The Hurricanes is a New Zealand rugby franchise team representing the lower North Island of New Zealand. The region is made up of East Coast, Hawke's Bay, Horowhenua Kapiti, Manawatu, Poverty Bay, Taranaki, Wairarapa-Bush, Wanganui and Wellington provincial Rugby unions. They have never won the Super Rugby title, but have been in the top 4 positions 6 times and finished second once. Their worst finish was in 2004 when they finished 11th out of 12 teams.

Most of their players are from Wellington with a couple from Taranaki and Hawke's Bay. 24 of their players are protected and may not be selected by other New Zealand teams. The rest are up for selection by any team. They can also select players from other regions who are not protected. All of their players are currently playing for teams in the Air New Zealand Cup. The Air New Zealand Cup is the NZ equivalent of the Currie Cup, played by 14 teams annually.

Mark Hammett will coach the squad who will be led by Conrad Smith. These are the players in the 2012 squad:

PROPS

Michael Bent

Reggie Goodes

Ben May

Tristian Moran

Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen

HOOKERS

Dane Coles

David Hall

Motu Matu'u

LOCKS

James Broadhurst

Jason Eaton

Mark Reddish

Jeremy Thrush

LOOSE FORWARDS

Jack Lam

Faifili Levave

Karl Lowe

Brad Shields

Victor Vito

SCRUM HALVES

Chris Eaton

TJ Perenara

Chris Smylie

FLY HALVES

Beauden Barrett

Daniel Kirkpatrick

Tusi Pisi

CENTRES

Tim Bateman

Jayden Hayward

Charlie Ngatai

Conrad Smith (c)

WINGS

Richard Buckman

Alapati Leiua

Julian Savea

Andre Taylor

FULL BACKS

Cory Jane

The following players came in for the 2012 season:

Beauden Barrett (from  Taranaki)

Tim Bateman (from  Coca Cola West Red Sparks)

Ben May (from  Chiefs)

Brad Shields (from  Wellington Lions)

Jeff Toomaga-Allen (from  Marist St. Pat's)

David Hall (from  Crusaders)

Tusi Pisi (from  Suntory)

Tristian Moran (from  Bay of Plenty)

Motu Matu'u (from  Wellington Lions)

Reggie Goodes (from  Wellington Lions)

TJ Perenara (from  Wellington Lions)

Chris Smylie (from  Blues)

And these guys left for greener grass:

Aaron Cruden (to  Chiefs)

Bryn Evans (to  London Irish)

Andrew Hore (to  Highlanders)

Hosea Gear (to  Highlanders)

Ma'a Nonu (to  Blues)

Rodney So'oialo (to  Honda Heat)

John Schwalger (to  Agen)

Neemia Tialata (to  Bayonne)

Piri Weepu (to  Blues)

Jacob Ellison (to  Highlanders)

The Hurricanes will have a tough season and will be watching the full back position intently. They only have one full back in Cory Jane and this might prove to be a problem. Furthermore, they don't have any real stars but for Conrad Smith and Cory Jane. Then again this might not be a bad thing as the players will want to prove themselves to the All Black selectors.

I don't see them improving much on their 2011 performance and they will fight for the 4th position in the All Black Conference. Overall they will be mid table once again. The play-offs is always a possibility, but I won't bet the house on it. The Hurricanes might blow a team or two away but that will be it. The winds are not strong enough yet and I see them as no more than just a gust of wind.

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