What Isaia Walker-Leawere once said with her eyebrows was a joke.
Ruatoria’s impressive locks may not say much, but his pithy words convey gravitas in a hurricane.
He is primarily responsible for coordinating the lineout. Despite having to use six different hookers in 2024, they finished fourth in the competition statistically.
Walker-Leawere has played more minutes (904) for the Super Rugby Pacific leaders than any other striker. The 27-year-old made 133 of his 150 tackle attempts during the regular season and started 13 of 14 games.
Walker-Leawere’s growing maturity was already on display when the Hurricanes defeated the Reds 38-33 in round two in Melbourne in March.
The Hurricanes lost starting captain Jordie Barrett to a red card in his 100th game, while co-captain Asafo Aumua was pulled before the end of extra time, leaving a clear leadership vacuum.
The Hurricanes won the match with a try on Pasilio Tosi. Replacement props go to Walker-Leawere for giving an inspirational speech before his best moment with the Hurricanes. Tosh said rugby pass March 8th.
“I didn’t know who the captain was, but Isaia Walker-Leawere made a big performance. He gathered us together and gave us words of encouragement and said, ‘We have to do this for my brother.’ From then on I was trapped.”
What did Walker-Leawere say?
“I’ve been around for a while and I had something to say,” Walker-Leawere laughed.
“I put out a challenge to the boys. Jodi’s 100th. He means a lot to the club. We are the ones who can show how much we have.
“Being open for two weeks in Australia has given us a good environment. We got two wins and built confidence and momentum before we got more attention at home.”
If Hooker continues to be injured, it won’t be easy to build combinations in the lineout. Walker-Leawere argues otherwise.
“Everyone who comes in is expected to go straight in.”
“Bryn Evans is running a cutter from the lineout. He’s a bit of a wizard at getting things right and challenging his opponents. I learned a lot from playing with him towards the end of his Hawke’s Bay career.
“Everyone on the coaching staff is young and recently retired. They make a difference because they connect with us more and challenge us every week.
“Before the Dura competition, I trained in a heated room with temperatures over 36 degrees. “It was crazy, but it worked because those were the conditions in Suva.”
The Hurricanes play Chiefs in the semi-finals at Sky Stadium on Saturday. The Hurricanes and Chiefs have met 45 times. The Hurricanes have won 23 games and the Chiefs have won 20 games. There were two draws. The 20 points the Hurricanes scored in their previous game on May 24 were the lowest they had scored to beat the Chiefs. Their previous lowest score was a 21-13 win at New Plymouth’s Yarrow Stadium in 2015.
The Hurricanes have won three of 11 semifinals, while the Chiefs have won four of seven semifinals. Walker-Leawere emphasized that the Chiefs are physical, motivated and quick to punish mistakes. He is likely to oppose Tupou Vaa’i, who is favored by several pundits to regain his place in the All Blacks.
With Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu unavailable until the end of the England series, Walker-Leawere could rise in the All Blacks’ race with another strong play-off performance.
Walker-Leawere played for New Zealand’s under-20s under All Blacks coach Scott Robertson in 2016 and became world champion in the same competition a year later. He won the Ranfurly Shield with Hawke’s Bay and made 68 appearances for the Hurricanes (46 wins).
If Walker-Leawere is overlooked by the All Blacks, he will almost certainly be retained by the Maori All Blacks for their two-match series against a Japan XV in June and July.
Walker-Lear has made 10 appearances (eight wins) for the Maori All Blacks since scoring two tries on debut in a 59-22 win over the United States in Chicago in 2018.
