IT was a media scrum at Hurricanes headquarters.
He’d just named the team for the game against the Force, and Canes coach Mark Hammett had his interview cap on. He was on the phone doing a radio interview when Capital Times arrived for our allotted 10 minutes. Off the phone then straight into a television interview, Hammett was well rehearsed when he joined me huddled against the side of the building out of the southerly. A firm handshake and a broad smile, he appears open and confident, but the former Crusader hooker and assistant coach has more than a few media questions to worry about. For a struggling team and its supporters Hammett needs to deliver and with the Hurricanes currently ranked 11th of the 15 teams on the points table he needs to deliver soon.
“It hasn’t been a good season for the Hurricanes,” Hammett admits. “But this is only stage one of what will be a two or three stage process to create the environment and playing style we want. The players are working hard. Every game we’ve been in with a chance or should have won.”
He’s reluctant to give away too much of the game plan but says rugby needs to be played with more than just brute strength. “You need to allow players to think. If you play a style where players don’t have to think too much then your defence don’t have to think and that’s when you get into trouble. It’s like a chess game, moving backwards and forwards, planning every move.” Hammett says injuries to experienced players and a lack of confidence, especially after early losses, have plagued the Canes this season. He says sometimes their play has been too predictable (“we’ve become too easy to read”) and a record number of yellow cards has not helped.
“Some have been fair and some a bit harsh but yes discipline has been costly for us this year. Moving forward it’s one of the key areas we need to work on and get out of our game.”
I ask him if some shaky performances have kept some of the crowds away this season.
“Yeah sure us not performing has kept some of the crowd away but falling crowd numbers has been a feature of rugby nationwide in the last few years. At the same time we’ve got some pretty damn loyal fans who come out rain, hail or snow.”
Hammett says he isn’t phased at the prospect of losing key players from the Caners with John Schwalger, Anthony Perenise and Neemia Tialata off overseas and speculation about Ma’a Nonu’s future in New Zealand after the World Cup.
“It’s great for those guys. A player leaving also gives the opportunity for other guys to come forward. There’s a great rugby academy here and a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make sure these young guys are ready to be brought forward.” He says he has the support of the team and rejects suggestions he’s tried to introduce a Crusaders culture to the Canes.
“There are some differences between here and Christchurch but there’s no change in terms of what makes a good team. You need to focus on the players, on the people, be supportive of each other and create an environment with a goal and a method of working towards it.”
If anything, he says, Wellington has the superior rugby environment.
“Here the players are well spread out, living out of the city, in Porirua and the likes, and when they come in for training they spend the whole day here together. This doesn’t happen in Christchurch where everyone lives five minutes away.”
It’s been a year of hard work for Hammett but he doesn’t regret the move to Wellington. He and his wife Natasha, with their two daughters 13 year old Billie and Nova, 10, are well settled in their Miramar home. They’re a sporting family. Billie plays squash, Natasha loves running and Nova ran for Wellington this year.
“They’re loving it here,” Hammett says. “The amazing thing about Wellington is the number of great running tracks there are. I’m not sure Wellington people always appreciate how lucky they are.”
And when Hammett isn’t on the rugby field you might find him on the Island Bay squash courts. He says he took up squash after a neck injury finished his rugby playing career in 2004. I ask him if his squash is as good as his rugby playing. He laughs, “Yeah I’m winning a bit.”
And that might just be the catch cry of the Cranes after their win against the Force last weekend, but please Sir Mr Hammett, can we have some more?
Niels Reinsborg