Coles dedicates Super Rugby title to previous Hurricanes players
Saturday 6 August 2016 14:21, UK
Hurricanes captain Dane Coles dedicated his side's first Super Rugby title to the generation of players who had struggled for more than two decades to bring the championship to New Zealand's capital city.
The Hurricanes finally ended their long title drought on Saturday with a 20-3 victory over South Africa's Lions, with fly-half Beauden Barrett driving his team around the field and scoring 15 points in appalling weather conditions.
"To bring a championship to the Hurricanes franchise is just awesome," Coles said.
"You look back at guys like Conrad (Smith), Norm Hewitt, all those ex-Hurricanes boys who have tried to win the trophy and for me that was a massive motivation.
"There were so many Hurricanes legends who couldn't get that, so to just bring it to the franchise for the ex-players, the region, I'm just proud to be a Hurricane right now.
"It's bigger than us; it's bigger than this team. People deserved it but didn't get it but just to say the Hurricanes finally won a championship is just outstanding."
The Hurricanes have struggled to convert regular-season success since the tournament first kicked off, having produced some of the best players to wear the All Blacks jersey but never achieving the success expected of their calibre.
The side made it into the Super Rugby semi-finals five times from 2003-2009, but lost their first final in the Christchurch fog to the Canterbury Crusaders in 2006.
Despite being heavily favoured and riding a wave of emotion after the death of former loose forward Jerry Collins in a car crash and the impending departure of three centurions, they also lost the final last year to the Highlanders.
The city's Wellington Lions side have also lost five national provincial championship finals in the past decade and many New Zealanders had given up the hope of seeing a team from their capital get over the final hurdle.
"It has taken so long and we haven't got things done," said Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd.
"If you put this team on paper, it's probably well short of the best Hurricanes team there has ever been but, wanting to play for each other and getting things right, they have been absolutely outstanding."
