Seasoned Green vows to keep on fighting

to the facilities at the home base of Rugby League Park.

“Nothing has really changed with James. He hasn’t taken part in anything physically.

“He’s still part of our group and is going through the process of coming back, but when that will be, just not sure. It’s not something you can put a timeline on.

“It’s bloody hard for him and hard for us, as we’d love to have him back, but there is no pressure from our side to get him back in,” Plumtree said.

The Hurricanes will still have plentiful locking options in Mark Abbott, James Blackwell, Geoff Cridge, Michael Fatialofa, Vaea Fifita, Sam Lousi and Blade Thomson.

Rennie, in his sixth and final year at the helm of the Chiefs, did confirm that the franchise will persist with their co-captains policy, with Sam Cane and Aaron Cruden again leading the side.

Cruden will have his final season in New Zealand rugby before joining Montpellier, while Cane is touch and go for the February 24 Super Rugby against the Highlanders due to an ankle issue.

The returning Mitch Karpik is a more than adequate replacement should Cane not be ready. Danny Green says he won’t retire from boxing again.

“I will retire when they’re putting me in the dirt, that is when I will retire,” Green said ahead of his bitter bout with Anthony Mundine on Friday night.

“I just won’t retire, then I won’t have to come out of retirement, make it easy.”

The fight at Adelaide Oval will be Green’s 13th since he quit the sport in March 2008 — the retirement lasted 11 months.

While he’ll never say never again, Green says an end is nigh.

“This is a phase in my life, it’s my career as a professional fighter,” he said.

“But I have been setting my life up after boxing with what I want to do, five, six years ago.

“Everything has to come to an end,” he said.

“And I am blessed to be able to still do this on such a big stage . . . at the age of 43.

“But I put myself in this position by training and maintaining a rigorous work ethic for many, many years.”

Green is favoured to make some amends for his 2006 loss to Mundine on Friday, with the 83kg catchweight to work to his advantage — he could be 4kg heavier than his rival on fight night.

Green will put on up to 2kg after tomorrow’s weigh-in and box at about 85kg, while expecting Mundine to be around 81kg.

Mundine took a unanimous points decision in their 2006 fight, contested at 76.2kg.

And Green said he would enter the rematch a wiser fighter.

“I’m in pretty good shape mate,” he said.

“I don’t have the same output as a younger man but I’m a more intelligent fighter.

“And my power is still there. And the desire is still there, which is the most important thing.”

The West Australian forecast torrid opening rounds for old rival Mundine.

“I always have an early onslaught,” he said.

“I think my pressure is always from the get-go. But my pressure in the later rounds in the majority of my last four or five of my fights has been very strong.

“In the my last three fights I have gone the distance — 12, and two 10-rounders — so the last three rounds of each fight were my strongest.

“So yeah, I’ll have an early onslaught for sure.

“But I will maintain that to the final bell — if it gets there, if it gets to the final bell.”

It has been an incredibly slow process. There is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, but we are not going to rush that. His health is the most important. Chiefs coach Dave Rennie on Charlie Ngatai