Hurricanes prop Pouri Rakete-Stones will return to the club for the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season after signing a one-year contract extension.
A long-serving member of the Hurricanes squad, Rakete-Stones will enter his seventh campaign with the side next year, making him a key figure as one of the team’s most experienced players.
The 28-year-old made his Hurricanes debut against the Stormers in the opening round of the pre-Covid 2020 season and has gone on to make 52 appearances for the club. His 50th outing came against the Highlanders in Wellington earlier this year.
“I’m privileged to be able to represent the Hurricanes for another year,” Rakete-Stones said.
“We have an awesome group of boys and coaching staff, and I’m really looking forward to getting back into it for another year.”
A product of the Hurricanes development system, Rakete-Stones came through the ranks as a versatile front rower for the Napier Boys’ High School First XV, where his performances earned him selection in the Hurricanes U18 team in 2015.
Called into the New Zealand U20 squad in 2016, he helped the side win back-to-back Oceania Rugby U20 Championship titles and played a major role in their 2017 World Rugby U20 Championship success in Georgia, featuring in all but one match of that campaign and scoring a try in their 64-17 final win over England.
A few months later, Rakete-Stones was handed his NPC debut for Hawke’s Bay, a year after he was crowned Hawke’s Bay Rugby Academy Player of the Year. Since then, he has amassed 89 appearances for the Magpies, with whom he has twice held the Ranfurly Shield and was an NPC Championship winner in 2020.
At international level, Rakete-Stones – of Ngāpuhi descent – has played seven times for the Māori All Blacks since 2019, most recently featuring in this year’s fixtures against the Japan XV and Scotland.
In 2022, he was called into the All Blacks XV side for their Northern Tour, where he made his debut against the Barbarians in London, before representing them again when they travelled to Tokyo to face the Japan XV.
With such experience to his name, Hurricanes head coach Clark Laidlaw is thrilled to have secured Rakete-Stones for another season.
“Pouri re-signing is a massive success for him and the club,” Laidlaw said.
“He’s been through the development programme, he clocked over 50 games this year, and he’s a valued member of the squad.
“He’s a good man on and off the field and has become a player we can rely on and makes us strong in the front row with his experience.
“It’s great to have him onboard and we look forward to watching him play in the NPC for Hawke’s Bay.”
Pouri Rakete-Stones
Date of Birth: 17 June 1997 (28-years-old)
Place of Birth: Auckland, New Zealand
Iwi: Ngāpuhi
Position: Prop
Height: 1.81m
Weight: 113kg
Hurricanes Number: #269
Hurricanes Caps: 52 (Debut vs Stormers, 2 February 2020)
Hurricanes Points: 10 (2 tries)
Playing Career: New Zealand U20 (2016-2017), Hawke’s Bay (2017-present), Māori All Blacks (2019-present), Hurricanes (2020-present), All Blacks XV (2022-2023)
Honours: 2x Oceania Rugby U20 Championship (2016, 2017), World Rugby U20 Championship (2017), 2x Ranfurly Shield (2020-2022, 2023-2024), NPC Championship (2020)
