The BUCS Era

In 2012–13, when American football became an official BUCS sport, the Hurricanes went 8–0 in South Eastern A and won their fourth straight conference title, their fifth in six years, sealing the top seed with a 35–0 win in which Ben Johnson, in his first season of football, broke an 80-yard touchdown run, Oleg Khimey had three sacks, Dom Gould forced and recovered a fumble for a touchdown, and veteran receiver Dom Husbands won his fourth conference title. They reached the national final again and lost 17–13 to Birmingham Lions in a weather-delayed game at the John Charles Centre, Leeds, on 20 April 2013.

A club staff page from around 2014 credits Jim Messenger with fifteen seasons as head coach and a 116–25–3 record. By then most of his assistants were former Hurricanes, among them offensive coordinator Matt Meyer, special teams coordinator Aston Ellington and position coaches Bertram Browne and Adam Camp, alongside deputy head coach Simon Hatcher. Defensive line coach Allan Smith, who had won titles as team manager and player, was also the University chaplain.

In 2013–14 the Hurricanes went 8–0 in South Central, scoring 384 points and conceding 6. In 2014–15 they joined the new Premier South, finished second to Birmingham at 7–1 and reached a third national final in four seasons, losing 46–6 to Stirling Clansmen at Allianz Park, Hendon, on 21 March 2015. They reached the semi-finals in 2015–16, losing 42–13 to Stirling, and were southern champions at 7–1 in 2016–17 before losing a quarter-final to Durham Saints. In 2018–19 a 3–4 team captained by James Schofield, with a small roster and no scholarship or international players, reached the national final, where Leeds Beckett Carnegie won 57–13 at Loughborough on 31 March 2019. Munashe Nunurai and Chad-Adri Walrond went on from these teams to the European League of Football.

2019–20 brought a 1–6–1 record and fifth place in Premier South, where the standings mark the Hurricanes as relegated, and COVID-19 cancelled the playoffs and the following season. In 2024–25 the Hurricanes finished second in Tier 1 Southern 1A at 5–3 and lost 3–0 at Kent in the National Trophy; in 2025–26 they play in Tier 1 Southern.

Much of this era is still missing from the archive, and results for 2021–22 to 2023–24 have not been traced. By the club founder’s recollection, Messenger stayed as head coach until 2015–16, Simon Hatcher led the team from 2016–17 to 2018–19, Franco Arellano, whose appointment Herts Sports Village announced, coached 2019–20, and Messenger returned in 2021–22. If you played, coached or supported the team in these years, the archive would like to hear from you.