Fehi Fineanganofo and Josh Moorby did not need to make the Hurricanes’ Super Rugby title win about the All Blacks, but their finishing made that almost impossible to avoid.
The Hurricanes’ 60-5 Grand Final demolition of the Chiefs in Wellington has already been filed as a record result, a second title for the franchise and the most emphatic final performance Super Rugby has seen. The sharper New Zealand question now sits on the edge: what do selectors do with two wings who ended the season on 17 tries apiece?
ReadRugbyUnion has already covered how the Hurricanes’ record rout became All Blacks evidence. The more specific point is that Fineanganofo and Moorby have turned the outside-back conversation into something deeper than a highlights reel.
A final that rewarded finishers
The official New Zealand Rugby report credited Fineanganofo with the competition try-scoring record before Moorby joined him, with both men finishing the campaign on 17. In a match shaped by Wellington wind and Chiefs errors, that matters because their tries were not loose decoration at the end of a broken contest. They were part of the Hurricanes’ method.
Moorby scored early from Cam Roigard’s pass after pressure near the Chiefs line, then struck again after the break when Ruben Love created width. Fineanganofo’s first-half finish came from the same season-long pattern: quick ball, support runners, a full-back connection and a wing trusted to be in the right channel at the right time.
That is the bit selectors care about. Test wings are not picked only because they can finish easy chances. They are picked because they understand when to hold width, when to chase work, when to contest kicks and when to turn a half-gap into seven points.
Hurricanes depth changes the national picture
The Hurricanes’ attack has been the story of the New Zealand domestic season, and their 104-try regular-season surge already made the final feel like a national showcase before a ball was kicked. By the end of the decider, the number had become even more absurd: 114 tries across the campaign, with the wings carrying the clearest scoreboard proof.
Fineanganofo brings power and directness. Moorby brings timing, aerial nous and the look of a player who rarely needs the picture explained twice. Neither is operating alone, of course. Roigard, Love, Jordie Barrett, Peter Lakai, Devan Flanders and Callum Harkin all helped create the rhythm that made the wide men so dangerous.
But that is not a reason to discount the finishers. It is a reason to take the production seriously. New Zealand’s best sides have often made wing play look simple because the whole machine works. The question is whether the individual can keep making the simple play decisive when the space shrinks at Test level.
Monday now has another layer
The timing gives the story its edge. The first All Blacks squad of the season is due on Monday, with France, Italy and Ireland waiting in July, while the Maori All Blacks naming adds another selection layer before the Japan XV fixture in Nagoya.
That does not mean Fineanganofo and Moorby both have to be pushed straight into the senior Test group. New Zealand have established options, positional versatility and different tactical needs depending on the opponent. There is also a difference between rewarding form and building a balanced squad.
What the final did was remove any sense that the Hurricanes’ wide threat was merely a product of soft regular-season afternoons. The Chiefs arrived with enough Test talent to ask serious questions. The Hurricanes answered with nine tries, a 55-point margin and two wings finishing the season level at the top of the Super Rugby try-scoring chart.
A selection debate with substance
The All Blacks do not need to treat one final as a referendum. That would be too neat. But they do need to recognise when a domestic season has produced evidence that keeps surviving bigger stages.
Fineanganofo and Moorby have done that. Their numbers are loud, but the better argument is quieter: repeatable positioning, finishing under pressure and the confidence of a title-winning system behind them.
The Hurricanes have already lifted the trophy. Their wings may now have made sure Monday’s selection meeting lasts a little longer.
