The Hurricanes were crowned Super Rugby Pacific champions on Saturday night after a devastating 60-5 demolition of the Chiefs in Wellington, a final so one-sided it rewrote the competition’s record books. In wild, blustery conditions that demanded composure and control, the home side looked completely at ease. The Chiefs never did.

This was billed as a heavyweight meeting between the competition’s top two teams and, more specifically, as a fascinating flyhalf contest between Ruben Love and Damian McKenzie. It turned into a mismatch. Love was electric, calm and inventive, finishing with 25 points and dictating the night from first whistle to last. McKenzie, by contrast, endured a torrid final as the Chiefs struggled to handle the weather, the pressure and the pace of the Hurricanes’ attack.

The tone was set early. Josh Moorby struck in the sixth minute before Love added a try of his own eight minutes later, punishing loose ball and fractured defensive cover. With the wind swirling and the Chiefs repeatedly making basic errors from the restart, the Hurricanes kept forcing the game back into dangerous territory. Fehi Fineanganofo then crossed for his 17th try of the season to move into the record books, and by the time Callum Harkin finished late in the half and Love drilled over a long-range penalty, the hosts were 29-0 ahead at the break.

That interval lead was already the biggest in a Super Rugby final, but the Hurricanes were nowhere near done. Moorby grabbed his second to join Fineanganofo on 17 tries for the campaign, Devan Flanders marked his return from concussion with a try off a sharp Love pass, and Jordie Barrett added another as Wellington slipped into full celebration mode. The most eye-catching moment still belonged to Love, who finished a breathtaking move with a second try after Peter Lakai sparked the break, somehow staying in play with a spectacular airborne finish near the touchline.

The Chiefs avoided the unwanted distinction of becoming the first team held scoreless in a Super Rugby decider when Naitoa Ah Kuoi crossed late on, but that was a thin consolation in a final that had long since been decided. Jone Rova’s last-minute try took the Hurricanes to 60 points and confirmed the biggest winning margin ever seen in the title match.

It was a fitting end to a season in which the Hurricanes topped the regular-season standings, hammered the Brumbies 66-12 in the qualifying finals and then brushed aside the Blues 57-21 in the semi-finals. The Chiefs had arrived in Wellington after beating the Reds 46-24 and crushing the Crusaders 49-12, but their fourth straight grand final appearance ended in another bitter defeat.

For the Hurricanes, this was a second Super Rugby crown and the end of a 10-year wait since their first title in 2016. For Love, it was the performance that owned the biggest stage of all. In the duel of the two No 10s, there was only one winner.