Cam Roigard speaks about returning to rugby and the All Blacks squad following his knee injury six months ago. Video / Alyse Wright
The removal of a five-pitch cricket block from the middle of the McLean Park oval in Napier may be paydirt for rugby with the Hurricanes’ decision to play a Super Rugby Pacific match against the Fijian Drua.
Hurricanes Jordie Barrett and Ardie Savea at McLean Park, Napier. Photo / Photosport
The announcement from the Hurricanes schedules the round twomatch, and first Hurricanes home match of 2025, for a 4.35pm kickoff on Saturday, February 22, the earliest in the season of what will have been 16 Super Rugby matches in Napier since the advent of the professional competition in 1996.
The match comes with an agreement between the Wellington-based Hurricanes franchise, the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union and ground owners the Napier City Council, bringing Super Rugby back to Hawke’s Bay after an absence of almost four years.
The last Super Rugby match at McLean Park was a Hurricanes game against Australian side Western Force in May 2021, for which the official attendance figure was 9226, and the earliest of the 15 Super Rugby matches played at McLean Park over the 19 seasons to date had been between the Hurricanes and Japanese side the Sunwolves on February 29, 2020.
City council event manager Kevin Murphy said the removal of the mainly-clay cricket block during an upgrade that closed the park to all sport for almost three months after the Tom Jones concert on April 6 last year had opened-up flexibility for the staging of events.
“If this opportunity had arisen last year [in February] we wouldn’t have been able to accommodate it,” he said.
Murphy said that in the past the between-seasons transitional preparation of the cricket block area – which is now just the area for the drop-in pitch for cricket and its replacement for other use – took several weeks and had not been conducive to playing rugby out of the usual season, and between summer events.
Work began last April on removing the five-pitch clay cricket pitch. Stretching two pitches either side of the park's drop-in pitch, it was seen by the city council as a hindrance to staging some other events at the park. Photo / NZME.
But now the park will be able to be transformed for three contrasting events in just 23 days – the Freestyle Kings stunt motocross spectacular on February 9, the Hurricanes and Drua affair on February 22, and the suddenly emerging attraction of new world women’s Twenty20 champions the New Zealand White Ferns, playing a limited-overs day-night international against Sri Lanka on March 4.
The hint of a game at McLean Park - it’s usually in competition with Palmerston North for Hurricanes regional matches - came when the Super Rugby draw was released four weeks ago, with a venue to be confirmed for the February 22 game.
The Hurricanes have been the “home” team in 13 of the Super Rugby matches on McLean Park, winning 10, the other two being a win and a loss for the Crusaders in designated home matches in 2011 and 2012, when Christchurch was reeling from the impact of its earthquakes, including the destruction of international venue Lancaster Park.
Formed initially in 2017 to contest the Australian national (states) championship, which they won in 2018, the Drua entered Super Rugby in 2022 and become the 11th Super Rugby franchise to play matches on McLean Park.
Hawke’s Bay Rugby chief executive Jay Campbell is drooling over the prospects.
“It’s brilliant to have the Hurricanes returning to the Bay,” he said. “I know our fans and community will embrace the opportunity to see the ’Canes on our turf and hopefully the Drua will feel at home in the Hawke’s Bay February heat.”
“Hurricanes, McLean Park, Saturday afternoon in February,” he enthused. “It doesn’t get any better and will be an epic occasion and celebration of Super Rugby Pacific.“
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said: “The opportunity to host a game in February wouldn’t have been possible in previous years due to the cricket season in full swing, but with just the drop in cricket tray in place now, we can transform the ground from cricket to rugby in days. It’s going to be an action-packed summer, and we couldn’t be more excited!”
Hurricanes assistant coach and two-test former All Black Bryn Evans, who played in 95 matches for home-union Hawke’s Bay, says it’s a “full circle moment” to be bringing the Hurricanes to his “home turf”.
“These regional games are such a special chance to connect with the local community, and we know the people of Hawke’s Bay love a bit of rugby,” he said. “I’ve got great memories of playing at McLean Park myself, so can’t wait to see the boys rip in and hopefully provide a thrilling game of rugby for the fans.”
Murphy says the schedule of events for the park this summer is probably complete, with rugby, the motocross spectacular, and international and inter-districts cricket, although there are constant contacts with sports organisations with a view to attracting other major events, including NRL rugby league, A-League football and concerts.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today and has 51 years of journalism experience, 40 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
