With the Hurricanes/Hurricanes Poua Double Header coming up in Palmerston North on 22 March, a few of us at Manawatū Rugby put our heads together to select an All-Time Manawatū Hurricanes team.

The rules:

• Seen as it’s a double-header, we’ve done something a bit different and made both Hurricanes and Hurricanes Poua players eligible for the team. It’s a fantasy team, so why not?
• Players must have been selected for the Hurricanes or Hurricanes Poua while playing for Manawatū or the Central Vikings as a Manawatū-registered player. This rules out the likes of Jason Eaton and Brent Thompson, who made the Hurricanes after moving to a different union.  

International footy experience played a big part in who made the team and settled some arguments among the selectors.  

At fullback we had two absolute legends to choose from – Christian Cullen and Selica Winiata. We went with Cullen at fullback, but there was no way Winiata wasn’t making this team, so we picked her at left wing. World Cup-winning All Black Nehe Milner-Skudder is our right wing.

In the midfield we’ve got All Black wrecking ball Ngani Laumape at second five-eighth and Black Fern Janna Vaughan at centre.

We had a few strong options at first five-eighth including current Hurricane Brett Cameron, Stephen Bachop, and Otere Black, but in the end we went with 50-test All Black Aaron Cruden – even though he racked up way more games with the Chiefs.

Halfback was clearcut, with 34-match Hurricane and All Black Sevens rep Jamie Booth the obvious choice.

The loose forwards threw up the most debate, with so many quality loosies coming out of this province. From OG Hurricane Karl Williams, to Turbos legend Callum Gibbons, to current players Brayden Iose, Māori All Black TK Howden, and Black Ferns Sevens rep Rhiarna Ferris, there were so many top players to choose from. In the end, international honours won out and we went for an all Black Ferns loose forward trio – Kaipo Olsen-Baker at eight, Sarah Hirini at seven, and Layla Sae at six.   

At lock, we went with the All Blacks duo of Dion Waller – who was a Manawatū player with the Central Vikings for part of his Hurricanes career – and Chresten Davis.

Despite being most associated with Taranaki, we’ve got Mark ‘Bull’ Allen at loosehead prop thanks to his season captaining the Central Vikings. Rounding out the front row we have Samoan international and current Poua player Marylin Fanoga at tighthead prop, and Black Fern and Samoan rep Sosoli Talawadua at hooker.

For our coaching and management staff, our only rule was they had to have had some association with both Manawatū and the Hurricanes. Manawatū legend and foundation Hurricanes coach Frank Oliver leads the team of Jason Holland (former Hurricanes coach and Manawatū player), Fusi Fe’aunati (former Cyclones coach and Poua assistant), and John Knowles (former Manawatū Chief Executive and Hurricanes Manager).

THE TEAM

1. Mark Allen

2. Sosoli Talawadua

3. Marilyn Fanoga

4. Dion Waller

5. Chresten Davis

6. Layla Sae

7. Sarah Hirini

8. Kaipo Olsen-Baker

9. Jamie Booth

10. Aaron Cruden

11. Selica Winiata

12. Ngani Laumape

13. Janna Vaughan

14. Nehe Milner-Skudder

15. Christian Cullen

Impact:

16. Ngano Tavake, 17. Chris Eves, 18. Siua Malie, 19. Callum Gibbins, 20. Karl Williams. 21. Otere Black,
22. Mark Ranby, 23. Andre Taylor

Coach: Frank Oliver

Assistant Coach: Jason Holland

Assistant Coach: Fusi Fe’aunati

Manager: John Knowles

Article added: Thursday 22 February 2024