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Barrett's heir, Crusaders flank and Auckland finisher named in Hurricanes squad

By Online Editors
Beauden Barrett and TJ Perenara celebrating for the Hurricanes. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

The Hurricanes have opted for continuity with the selection of the 2019 squad for the Investec Super Rugby competition.

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There are just six new faces in new head coach John Plumtree’s 38-man squad, with dynamic Auckland wing Salesi Rayasi, exciting Wellington midfielder Billy Proctor, former Highlanders first five-eighth Fletcher Smith, two-time Super Rugby champion Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, promising Wellington openside flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi and athletic Manawatu utility forward Liam Mitchell joining the club.

As well as the players new to the squad, former Hurricanes utility back James Marshall returns to New Zealand rugby after playing in the United Kingdom and Japan while Bay of Plenty halfback Richard Judd is named in the squad after he made his debut in 2018 when he was called in as injury cover.

There are 12 players named in the squad who were part of the All Blacks 2018 campaign while four players – Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara, Jeff To’omaga-Allen and Dane Coles – are centurions of the Hurricanes club.

Plumtree was excited about the squad the coaching group had assembled.

“A lot of the boys have been together for a long period of time but we also have some exciting youngsters that we have brought in,” he said.

“We’ve brought some guys in for development but we’ve got others who we think are good to go.”

Hurricanes captain Dane Coles believed the squad had the depth to deal with the demands of the competition.

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“We want our players to have a real world class work ethic, we think that’s pretty important and I think our leadership group can really drive that. We’re really keen to welcome in some new guys and we will be looking forward to getting to know them.”

Plumtree said the season’s goal was to make the Super Rugby finals as they had done in the previous four years he had been an assistant coach.

“We know how important it is to get a home quarter-final and semi-final in terms of winning this competition but of course there is a lot of work to do before you get there. It’s a really tough competition, there is no June break this year so we are going to have to play consistently well over a longer period of time.”

“We are going to have to use the squad and make sure everyone is fresh and keen and energised for every week. Our standards are very high and our expectations internally are high too. But we want to impress our fans and we want to keep growing the history of this jersey.”

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The squad, minus the All Blacks and Maori All Blacks, will assemble on November 29.

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Note: Peter Umaga-Jensen (Wellington) is not available due to injury.

More Super Rugby Squads:

Chiefs 2019 Super Rugby squad
Crusaders 2019 Super Rugby squad
Highlanders 2019 Super Rugby squad
Blues 2019 Super Rugby squad

New Hurricanes

Salesi Rayasi
Age: 22
Province: Auckland
At 1.93m and 105kg, Rayasi is a powerful wing who made a real impact for Auckland in the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup. A former New Zealand Sevens representative, the Wellington-born player took a break from rugby for a short period as he pursued a career in basketball. However, the son of former Fiji international Filipe Rayasi, Salesi was convinced to return to the sport.

Billy Proctor
Age: 19
Province: Wellington
The younger brother of Hurricanes midfielder Matt Proctor, Billy joins the Hurricanes after some really impressive form for the Wellington Lions in the Mitre 10 that saw him become the first choice No 12 by season’s end. A product of St Patrick’s College in Wellington, Billy is a former New Zealand Secondary Schools representative and is also part of the New Zealand Under-20 squad.

Du’Plessis Kirifi
Age: 21
Province: Wellington
Another Hurricanes player to come out of New Plymouth’s Francis Douglas Memorial College, Kirifi impressed the club’s coaching staff when he was called in as injury cover in 2018 following an impressive debut season for Wellington in the Mitre 10 Cup the previous year. He continued that good form, helping the Lions to the Premiership semi-final. A former age-group representative for Taranaki and Waikato, Du’Plessis is named after former Springbok captain Morne Du’Plessis.

Liam Mitchell
Age: 23
Province: Manawatu
Another player who had time with the Hurricanes squad in 2018, Mitchell can play equally well at blindside flanker or lock. Having played a season of club rugby in Spain in 2017, Mitchell returned to New Zealand and made his debut for Manawatu. His father Alistair Mitchell also played for Manawatu.

Heiden Bedwell-Curtis
Age: 27
Bedwell-Curtis has spent the last two seasons at the defending Super Rugby champion Crusaders club. He missed the Mitre 10 Cup after taking up a short-term contract in Japan and is due back in New Zealand in January. A hard, uncompromising loose forward, Bedwell-Curtis, who was schooled at New Plymouth Boys’ High School, is a former New Zealand Under-20 and Maori All Black representative.
Fletcher Smith
Age: 23
Province: Waikato

The former Highlanders playmaker heads north as one of three five five options the Hurricanes will have in 2019. A young player who has built up a great deal of experience in recent years, Smith is a really accurate goal kicker and passer of the ball as well as being a mature playmaker. He helped Waikato gain promotion to the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership after their Championship win over Otago.

 

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Trevor 1 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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