure from the Hurricanes in 2016.
He qualified to represent Ireland through residency in 2019 and made his Test debut during the 2020 Six Nations. He has since become a regular starter for Ireland and was a key figure in their Six Nations Grand Slam in 2023, and has been equally brilliant for Leinster.
In 2025, Gibson-Park was named in Andy Farrell’s British and Irish Lions touring squad and started all three Tests against the Wallabies with the tourists winning the series 2-1.
22 Vince Aso
After helping the Hurricanes win the Super Rugby title in 2016, Vince Aso enjoyed a brilliant 2017 season, scoring 14 tries in 15 appearances. He remained with the Wellington-based side until the end of the 2021 season.
He left the team to join Japanese outfit the Wild Knights. At the end of the 2025/26 season, the Knights announced Aso’s departure after five seasons with the club. His next destination is not yet known.
23 Julian Savea
Julian Savea returned to New Zealand after a largely unsuccessful stint in France with Toulon between 2018 and 2020. He returned to play for the Hurricanes between 2021 and 2023 before signing for Moana Pasifika, where he went on to break Israel Folau’s all-time leading try-scoring tally in Super Rugby. That record was also beaten by Perenara and is now held by Reece.
Savea remained with Moana for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season but played just once for the side.
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