Hurricanes disappointed to lose Beauden Barrett

The decision by record points scorer Beauden Barrett to leave the Hurricanes was met with considerable disappointment from everyone at the club.

Barrett, who has scored a record 1244 points for the Hurricanes since his debut in 2011, announced today that he had signed with New Zealand Rugby for four more years but would move to the Blues to play in the Investec Super Rugby competition.

Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee understood the rationale behind Barrett's decision to leave the only Super Rugby club he has represented.

"We know Beauden plans to live in Auckland but we wanted to reach an agreement which would have still kept him at the Hurricanes for at least some of the four years," he said.

"Given the flexibility that is being afforded our top players to keep them involved in New Zealand rugby, we hoped that Beauden's long and distinguished career would continue at the Hurricanes. The process has been challenging but we sincerely thank him for everything he has done for the Hurricanes. He has been a great ambassador for our club and we wish him well.

"Beauden has made it clear that his decision to leave the Hurricanes were for non-rugby reasons and we respect that. He leaves us as someone who has made a contribution few can compare to and we thank him for that."

The 28-year-old made 125 appearances for the Hurricanes, fourth only to TJ Perenara, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith.

His career included two Super Rugby final and three semi-final appearances.

He has been the top points scorer in seven of the nine seasons and will always have a special place in the memories of the thousands of Hurricanes fans right around the world.

-Hurricanes

Hurricanes welcome Tyrel Lomax on four-year deal

Rising young All Blacks prop Tyrel Lomax has signed a four-year deal with the Hurricanes through until at least 2023.

Lomax, who has strong ties to Wellington with extended family living in Wainuiomata, will join the Hurricanes ahead of the 2020 Investec Super Rugby competition.

The son of former Kiwis international John Lomax, who played 15 tests for the Kiwis and had a long professional league career with the Canberra Raiders, North Queensland Cowboys and Melbourne Storm, Lomax has made a significant impression since he shifted back to New Zealand to pursue a long held ambition to be an All Black.

After making his Super Rugby debut for the Melbourne Rebels in 2017, the 23-year-old joined Tasman in the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup and quickly established himself as first choice tighthead which earned selection in the Highlanders Super Rugby squad in 2018.

He was selected in the All Blacks last November where he made his All Black debut against Japan after a number of strong performances in Super Rugby

Lomax also impressed for the Maori All Blacks when he represented the side on its end of year tour of Canada and France in 2017.

Hurricanes head coach John Plumtree was naturally delighted to have secured Lomax on a long-term deal.

"His potential is obvious for everyone to see. He's a very impressive young man who is developing his game at a rapid rate.  He is a powerful player, has a strong skill set and we are really excited about working with him," he said.

"It's great to be able to bring Tyrel back to the Wellington region where we know he will receive a lot of support and quickly establish himself in the Hurricanes club."

Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee paid tribute to the amount of work the club's high performance team had put into negotiations with Lomax about a possible move to Wellington.

"Having talked to Tyrel we know that he will make a big contribution to the Hurricanes moving forward. Tyrel is a significant signing for us," he said.

"It is an area we want to strengthen and we believe we have the perfect person to help us do that."

-Hurricanes Rugby

PASSION FOR RUGBY PAYING OFF FOR HUGO PLUMMER

Hugo Plummer - Photo: Steven White

"First XV rugby at Onslow College reminded me of the reasons why I started playing the game in the first place. We're not a heavyweight school, but we had a group of boys who were really passionate about it and stuck together through thick and thin," Hugo Plummer enthuses when reflecting on his final year at high school.

Plummer is a member of the WRFU High Performance programme, and along with Ropati So'oalo from Aotea College was the only player from a Premier 2 outfit selected for the Hurricanes Under-18's in 2018.

This is quite a feat for the lock forward who battled a pesky ankle injury and had to shield and support lightweights in open weight rugby.

“We had three teams at Onslow, the First XV, the under 55’s and the under 65’s. We had five serious injuries in the First XV which meant the boys in the 65’s had to step up,” Plummer explained.

“We were last in Premier two, but we won the Isberg Cup for the first time in years and had a really positive chemistry.”

Plummer has added to the chemistry at Tawa. After a sluggish start to the season, Tawa have won their past five games and stand on top of the Jubilee Cup standings with a bye this coming weekend.

On Saturday, Plummer played the entire 80 minutes in Tawa's 24-21 win over Hutt Old Boys Marist, the Eagles’ first loss in 2019. In their previous meeting Plummer was penalised close to fulltime which enabled HOBM to kick a penalty and hang on for a narrow 25-24 victory.

A week earlier Plummer was the Player of the Match in the comeback 24-17 triumph against Petone.

“There’s a lot of younger guys at Tawa with a similar attitude and ambition to me. That’s why I joined the club,” Plummer says.

“The experience and support of the older boys like Sitiveni (Paongo), Hemi (Fermanis), and Tolu (Fahamokioa) has been great too.”

Plummer has had trials for the Wellington XV against Manawatu on Queen’s Birthday and the Wellington Under-19’s, as well as playing for matches for the Hurricanes U20 side at the start of this season.

“It’s an exciting time. We are building all the time at Tawa and I would love to make the 19’s, but I’m not getting too far ahead of myself.”

He started playing rugby when he was six and played in the backline as a first five-eighth until he was 16, where he then moved to lock.

In addition to rugby, Plummer has dabbled in cricket, rowing and American football.

Plummer is one of four siblings. His older half-sister Francis is married to former Maori All Black and Hurricane Shannon Paku. Plummer studies law and commerce at Victoria University.

Fast Questions
Favourite Movie: Star Wars
Favourite Band: Mako Road
Hobbies: Plumbing
Favourite Non Rugby Team: New Orleans Saints

-WRFU