Brayden Iose: New Zealand Schools captain, Super Rugby champion and Manawatū's last-gasp match-winner

In 2016 Brayden Iose led New Zealand Secondary Schools. Ten years on, on 20 June 2026, he ran onto Hnry Stadium in Wellington in the 55th minute of the Super Rugby Pacific final as the Hurricanes beat the Chiefs 60-5, the biggest winning margin in a Super Rugby final. Between those two days sit hip, wrist and knee injuries, 17 Super Rugby tries, 13 more for Manawatū, and two tries scored after the hooter that won matches for his province. This is the story of the No 8 from Palmerston North.

Manawatū and Boys' High

Iose was born on 26 August 1998 and grew up in Manawatū, the province he has played for since he left school. He went to Palmerston North Boys' High School, and the Hurricanes' profile says it was there that he was first marked out as a future star of the game.

Ultimate Rugby records that he captained the school side, and in 2016 he captained New Zealand Secondary Schools. Wikipedia's list of New Zealand Schools players shows two other names from that 2016 side who went on to professional careers: Caleb Clarke, who became an All Black in 2020, and Harry Plummer, who went on to play for the Blues.

By the end of 2016, as an 18-year-old, he was already training with the Hurricanes, according to Ultimate Rugby. He worked through the Hurricanes' under-18 and under-20 sides and their development team, the Hunters. His club in Palmerston North is Kia Toa, and he told ClubRugby.nz in February 2024 that he still follows them closely.

A Turbo at 19

Manawatū signed him straight out of school. His provincial debut came on 30 September 2017 against Southland at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, where the Turbos won 25-20. He was 19.

His first provincial tries came two years later, in the space of five days. He scored on 14 September 2019 against Southland at Rugby Park in Invercargill, a 31-26 win, and again on 19 September 2019 against Canterbury at Rugby League Park in Christchurch, where Manawatū won 32-29 on the night of Nick Crosswell's 100th game.

The long road to Super Rugby

In 2018 the Hurricanes gave him a development contract, and he played for them at the Brisbane Global 10s in the Super Rugby pre-season. Then came the setbacks. In the club's own release he said a hip injury restricted him to three games in 2018, and a knee injury cost him a large part of 2019. RugbyPass later listed injuries to his hip, wrist and both knees across those years.

On 20 November 2020 the Hurricanes signed him through to the end of 2022. "All through school I looked up to these guys and now they're my teammates," he said. Assistant coach Chris Gibbes said: "He's got good speed and power with a high skillset."

He became Hurricane No 279 and made his Super Rugby debut in 2021. His first try came on 30 April 2021 against the Highlanders at Sky Stadium in Wellington, a 41-22 win, and his second on 14 May 2021 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, where the Hurricanes beat the Waratahs 64-48 in Super Rugby Trans-Tasman. In 2022 he was restricted to six appearances, scoring once on 28 May 2022 against the Force at HBF Park in Perth, which the Hurricanes lost 27-22.

The breakthrough: 2023

The 2023 season turned him into a regular. On 2 April 2023 he scored twice against the Force at Central Energy Trust Arena in his home town of Palmerston North, a 45-42 win. On 20 May 2023 he intercepted near halfway and ran in a try against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton, though the Chiefs won 23-12.

Then came the Crusaders. On 3 June 2023 the Hurricanes hosted the defending champions at Sky Stadium and trailed 19-3. They fought back, and in the 73rd minute Iose picked up from the back of a scrum, burst 25 metres and fended off tacklers including Scott Barrett to score the try that won the game 27-26, as ClubRugby.nz described it. He has said he loves to "run off the back of the scrum", and a scrum law change that kept the opposing halfback back gave him room to do it.

Captain of the Turbos

Manawatū had already made him captain, and when new coach Mike Rogers named his first squad on 27 July 2023, Iose returned to lead it. He captained the Turbos in eight of their ten matches that season.

The night that mattered most came on 25 August 2023 against Northland at Arena Manawatu in Palmerston North. Northland went ahead with a try from Josh Moorby, later a Hurricanes team-mate, and a late penalty for a 30-26 lead. Manawatū won a turnover 70 metres out, swept downfield, and Iose dived over after full time for a 31-30 win. NZ Rugby's provincial report said it broke a two-year winning drought; RugbyPass counted 16 straight defeats before it.

He finished the 2023 NPC with five tries, the most in the Manawatū side, including two against Counties Manukau at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on 23 September 2023. At the Manawatū Rugby awards in October 2023 he was named the Turbos' Players' Player of the Year and the Supporters' Club Player of the Year, the third straight year he had won the supporters' award. The union called him "one of the most destructive ball carriers in the NPC".

Life after Ardie

With Ardie Savea gone from the Hurricanes in 2024, Iose took on more of the No 8 work. "Ardie is amazing and he was really good when he was here," he told superrugby.co.nz in March 2024, after the Hurricanes had won 14-10 against the Crusaders at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on 15 March 2024 by going for a late try instead of a shot at goal. "I felt pretty calm and controlled in those last nine minutes," he said.

He scored four Super Rugby tries in 2024: against the Chiefs at Sky Stadium on 13 April 2024 (36-23), the Waratahs at Sky Stadium on 3 May 2024 (41-12), the Highlanders at Sky Stadium on 1 June 2024 (41-14), and the Rebels in the quarter-final at Sky Stadium on 8 June 2024, a 47-20 win. The Hurricanes' season ended with a 30-19 semi-final loss to the Chiefs at Sky Stadium on 15 June 2024.

In 2025 he scored three more Super Rugby tries: against the Fijian Drua at McLean Park in Napier on 22 February 2025 (38-34), Moana Pasifika at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on 8 March 2025 (a 40-31 loss) and the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on 5 April 2025 (a 19-18 loss). On 1 August 2025 he played his 50th game for Manawatū, against North Harbour at Central Energy Trust Arena, and the Turbos won 38-25.

Champions, and another last-gasp winner

In 2026 he played 16 of the Hurricanes' matches, seven of them as a starter, RugbyPass recorded. He scored twice against Moana Pasifika at Sky Stadium on 20 February 2026, a 52-10 win, and once against the Highlanders at Hnry Stadium in Wellington on 23 May 2026, a 45-28 win. The Hurricanes topped the table, beat the Brumbies 66-12 in the qualifying final on 5 June 2026 and the Blues 57-21 in the semi-final on 13 June 2026, both at Hnry Stadium, and then came the final. Iose was on the bench with Brad Shields, and both came on in the 55th minute of the 60-5 win over the Chiefs, the club's first title since 2016.

Back with Manawatū, he did it again. On 9 August 2026 against Southland at Central Energy Trust Arena, the Turbos trailed 21-7 at half-time and were 21 points down early in the second half. They clawed back to 35-31 with four minutes left, won the ball back from a Southland box kick, and with time up Iose finished in the corner for a 36-35 win. He added two tries in a 27-25 win over Taranaki at the same ground on 10 September 2026 and another against Canterbury there on 3 October 2026, a 22-12 loss.

Style and standing

The Hurricanes' profile calls him "one of the most elusive loose forwards in the game", crediting his pace and his ability to break tackles. Gibbes, who saw him come through the club's pathway, pointed to speed, power and skill. RugbyPass reported that he passed 100 tackles in the 2026 Super Rugby season, and that Aaron Smith, another Manawatū man, is his biggest rugby hero.

He talks about his province as much as himself. "There are just so many quality players coming out of Boys' High," he told ClubRugby.nz, naming Feilding High School too, and he said keeping them in Manawatū was the key.

Where he is now

On 28 October 2026 the Hurricanes named Iose in their 2027 squad, one of seven loose forwards along with Oliver Haig, Du'Plessis Kirifi, Peter Lakai, Arese Poliko, Brad Shields and Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa. Players outside the All Blacks squad report for pre-season on 26 November 2026, and the Hurricanes begin the defence of their title in the 2027 season. He has not played a Test.

Career at a glance

Super Rugby matches and tries are as reported by RugbyPass in August 2026; the try count matches RUGBE's tally from Wikipedia's match records (17). NPC tries are RUGBE's tally from Wikipedia's season records, which agrees with Wikipedia's career points figure to May 2026.