Hunt excited about new chapter with Makos
Mitchell Hunt is genuinely excited about starting the latest chapter of his rugby career with the Tasman Makos.
Until then though, he’s Auckland through and through and totally committed to beating Tasman in Friday night’s national provincial championship premiership semifinal at Eden Park.
Auckland earned home advantage after a tough win over Counties Manukau on Saturday, meaning a trip north for the Makos this weekend.
‘‘My priorities at the moment are with Auckland,’’ said Hunt after signing a three-year deal with the Tasman union just last week. The 20-yearold former Nelson College First XV captain has also signed to play for the Crusaders in next year’s Super Rugby competition and was part of the New Zealand team that won this year’s Under-20 Rugby World Cup.
‘‘Obviously it’s exciting times, but I’m hoping that Auckland get the win this weekend. It’s my first year in the ITM Cup and the boys who were in the team last year will want some redemption for their semifinal loss [to Taranaki].
‘‘Auckland haven’t won the title for a number of years now [since 2007], whereas they used to be sitting on top of the NPC ladder for years. I’m just excited for the semifinal opportunity and then potentially a final as well.’’
Still, it was a relatively straightforward decision for the talented first five-eighth-fullback to sign with Tasman after heading to Auckland in December 2013.
‘‘I think the decision [to sign with Tasman] was just about opportunity, just the way positions were running in both teams, I think the big thing for me was the opportunity factor I suppose,’’ Hunt said.
‘‘And obviously it’s pretty exciting because it is home and the region I grew up in, so that’s another factor as well.
‘‘It’s awesome [but] very sur- prising. Honestly, I didn’t expect this sort of thing to be popping up so early, being first year ITM [Cup]. It’s been a busy last couple of weeks with that side of things and I just wasn’t expecting it, so it’s very exciting times and can’t wait to get stuck in to the next mix.’’
Hunt said that the Tasman union had been in regular contact with him since heading to Auckland, so always figured that Tasman could figure somewhere in his future. But he described signing with Crusaders as ‘‘a complete blind shot’’.
‘‘I didn’t see that sort of thing coming. I thought at least a couple of years and I’d be putting my foot in the door for that sort of stuff, so I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity.’’
Although Hunt will essentially be coming home, he’s been indebted to the Auckland Rugby Union for it’s support and guidance.
‘‘Auckland’s been fantastic, I can only credit them for the player I’ve turned into and I’ll leave Auckland with the highest respect for them. I’ve loved being up here, it’s an awesome environment. I definitely will miss it.’’
He’s learned some valuable lessons, both on and off the field, over the past two years.
‘‘I think the whole thing for me is the work ethic and drive. You get into this environment and you can see with the [Auckland] team with the All Blacks, boys like [Charles] Piutau, they never stop and I guess that’s the sort of stuff that I’ve picked up.’’