Stephen Larkham apologises to fans after Hurricanes humiliate Brumbies in Super Rugby qualifying final

Saturday, 6 June 2026

The 66-12 loss became the Brumbies' heaviest-ever defeat and the biggest loss by an Australian side in a Super Rugby finals match.

Stephen Larkham described his team's performance as 'embarrassing' and 'far too inconsistent' throughout the entire Super Rugby season.

Australian teams remain winless in finals matches in New Zealand over the past 30 years following the Brumbies' Wellington defeat.

Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham apologised to his supporters after his side’s Super Rugby season ended in humiliating fashion with a 66-12 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday.

The loss rewrote the record books for all the wrong reasons, becoming the Brumbies’ heaviest-ever defeat, the most points they have conceded to the Hurricanes and the biggest loss by an Australian side in a Super Rugby finals match.

Larkham, a former Wallabies first five-eighth who played more than 100 games for the Brumbies becoming head coach, described the performance as “embarrassing”.

“It’s embarrassing. It was frustrating and disappointing and all the adjectives you would like to use. It seemed like the harder we tried the worse things got out there,” he said, before using the post-match press conference to address Brumbies supporters.

“For our fans back in Australia, we appreciate your support – particularly the ones who follow us no matter what. We had an up and down season and you rode it with us. We managed to get through to the finals and there was probably some hope there, but we’ve let you down and we’re sorry for that.”

The wet conditions appeared tailor-made for the Brumbies’ traditionally strong set-piece game, but their lineout malfunctioned, losing five throws, while the Hurricanes dominated the scrum and handled the rain and wind with ease.

The visitors were on the back foot from the outset, trailing 17-0 after 15 minutes before falling behind 38-7 by halftime.

The Brumbies claimed impressive regular-season wins over the Blues, Chiefs, Crusaders and Highlanders, but a shock 21-19 defeat to Moana Pasifika in the final round dropped them to sixth and condemned them to a sudden-death trip to Wellington against the competition’s form side.

Although the Hurricanes had lost their previous three playoff meetings with the Brumbies, there was no danger of history repeating itself.

The Hurricanes never eased up, with replacement winger Ngane Punivai scoring a second-half hat-trick as the hosts topped 60 points for the first time this season to rub further salt into the wound.

“They looked very dangerous,” Larkham said. “From our perspective, we were far too inconsistent, which is what we’ve seen all year.

“If you look at the season, we started really well and probably came out of the blocks as a bit of a dangerous team and when we get things right we are pretty good … but it’s far too inconsistent.”

Australian teams remain winless in finals matches in New Zealand over the past 30 years.