Hurricanes stay close to home

It was the epitome of an in-house job.

There was no ‘‘going to the market.’’ No-one was ever in the frame to become Hurricanes head coach but John Plumtree.

That maybe lessened the impact of his three-year appointment, but not his own levels of satisfaction.

‘‘For a long time now I’ve had the Hurricanes head coaching role in my sights. I’ve had to go around the world a couple of times before it’s happened, but I just feel absolutely privileged,’’ Plumtree yesterday.

His playing career took him to Durban, where he represented Natal and the South Africa sevens side. Then it was coaching Swansea, Wellington, the Sharks and Ireland.

Through it all, the aspiration remained the same.

‘‘Coming from Taranaki, I always felt like the Hurricanes was my home team.’’

Assistant coach since 2015, he’ll succeed Chris Boyd at the end of this Super Rugby season. Jason Holland will step up from backs coach to assistant coach, with existing forwards coaches Richard Watt and Dan Cron also likely to stay on.

The only addition will be a backs coach.

Whereas Boyd’s a big-picture man, master strategist and facilitator, Plumtree likes to get ‘‘on the grass’’ and work intimately with the players.

Head coaching brings with it a raft of additional responsibilities, but none that should prevent Plumtree from doing what he does best.

‘‘I don’t want to change who I am. That’s what I’ve always done and it’s worked for me,’’ said Plumtree of being hands-on.

‘‘There’s going to be some changes, obviously. I’m a different person to Boydy.

‘‘As much as we think alike in many respects, I’m a different man, so there will be a few changes. But there’ll be a lot of continuity in what we do.’’

Boyd, Plumtree and Holland were all off contract at the end of this season and Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee consulted ‘‘the top three or four senior players in our group’’ about who might stay or go. Plumtree taking over from Boyd was always the preferred option, until Boyd began to feel as if the grass might be green enough where he was.

In the end he signed a threeyear contract with English club Northampton, which made things easier for everyone.

Although Lee did point out that the senior players – Dane Coles, TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett ‘‘were comfortable whether Boydy stayed or Plum took over.’’ – and with Holland’s role being beefed up, to include input into roster management and contracting.

Plumtree and Holland are still a few months from taking over, but Lee’s already pondering their future.

‘‘Both Plum and Jason, I believe, have the ability to be in the All Black environment in the future. That’s a really good thing for the Hurricanes because they want to perform while they’re here, obviously,’’ Lee said.

Plumtree want to dispel the myth that he’s ‘‘a major disciplinarian and a grumpy guy.’’

But that doesn’t mean he’s already giddy with thoughts of 2019 or plotting his ascent to the All Blacks.

‘‘I’m constantly thinking about how I’m going to improve, not just as a person but as a coach, and I’ll drive the group with that same attitude.

‘‘I just feel like every day I have to prove myself and every week I have to prove myself and every year I have to prove myself and that’s just life as a professional rugby coach.’’

"Coming from Taranaki, I always felt like the Hurricanes was my home team." John Plumtree, above