Hunt happy in the firing line
Two consecutive season-opening losses certainly haven’t stifled Mitch Hunt’s enthusiasm.
Clearly, the Tasman Makos’ new No 10 was as disappointed as anyone after losses to Canterbury and Manawatu to kick-start this year’s Mitre 10 Cup rugby campaign. But he knows the Makos are a substantially better outfit than their two early season misfires have suggested and he’s hoping that tomorrow’s outing against Waikato in Hamilton will prove just that.
Hunt spent most of last season at fullback where he impressed with his attacking skills. However, Marty Banks’ departure has thrust the talented 22-year-old utility directly into the firing line this year as the man responsible for guiding the team around the park.
He’s just come off a successful Crusaders Super Rugby campaign where winning was the norm. He also featured occasionally - notably his dramatic match-winning dropped goal against the Highlanders in Christchurch in June.
‘‘It was pretty awesome to be a part of all that. It was an awesome season, really good fun,’’ Hunt said.
‘‘I’ve been excited to come back for a while and really looking forward to a new role in this team and going about, I guess, leading the team around the field.
‘‘For us it’s about connecting and reconnecting with all the guys from last year and introducing the new guys. That’s still in progress a wee bit obviously, but I’m really loving being back.
‘‘In terms of my role at 10, I’m loving it. The No 10 jersey is where I want to be.’’
He said that while the Manawatu loss might have looked bad, appearances could sometimes be deceiving.
‘‘For the second week in a row, we made more line breaks, we were playing with the ball more than they were and it came down to the execution and handling errors and turnovers.
‘‘I think we were close to double what [Manawatu] got in terms of their ball turnover and I guess when you look at it like that, you can make all the line breaks in the world, but you need to hold the ball. There’s been a big focus around that.
‘‘It looks like a bad performance because we lost but it wasn’t really in terms of the stats and what we were trying to achieve. It was purely our execution and we know that we need to nail it this weekend.
‘‘It’s not the end of the world and I guess when you have got a team like the Makos and they have got players from all over the show, it does take those couple of weeks to build those connections and reestablish where the team’s heading.
‘‘The boys know that our bench- mark and the level we need to be at is a lot higher than that.’’
He acknowledged that Waikato’s 35-27 win over Auckland on Wednesday would boost the Mooloos’ confidence.
‘‘I think there were a few [Waikato] players missing out of the starting lineup and to come away with a win against an Auckland team like that was pretty big for them and I imagine their confidence will be quite high coming into our game.
‘‘We just need to step up really. We’re right there as a team, we’re building nicely ... so we really just need to put in a good performance to start our season.
Hunt’s looking forward to reuniting with his good mate, fellow Crusader and former Nelson College player David Havili who will start outside him in the No 12 jersey. Experienced winger James Lowe also returns after missing the Manawatu through injury.
‘‘That’ll be good, just a couple of experienced heads in the mix and what Davey’s brought this year to the Crusaders and what he can bring for us on Sunday afternoon will be huge. And I guess for me it’s a familiar face too, someone that I’m used to playing with now for a few years.’’