Hurricanes (rugby Union)

Hurricanes (rugby Union)

The Hurricanes (formerly known as the Wellington Hurricanes) are a New Zealand professional Rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in the Super Rugby competition. The team represents the East Coast, Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua Kapiti, Manawatu, Poverty Bay, Taranaki, Wairarapa-Bush, Wanganui and Wellington unions, and currently plays at Westpac Stadium, having previously played at the now-defunct Athletic Park.

The Hurricanes were formed to represent the lower North Island with the conception of the Super 12 competition in 1996, which featured teams from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. The Hurricanes had a poor first season, but rebounded in 1997 with a third placing. The team did not reach the play-offs for another five years as the team struggled in the bottom four of the table. Since 2003 the Hurricanes have made the post-season play-offs five times out of the last eight seasons; including the 2006 final, which they lost in horrendously foggy weather against the Crusaders 19-12.