Rugby: Long haul pays off for tenacious Hurricanes

Ardie Savea celebrates the Hurricanes' round 14 Super Rugby win over the Chiefs. Photo / Getty Images

Names such as Reggie Goodes, Brad Shields, TJ Perenara, Ben May and Chris Smylie didn't jump out at you in in the early days.

They were a mix of young guns with potential or veterans needing a change of scene and they were some of the men named on November 2, 2011 in the Hurricanes squad for the 2012 Super Rugby campaign.

It was part of the new regime under former coach Mark Hammett, who had cleared the decks as he looked to put his mark on a franchise that needed a shake-up.

After naming a squad of 32, including 11 newcomers, for the 2012 season Hammett declared they were a team with the capacity to improve.

It's taken time but the Hurricanes are more than competitive and have led the charge in the competition this year with 12 wins from 13 games under new coach Chris Boyd.

Hammett, who left last year, will probably never get the credit he deserves because of his mixed win-loss record during his four seasons in charge in the capital.

The Hurricanes will play in the finals this year for the first time since 2009 and securing home advantage looks a formality in the final few weeks of the season, especially with victory over the Crusaders tonight.

All the names mentioned above are still on the books - May took time out to play in Japan but has since returned - and Goodes, Shields and Perenara are frontline players who've been crucial to the side's fortunes this season.

Building a successful Super Rugby team doesn't happen overnight and Hurricanes skipper Conrad Smith heard all the criticism before that 2012 season. "The way it's progressing, it's satisfying and particularly for this group. It's largely the same group that was told we weren't much of a rugby team and it's still the same guys," Smith said.

"We haven't had to recruit, we've probably got Ma'a [Nonu] back, we've got [Ben Franks] from down south, but other than that, it's the group we've had for four years. and that's particularly satisfying."

Smith could have left when many of his teammates did after a disastrous 2011 campaign but said: "I think there was a lot of commitment that came off a lot of hurt ... and everyone bought in to it."