Finn Hurley: a chip-and-chase solo try as the Highlanders beat the Blues for the first time in nine attempts

On 22 February 2025, with the Highlanders trailing the defending champion Blues 14-3 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, Finn Hurley fielded a kick inside his own half, chipped over the defence, gathered the ball and beat the last defender to score. He added a second try after half-time, and the Highlanders won 29-21, their first win over the Blues in nine attempts. The fullback from Gore has played nine Super Rugby games and 27 NPC games for Otago, with 12 tries between them, and he is in the Highlanders' squad for 2027.

Where he comes from

Hurley was born on 25 June 2003 and grew up in Gore. His father played provincial rugby as an outside back for Southland and North Otago, the Otago Daily Times reported, and Hurley was a talented cricketer as well as a rugby player: he played Hawke Cup cricket for Southland and scored a century for Otago Boys' High School at Gillette Cup level.

He started secondary school at Gore High School and moved to Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin in 2019.

The drop goal

At Otago Boys' Hurley played first five-eighth, and in August 2021 he won the Otago Premier Schools final with a late drop goal. Southland Boys' High School had gone ahead 24-23 with a couple of minutes left at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Hurley, who had earlier been stood on and returned wearing a blood-soaked bandage, took his chance with a penalty advantage and the kick curled over for a 26-24 win. "I thought I may as well have a crack," he told the ODT's Adrian Seconi.

Seconi described the Year 13 pupil as quietly spoken, with "the ability to sum up a match in a nanosecond". That year Hurley was named in the New Zealand Schools rugby side, and the Highlanders' profile records that he went on to represent New Zealand at Under 19 and Under 20 level.

Under 20s and Green Island

After school Hurley stayed in Dunedin and joined the Green Island club. In 2022 he was one of seven southern players named in the New Zealand Under 20 squad, coached by Tom Donnelly, for the side's first international fixtures in three years, the ODT reported. All seven had been key members of the Highlanders Under 20 team at the Super Rugby Under 20 tournament in Taupō. New Zealand won all three of their matches at the Oceania championship at Sunshine Coast Stadium in July 2022, beating Fiji 74-5, Argentina 32-9 and Australia 69-12.

Super Rugby debut

Hurley's Super Rugby debut came before his provincial one. Called into the Highlanders squad as a late replacement for round four of the 2023 season, he came off the bench in a 43-35 win over the Western Force at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill on 19 March 2023, in his home province. Asked by the club for his favourite rugby memory, he chose that debut.

Otago

He made his Otago debut in the 2023 NPC opener, a 27-15 loss to Tasman at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on 4 August 2023, and played all 10 of Otago's games that season, kicking goals in four of them. On 26 August 2023 he scored a try and kicked three conversions in a 31-21 win over Southland at Forsyth Barr Stadium, and he scored again in a 38-22 win over Counties Manukau at the same ground on 1 October 2023.

He played 10 more games in 2024 and scored four tries: against Bay of Plenty in a 31-26 win in Dunedin on 25 August 2024, against Counties Manukau at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe on 15 September 2024, against Tasman in a 47-31 win in Dunedin on 28 September 2024 and in a 31-28 win over Northland at Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei on 4 October 2024. On Stag Day that year, 10 August 2024 at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, the ODT singled out his "brilliant try-saving tackle" in the in-goal to stop Southland hooker Jack Taylor, though Southland won 22-13.

The Blues game

Hurley started 2025 on his first full-time Super Rugby contract, according to the Highlanders. In the second round, against the Blues on 22 February 2025, he played the full 80 minutes at fullback in front of 14,207 at Forsyth Barr Stadium.

The Blues led 14-3 when he struck. Taking a Blues kick about 10 metres inside his own half, he chipped over the defence, regathered and outran the cover for what the ODT's Hayden Meikle called "as delightful an individual effort as you will see". Early in the second half, with the Blues ahead 21-16, new winger Caleb Tangitau made a long run down the touchline, Folau Fakatava passed inside, and Hurley sprinted 20 metres for his second try. The Highlanders held on with 13 men for part of the second half to win 29-21. "He's got massive potential, you saw it tonight," coach Jamie Joseph said afterwards.

Setbacks and a return

His last game of that Super Rugby season was against the Reds at Forsyth Barr Stadium on 22 March 2025; a quadriceps injury kept him out for the rest of it, the ODT reported. He returned for Otago only at the end of the 2025 NPC, coming off the bench in the semi-final against Bay of Plenty at Forsyth Barr Stadium on 17 October 2025, where he scored in a 41-17 win in front of 10,764 people, and in the final against Canterbury at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on 25 October 2025. Canterbury won the final 36-28; Hurley converted Jona Nareki's late try.

In January 2026 a foot sprain put him in a moon boot and out for the start of the season. He worked his way back through club rugby, and on 17 April 2026 came off the Highlanders bench against the Blues at Eden Park, which the Blues won 47-40. It was his only Super Rugby appearance of the year.

He was healthier by the 2026 NPC. On 24 July 2026 he scored in the first minute of Otago's Ranfurly Shield defence against Mid Canterbury at Molyneux Park in Alexandra, and in the NPC he scored against Tasman in a 57-33 win on 11 September 2026, against North Harbour at North Harbour Stadium in Albany on 26 September 2026 and in a 45-42 win over Auckland in Dunedin on 1 October 2026. He then played the quarter-final, a 50-14 win over Hawke's Bay on 10 October 2026, and the semi-final against Northland at Semenoff Stadium on 16 October 2026, which Otago lost 38-19.

Style and standing

The Highlanders' profile says his speed and eye for gaps make him hard to contain and able to "launch a counter attack where few see options". The ODT has called him a "pocket rocket". Hurley says representing the Highlanders gives him "the opportunity to inspire people and children" in the region where he grew up. His favourite singer is Post Malone.

Where he is now

Hurley has not played a Test. In June 2026 the Highlanders extended his contract through at least 2028, and he is one of seven outside backs in their 2027 squad, named on 28 October 2026. The club says he will focus on recovery and on turning his "flashes of brilliance" into more regular opportunities. The Highlanders assemble on 26 November 2026 and open the 2027 season against the Fijian Drua in Fiji on 13 February 2027.

Career at a glance

Highlanders figures are from Wikipedia's list of Highlanders players (last game 17 April 2026) and agree with RugbyPass's match records. Otago figures are from RugbyPass's match records and Wikipedia's NPC match pages; Wikipedia gives 22 games and 57 points to the end of 2025. They do not include his try in the pre-season Ranfurly Shield match against Mid Canterbury.