Hurricanes crowned Super Rugby champions under Clark Laidlaw

The Hurricanes are Super Rugby champions, and their head coach, Clark Laidlaw, has won the title in his third season in charge.

Super Rugby is the southern hemisphere's top club competition. The Hurricanes, from Wellington in New Zealand, finished top of the table at the end of the regular season. That gave them home advantage in the knockout rounds, where the losing side goes out and the winner moves on.

Their first knockout game was a rout. The Hurricanes beat the Brumbies 66-12. In the semi-final they beat the Blues 57-21. The final was another heavy win, as the Hurricanes beat the Chiefs 60-5 to lift the trophy.

Laidlaw's story is a long one. He grew up in Scotland, worked at East Lothian Council and coached Jed-Forest before leaving at 30 to take a skills coaching job in Taranaki, New Zealand. He has now spent 18 years in New Zealand, on and off. He is the son of former Scotland scrum-half Roy Laidlaw and a cousin of Greig Laidlaw. He still holds a New Zealand passport.

He has won medals in other formats too. As New Zealand sevens coach, a fast version of the game played with seven players a side, he won Commonwealth Games gold, World Cup Sevens gold and Olympic silver at the Tokyo Games.

The Scotland question is never far away. Asked by the BBC's Andy Burke and Tom English about becoming Scotland head coach, Laidlaw said he would welcome the conversation. He also spoke about his life and career on the BBC's Scotland Rugby Podcast.

For now, his focus is on the Hurricanes. He signed a new deal in March that keeps him with the club until the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season. Eight of his players have also been named in Dave Rennie's touring squad, a sign of how much of the title-winning group is in demand at international level.

Laidlaw's rise from a council job in the Scottish Borders to the top of Super Rugby is a remarkable one, and the trophy is the clearest proof yet that his methods work at the highest level.