Hurricanes announce new head coach in the wake of John Plumtree's promotion to the All Blacks
Jason Holland has been promoted to Hurricanes head coach after John Plumtree’s elevation to the All Blacks coaching team.
Holland, who has been a successful and widely respected assistant coach at the Hurricanes since 2016, takes over his new role with immediate effect.
The 47-year-old has helped the Hurricanes make the Investec Super Rugby play-offs in every season he has been involved with the club, first as an assistant to Chris Boyd and then with Plumtree at the helm in 2019.
The former Manawatu and Taranaki representative enjoyed a successful playing career in New Zealand before he made 102 appearances for top Ireland club Munster between 1999 and 2008.
His coaching career started in Munster before he returned to New Zealand where he was an assistant at Canterbury before moving to the Hurricanes.
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“I’m delighted to be offered the opportunity with a team I am really passionate about,” Holland said.
“We are obviously thrilled for Plum [Plumtree] who has deservedly been afforded an opportunity with the All Blacks and we have been working hard over the last few weeks to make the transition seamless for the squad who are thrilled for him, as well.”
Cory Jane, who made 123 appearances for the Hurricanes between 2007 and 2017, and has made a successful move into coaching with the Wellington Lions, has joined the management team as defence coach on an initial two-year contract.
“CJ had a superb career as a player and we have seen him develop over the last few years as a coach. He did a great job as assistant coach with Wellington and we are excited about what he will bring to the group,” Holland added.
Plumtree said he would leave the Hurricanes safe in the knowledge the coaching team would be able to implement and deliver the plans they had put in place for the 2020 season.
“It’s not easy leaving a club I love, but I am convinced Alfie [Holland] is going to do a fantastic job with help from Carlos Spencer, Chris Gibbes, Dan Cron and CJ. Alfie is an exciting young coach who the players really respond to and he has great support around him.”
Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee said it was obviously sad to see Plumtree leave the club but he was delighted he had been given the chance to further showcase his ability and talent with the most successful international rugby side in the world.
“He has been extremely important to the Hurricanes and has grown a lot of people, not only the players but all of our high performance staff, during his time here,” he said.
A who's who list of household names are in the running for this World Rugby awardhttps://t.co/IX7iyctdQ6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 18, 2019
“He has forged an important chapter of our history and we expect him to carry on that excellent work with the All Blacks. We wish him all the best and thank him again for the contribution he has made here.
“We are delighted that Jason Holland will be our new head coach. He has the full support of management, the players and New Zealand Rugby and I know he will continue to strive for success and produce the exciting brand of rugby our loyal fans enjoy.”
– Hurricanes Rugby
New Zealand aren’t the only nation to be going through a coaching change:
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments