Shields sees 2016 championship culture reborn in Hurricanes' semi-final push

Brad Shields believes the Hurricanes have rebuilt the cultural foundations that delivered their only Super Rugby title a decade ago, as the Wellington side prepare to face the Blues in this weekend’s semi-final.

Shields is the sole remaining link between the 2016 championship squad and the 2026 group, making him a uniquely placed judge of what the two eras share. He will come up against two former title-winning teammates — Beauden Barrett and Pita Ahki — on the other side of the semi-final, and is coached by another 2016 champion in Cory Jane.

“If you look at the season as a whole, the one thing that sticks out is that the rugby’s one part of it, but the culture, the standards that you set, the buy-in from all of the boys, that’s at an all-time high, similar to what I felt back then,” Shields said.

Despite the near-total turnover in personnel across ten years, Shields argues the winning ingredients are consistent. He pointed to alignment running from the club’s ownership through head coach Clark Laidlaw and down to the playing group as the key driver.

“We’ve come up short so many times, almost like it was before that 2016 title. The Hurricanes have always been there or thereabouts. I just think at the moment our maturity is right where it needs to be, and our culture is right where it needs to be to get a good performance consistently,” he added.

Among the younger faces carrying that culture forward is winger Peter Lakai, who will make his 50th Super Rugby appearance against the Blues. The 23-year-old All Black has drawn high praise from Shields, who described him as “a bit of a freak of nature” for his skill set and game awareness.

“He’s pretty consistent; he turns up every week. For a young guy to bring up 50 games — I’m not sure what age I was when I got to 50, but I don’t think it was 23 — it’s pretty impressive,” Shields said, adding that he hopes to see Lakai rewarded with further international honours later in the year.

The Hurricanes’ semi-final against the Blues represents their latest attempt to end a ten-year wait for a second Super Rugby crown — a drought Shields clearly believes the current group has the character to break.