Ireland's Summer Tour

First topic message reminder :

Hey all,

Haven't been on here in a while, living out in the middle east so time is short and the chances to watch rugby are a little too rare. I saw the entire 6 Nations and Autumn series but haven't seen as much pro12 or HCup as I would like. So apologies if some of my picks or reasoning are off, I can only judge on what I have seen and am more than happy to watch clips that shed more light on selections etc.

So this is one for the summer tour. I am going to go out on a limb here and say this is probably the biggest summer tour we've had in a while in terms of importance. Last year gave us a look at some lads out in North America and gave some semi meaningful game time to some individuals. Two years ago we very nearly dispelled the curse of the All Blacks and previous ones have all had merit too. This one I feel is different for a number of reasons.

1) We have a new coach who is massively system and skill based. Individuals need to learn the way he wants to play, develop into it and then become comfortable playing with it in International settings. This can't be fully achieved over two games in Argentina but those two games can help.

2) We had the oldest squad of the six nations (significantly oldest). Age is not something that should affect selection but it does slow players down and increase the likelihood of injuries in some cases. We need depth here and in some positions replacements.

3) We have a bank players who are in the 1-10 cap category. These guys need game time to get accustomed to international rugby.

4) This is our last major testing opportunity for new players before the RWC. Players will come through during the 14/15 season at HCup and Pro12 level but next years 6Nations and the majority of the Autumn series will have a fairly settled look to it with less experimentation.

This is who I'd bring to Argentina for the two test series

PROPS:

McGrath: Second choice. Has impressed but has lots to learn and the gametime as first choice will do him good. Healy knows Joe's system and needs rest.
Kilcoyne: Form appears to have fallen from last season. We want depth in this position as it could be an area of strength. Better option than Court imo.
Moore: Could well end up being first choice sooner rather than later. Still has work to do on scrummaging but is developing well. Ross to rest.
Fitzpatrick: If fit he could well end up breaking into matchday 23s. He needs a chance to work in Joe's systems and learn accordingly.

HOOKERS:

Best: An obvious choice for leadership and consistency in the front row where a lot of experimentation is happening.
Cronin: An excellent impact option and deserves to tour.
Strauss: Needs further gametime at international level following his heart condition. A very talented player.

LOCKS:

O'Connell: Captain but among a number who need to mold themselves into Joe's systems still. It's still early days yet regarding new playing style.
Toner: His learning curve is rocketing and this should be allowed to continue.
Henderson: A much more dynamic player that should be explored to give us a different option in selection. Will get gametime there in Ulster 14/15.
Tuohy: I don't think he is back yet but neither is Ryan and like Hendy, Tuohy offers something different in a Hines/Thorn style.

BACKROW:

O'Mahony: Excellent player who is still learning Joe's style and about international rugby. Has a lot of growing to do imo but can become outstanding.
O'Donnell: An exciting and different option and one that should be nurtured to give Schmidt selection choices in horses for courses scenarios.
Henry: Excellent in the 6N, can kick on from this imo.
Murphy: A dynamic, powerful and versatile player that could be perfect for a world cup squad.
Heaslip: Leadership and consistency required much in the same way Best offers this. High standard and versatile playing style.

SCRUMHALVES:

Murray: An all round excellent player and first choice.
Reddan: Playing quite well and doing all the basics really well, needs to gain consistency and show he can excel when his pack are being chewed up.
Marmion: The most potential of all 9s in Ireland. Needs to be given gametime to see what he can do and possibly prepare him for more regular international gametime.

FLYHALVES:

Jackson: Leaving Sexton to rest. Jackson should start as first choice. An excellent player who has more potential and needs time with joe.
Madigan: Needs time to get back to his best and experience in high intensity rugby environments.

CENTRES:

Marshall: Needs gametime as while he has the raw materials he has lots to learn and should be aiming to challenge Darcy more.
Henshaw: My choice for the Irish 13 jersey this summer. Needs gametime at this level and time with Joe. One of my favourite players.

BACK 3:

Zebo: Needs gametime with Joe and to be in this camp. That being said needs to learn a lot before hand and McFadden could get into this squad.
Fitzgerald: Injury dependent for rest of season. Down as back up centre cover too. Could be simply excellent but needs gametime to prove his class.
Earls: Possibly best winger in Ireland in January. I really want to see him back in.
Bowe: Again seen as centre cover. Needs time with Joe and admist lots of good wingers needs to show he is one cut above the rest.
Kearney Jr: Big brother given a rest as he is a clear first choice. Dave given the chance to show he can play 15.
Trimble: Opportunity to show that he is top class after an unbelievable six nations championship.


MAIN GOALS:

1) Come away with a series win.
2) To get options at centre.
3) To create depth at loosehead prop and give Moore/Fitzpatrick the opportunity to prove they are better than Ross.
4) To improve the quality of halfbacks through gametime and time in camp.
5) To incorporate players into the new Irish way of playing the game.

What do people think?
What are peoples main goals.

If Madigan is the answer at 12 we are asking the wrong question

I don't know at all.  Madigan I think has always had a hunch for a centre position rather than 10.... a hunch he obvioulsy shares with Earls!  Earls made that known to his boss and it didn't go down so well... and I think Madigan mentioned the thoughts too when Sexton and Jackson were crowding him out of International contention.

SecretFly wrote:I don't know at all.  Madigan I think has always had a hunch for a centre position rather than 10.... a hunch he obvioulsy shares with Earls!  Earls made that known to his boss and it didn't go down so well... and I think Madigan mentioned the thoughts too when Sexton and Jackson were crowding him out of International contention.

Ronan O'Gara punditing, said that Madigan wasn't big enough to be a centre (when asked about playing Sexton @10 and Madigan @12 during the 6Ns). He said Sexton could be though.

Earls saying he wanted to play at centre didn't go down well with exactly who?

Size is in the eye of the beholder and the style of rugby you're playing. Wales has tarnished the idea of Centres who look like back players rather than forward grunt tanks. But Wales paid the price of being easily enough dispatched by wiser teams despite the standardised Centre sizes

Size ain't all it's cracked up to be and finding a hole is finding a hole at 5'10" as much as it is 6'3"

PS.  Besides, Madigan is the same size as Earls.  Big head makes him look smaller than he is.  What's Ronan's thoughts on Earls?  Ronan is at this stage Sexton's unofficial agent

Oh and where did Earl's self-belief not go down too well?  I suppose that would be Penney?  Not so much the idea of Earls not being a Centre (I think he could make a great one under Schmidt) but the idea that Earls was plotting his own ideas of where he'd play at Munster. I seem to recall there was a time when people were talking about Penney would do the thinking on where Earls would play.

SecretFly wrote:PS.  Besides, madigan is the same size as Earls.  Big head makes him look smaller than he is.  What's Ronan's thoughts on Earls?  Ronan is at this stage Sexton's unofficial agent

I don't think anyone was suggesting that Earls could be an inside centre. Racing have 2 big lads in midfield (Roberts & Sexton). ROG's thoughts on Earls - I think he thinks Earls is a super talent.

SecretFly wrote:

Oh and where did Earl's self-belief not go down too well?  I suppose that would be Penney?  Not so much the idea of Earls not being a Centre (I think he could make a great one under Schmidt) but the idea that Earls was plotting his own ideas of where he'd play at Munster. I seem to recall there was a time when people were talking about Penney would do the thinking on where Earls would play.

I'm not sure what you are saying here!

Size size again Sin.  Ireland are 6N champs, having used two geriatric dwarf centres.

Stop obsessing on size folks.  Don't go chasing official blueprints of rugby.  Wales will be trying to revolutionise their thoughts on that one in the lead up to the WC.  We'll all have cumbersome wrestlers, they'll be back to weasely ferrets

SecretFly wrote:Size size again Sin.  Ireland are 6N champs, having used two geriatric dwarf centres.

Stop obsessing on size folks.  Don't go chasing official blueprints of rugby.  Wales will be trying to revolutionise their thoughts on that one in the lead up to the WC.  We'll all have cumbersome wrestlers, they be back to weasely ferrets

Look, it was O'Gara said he wasn't big enough to play centre. He also said he wasn't an international quality centre (implying that he might be able to do a job at club level I suppose).

Henshaw missing is crap,we have to pray Cave and Earls stay fir or else this tour will be a bit of a waste of time.At least more players will get a chance to work with Schmidt and players like Healy and SoB are being allowed stay home and clear up any niggling injuries.

At least this will be a low intensity tour sandwiched between a Lions and a World Cup year,our players will be a lot better off than the English and Welsh who need to bring full strength squads down to play some real tough Test matches.

Sin é wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

Oh and where did Earl's self-belief not go down too well?  I suppose that would be Penney?  Not so much the idea of Earls not being a Centre (I think he could make a great one under Schmidt) but the idea that Earls was plotting his own ideas of where he'd play at Munster. I seem to recall there was a time when people were talking about Penney would do the thinking on where Earls would play.

I'm not sure what you are saying here!

I'm saying...and you know very well what I'm saying... that at around about the time Penney was coming in to Munster Earls was making it known he wanted to play Centre and I think he went as far as alluding to having a talk with Penney about it (you'll do your research and pull me up on that one of course.  Please do...but I'm going on memory rather than research here.)  And I think at the time there was a lot of discussion about the idea that Earls would play where the coach felt he should play rather than where he felt he wanted to play.  

Like I say, not the idea that Earls can't play centre but that it wasn't his role to tell the new coach where he would be playing.

You know all that stuff Sin - you have an Elephant's memory.  I have a memory for things to0.  That's the gist of it.  You find the detail and correct my 'detail' errors.  I'm sure they'll be a few considering how sketchy my references are.

Sin é wrote:

SecretFly wrote:Size size again Sin.  Ireland are 6N champs, having used two geriatric dwarf centres.

Stop obsessing on size folks.  Don't go chasing official blueprints of rugby.  Wales will be trying to revolutionise their thoughts on that one in the lead up to the WC.  We'll all have cumbersome wrestlers, they be back to weasely ferrets

Look, it was O'Gara said he wasn't big enough to play centre. He also said he wasn't an international quality centre (implying that he might be able to do a job at club level I suppose).

Grand. O'Gara's opinion. Fine. I like O'Gara and don't mind his opinions. I'm saying Madigan is plenty tall enough if you play a game to suit him. If on the other hand you believe rugby in general is going bigger to stop bigger then yes, he's a runt with no future in the game.

I do not think Madigan or Earls should play centre.
Earls is a cracking winger but not good enough for 13.

If I was to pick the centres for the World Cup I'd pick from the following - D'Arcy, Marshall, Olding, Henshaw, Cave.

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:

SecretFly wrote:

Oh and where did Earl's self-belief not go down too well?  I suppose that would be Penney?  Not so much the idea of Earls not being a Centre (I think he could make a great one under Schmidt) but the idea that Earls was plotting his own ideas of where he'd play at Munster. I seem to recall there was a time when people were talking about Penney would do the thinking on where Earls would play.

I'm not sure what you are saying here!

I'm saying...and you know very well what I'm saying... that at around about the time Penney was coming in to Munster Earls was making it known he wanted to play Centre and I think he went as far as alluding to having a talk with Penney about it (you'll do your research and pull me up on that one of course.  Please do...but I'm going on memory rather than research here.)  And I think at the time there was a lot of discussion about the idea that Earls would play where the coach felt he should play rather than where he felt he wanted to play.  

Like I say, not the idea that Earls can't play centre but that it wasn't his role to tell the new coach where he would be playing.

You know all that stuff Sin - you have an Elephant's memory.  I have a memory for things to0.  That's the gist of it.  You find the detail and correct my 'detail' errors.  I'm sure they'll be a few considering how sketchy my references are.

I know the history of it. I want to know who these 'people' are:

Fly wrote: I seem to recall there was a time when people were talking about Penney would do the thinking on where Earls would play.

geoff998rugby wrote:I do not think Madigan or Earls should play centre.
Earls is a cracking winger but not good enough for 13.

If I was to pick the centres for the World Cup I'd pick from the following - D'Arcy, Marshall, Olding, Henshaw, Cave.

I'd tend to agree with that but there isn't much depth there,an injury or two and we could be calling on Madigan or Earls so there would be no harm in giving them a bit of time in the centre,it might only be training time as match time is limited but we need to be prepared.

Sin é wrote:

I know the history of it. I want to know who these 'people' are:

Fly wrote: I seem to recall there was a time when people were talking about Penney would do the thinking on where Earls would play.

Em..you ...em...me....em....lots of 606ers as I recall. Some journalists. Perhaps Penney and perhaps Earls - although I wasn't at any meeting behind closed doors which included the two of them and nobody else.

People are people. What was in the air floating was in the air floating. I said it was in the air floating - I stand by it. People. Things floating in the air. I want to play Centre. QED.

No need to get in a flap Fly, just wanted to know if these 'people's' opinion were worthy of a second thought   

Gutted Henshaw is out, it really was one of the priorities of the tour to get him into the team

Sin é wrote:No need to get in a flap Fly, just wanted to know if these 'people's' opinion were worthy of a second thought   

Clearly I made you think about thems peoples twice enough more than a second time with the amount of questionin' I got about theirs credentials an' stuff. Gimme a break, dude!

I see BOD believes Henshaw and Cave are the two players best placed to replace him.

Interesting in terms of the names he didn't mention

BOD???? For God's sake guys. O'Gara's opinion first and now BOD's????

What the hell would BOD know about picking his replacement??? He even kept getting his retirement dates wrong.

I think people are missing the point - we are not looking for BOD's replacement but identifying a number of potential centre combinations.

We won't have a situation again were we have 2 guys playing every game for a decade.

Payne, Cave, Henshaw, Marshall all need to put their hands up alongside D'arcy over the next 6 games and possibly McFadden and Earls too. The there is the likes of Olding, Reid and the guys on the EI tour. We need at least 3 options in either position.

Its really unfortunate for Henshaw because with Payne qualifying in the Autumn this was  big chance but that's life.

Olding, Payne, Henshaw, and Fitz all out

Our 4 centres with the most potential (excluding Marshall)... rotten luck.

Also why is it that Ireland get the worst matches of any of the home nations, bar scotland, during the june tests and the autumn internationals?

Scotland have a much better tour than ours...I inagine we are doing this tour to save money? Although I'm not sure how tours work financially.

There really is nothing we can take away from this tour. The ARG squad named is simply too weak to be able to see how well certain players are playing.

No I don't think so guys, we have a massive 18 months ahead so an intense, full blown 3 test series against the tri-nations probably isn't what we need at this stage.

This tour will allow a bit of room for experimentation before the AI's and 6N where we'll need to get results if we are aiming for a last 4 RWC spot.

If we weren't touring Argentina I would want us to be touring Pacific Islands or North America. We need a tour to develop depth.

rodders wrote:No I don't think so guys, we have a massive 18 months ahead so an intense, full blown 3 test series against the tri-nations probably isn't what we need at this stage.

This tour will allow a bit of room for experimentation before the AI's and 6N where we'll need to get results if we are aiming for a last 4 RWC spot.

+1

In saying that this tour isn't exactly what we need either. A tour of NA or Japan would have been a lot more beneficial and interesting.

I don't blame the IRFU though as they may not have known that ARG would rest all their players when they scheduled the tour.

Its not just up to the IRFU when and where Ireland tour. Its all co-ordinated by the IRB, based mostly on reciprocal tours. As well as that, first tier countries are obliged to tour some 2nd tier countries every so often and to host them in the AIs.

Its a bit more difficult touring in the SH as well as the countries are so far apart. Its relatively easy for SH teams to come to Europe and play 3/4 different countries every autumn.

Heres the Pumas team for their warm-up game against a South American XV

http://rugbyworldcup-argentina2023.blogspot.com.br/2014/05/international-rugby-pumas-named-to-face.html

Very possible it will be similar next week.

gleesonisgod wrote:Olding, Payne, Henshaw, and Fitz all out

Our 4 centres with the most potential (excluding Marshall)... rotten luck.

Also why is it that Ireland get the worst matches of any of the home nations, bar scotland, during the june tests and the autumn internationals?

Rotten luck with the centers alright. Its the one area where we badly need to blood players.

For the AIs I think its a case of England being able to offer NZ match fees. Wales has an extra game but they usually pay the Aussies a nice sum of money for that.

If this tour was against one of the big SH teams, Schmidt would be playing guys like SOB and D'Arcy. Whether it's against Argentina, USA or Japan doesn't really matter - the point is to get fringe players time together and this tour will tick that box.

Based on the game last night I can imagine some Leinster lads won't be playing in the first test next week so here is a guess at what the team may be.

I'm sure the announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday.

Kilcoyne-Best-Moore
POC-Hendo
Diack-Heaslip-Henry
Murray-Sexton
Marshall-Cave
Earls-Zebo-Trimble

Varley-McGrath-Ross-Toner-Murphy-Marmion-Madigan-Kearney

Keith Earls is out of the tour with a viral infection, Martin Moore with a toe injury. Noel Reid and Rodney Ah You are joining up wight he senior squad as replacements. Assume Reid replacement for no

But massive news and a potentially massive headache for the IRFU a year out from the RWC; John Plumtree is leaving his job and going back to New Zealand after the tour.

I suppose Jono Gibbes is the natural choice to succeed him, but will he get out of his contract with Clermont?

Do you know why Notch?

Golden wrote:Do you know why Notch?

He's going back to NZ to work with the Hurricanes

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for life or money in Ireland camp that the guy should ship out so early, considering that Ireland have realistic ambitions to be a contention side in the next few years, and the WC is just around the corner.

Oh well, he'll have learned a bit about Irish players, sensibilities and how Schmidt operates during his time ....  spy work accomplished

On the inside-centre debate, now Reid is going, I hope they give him a run. He is looking more like Darcys replacement by the game. 

Either way, the experience will do him a power of good.

SecretFly wrote:Not exactly a ringing endorsement for life or money in Ireland camp that the guy should ship out so early, considering that Ireland have realistic ambitions to be a contention side in the next few years, and the WC is just around the corner.

Oh well, he'll have learned a bit about Irish players, sensibilities and how Schmidt operates during his time ....  spy work accomplished

Far more likely that he probably doesn't see eye-to-eye with Schmidt. When you have already been a head coach, its very hard to have to do what your told by someone else. I'd say Schmidt is hard going as well.

Of course...of course Sin

There is always the overbearing teacher angle to consider in all these shenanigans. He's an awfully tough taskmaster as a coach...which is something that should never be at all at all. A head coach should be a fwiend and mentor and a head patter and back slapper, nothing more.... and certainly not a Sergeant Major type like Schmidt.

There is the evidence that a large number of Leinster players, some whom Plumtree would know little about as they have played so rarely were selected which would suggest that Plumetree had very little input into the process.

Sin é wrote:There is the evidence that a large number of Leinster players, some whom Plumtree would know little about as they have played so rarely were selected which would suggest that Plumetree had very little input into the process.

Into what process?  Into the 6N winning process?  

Evidentially I'd go down a different route and say Plumtree simply didn't regard Ireland Inc as a high enough International job for himself and used the boost of the 6N bounce to trip himself back home.  
That's very much his right and good luck to him, but I doubt very much if it's because he was forced to coach Leinster players he didn't know by the axe wielding nutjob Schmidt.

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:There is the evidence that a large number of Leinster players, some whom Plumtree would know little about as they have played so rarely were selected which would suggest that Plumetree had very little input into the process.

Into what process?  Into the 6N winning process?  

Evidentially I'd go down a different route and say Plumtree simply didn't regard Ireland Inc as a high enough International job for himself and used the boost of the 6N bounce to trip himself back home.  
That's very much his right and good luck to him, but I doubt very much if it's because he was forced to coach Leinster players he didn't know by the axe wielding nutjob Schmidt.

Get away out of that, this isn't soccer yet. Coaching internationally will always be seen as better than coaching at club level. I don't know why you are so defensive about Schmit - its not as if we haven't a similar type of situation with Ireland before (EOS & Kidney). The point I'm making is that all of the selections in all positions had Schmidt's fingerprints all over them.

And now that I remember it as well - didn't Plumtree say that Sean O'Brien (who was injured) was the only world class player Ireland had. Hardly something you would expect your forwards coach to come out with.

I like being defensive of him Sin...you know that by now.  It's a fun job what with you, me, DOD and a few other regular badger baiters on the topic.  You say something to bite, I bite a piece of your ass in return, you rebite my leg, I bite your neck, you kick me in the ...... I keel over but break a bottle over your head as I go down................

Fun.  

Let's not get precious now, Sin.  Let's not end a perfectly good game by getting all defensive about how 'defensive' I get .....

Sin é wrote:didn't Plumtree say that Sean O'Brien (who was injured) was the only world class player Ireland had. Hardly something you would expect your forwards coach to come out with.

....Thus why he's going home to his world class country to coach genuine world class players. You actually agree with him on that one, don't you Sin? Kidney was being held back tactically by the calibre of players at his disposal.....

SecretFly wrote:

Sin é wrote:didn't Plumtree say that Sean O'Brien (who was injured) was the only world class player Ireland had. Hardly something you would expect your forwards coach to come out with.

....Thus why he's going home to his world class country to coach genuine world class players.  You actually agree with him on that one, don't you Sin?  Kidney was being held back tactically by the calibre of players at his disposal.....

I just have a problem with him saying it at a press conference.

Sin é wrote:

I just have a problem with him saying it at a press conference.

There you go...it didn't take too long for us to agree with each other after all. I had a problem with it too.

this is really bad news.

He has done really good work with us in such a short space of time, he's made our pack into a pretty heavy weight unit of mobile monsters.

Moore and Earls being out is further bad news, both could have done with the time under Schmidt in the international setup. This tour is starting to look less positive.

Sin é wrote:

SecretFly wrote:Not exactly a ringing endorsement for life or money in Ireland camp that the guy should ship out so early, considering that Ireland have realistic ambitions to be a contention side in the next few years, and the WC is just around the corner.

Oh well, he'll have learned a bit about Irish players, sensibilities and how Schmidt operates during his time ....  spy work accomplished

Far more likely that he probably doesn't see eye-to-eye with Schmidt. When you have already been a head coach, its very hard to have to do what your told by someone else. I'd say Schmidt is hard going as well.

On the contrary, I'd say its far more likely when the opportunity to go to NZ popped up he took it so his young family can be close to his parents.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/10109490/Boyd-Plumtree-take-the-reins

He is Forwards Coach with the Canes. They have lots of world class players fly!

Boyd, Plumtree take the reins
TOBY ROBSON

Chris Boyd and John Plumtree are back together and on a mission close to their hearts.

Boyd will replace Mark Hammett as Hurricanes head coach next season with Plumtree dramatically pulling stumps early on his role as Ireland's assistant coach to return to Wellington.

Boyd and Plumtree have signed up for two years, reuniting a coaching partnership that first formed in 2003 when they took the Wellington Lions to three national provincial championship finals in four years.

Now the roles are reversed with Boyd in the top job and Plumtree to take the forwards in a yet to be determined management set-up.

Boyd's appointment comes as little surprise as the Hurricanes look to instil a local coach following four, at times tumultuous, seasons under Hammett, whose arrival from Canterbury was met with scepticism from the start.

There is little doubt Boyd has done his time.

After starting his career with nine years as a Tawa club coach, the 55-year-old spent four years as Plumtree's assistant in Wellington and a further two in Durban with the Sharks.

Boyd then returned home to take the Lions top job in 2012 taking them to the semifinals that year and the final last season. He is in his second year as coach of the New Zealand under-20s, who open their Junior World Championship campaign against Samoa in Auckland today.

However, Plumtree's return is something of a shock considering he took up his position as Ireland's forwards coach late last year with a view to taking the side through to the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Boyd confirmed his old mate had called him shortly after Cardiff-bound Hammett said he would not be reapplying.

"He called and asked if I was putting my name in the hat. I said I was and he said he wouldn't stand against me and would like to work with me again and that was that," Boyd said.

"I think Lara [Plumtree's wife] and the kids want to come home. He sees Wellington, from a rugby perspective, as home and when he found out Hammer was leaving and there might be an opportunity, it was very much a family decision, I think."

Plumtree will return to Wellington after Ireland's coming tour to Argentina, presumably cutting short an incredibly lucrative contract to be closer to extended family in New Zealand.

The 48-year-old's family is based in Taranaki and has remained passionate about one day bringing a major rugby trophy to Wellington.

Plumtree coached Natal to two Currie Cup titles in 2008 and 2010 and took the Sharks to the Super Rugby playoffs three times, including the 2012 final, which they lost to the Chiefs in Hamilton.

If there is one asterisk on Boyd's resume, it is that he has often been a bridesmaid. His Lions have lost a semifinal and final in the past two seasons, while his four years as Plumtree's assistant included finals losses to to Auckland, Canterbury and Waikato.

Now he is tasked with ending the Hurricanes' playoff drought, one that stretches back to 2009 and is unlikely to end after Saturday's damaging loss to the Blues.

Boyd said his first tasks were to finalise the team's management, including at least one other member of the coaching staff and to begin filling any holes in the playing roster.

He was unsure if the new coaching group would include any of the Hurricanes assistants - Alama Ieremia, Richard Watt and Clark Laidlaw.

The midfield leapt out as an immediate area of concern considering the pending departures of Tim Bateman and Alapati Leiua, he said.

"I'll be starting that [player search] tomorrow. There will be some phone calls going around the place. You live in a competitive environment and you can't wait. Where there are holes you need to get your teeth into it and get going."

Boyd was yet to see the Hurricanes' full contract list, but believed "a good chunk" of the current roster were already signed up beyond the 2014 season.

"There has been a lot of hard work poured into the Hurricanes club over the past four years, and it's now our job to build on that foundation," he said.

"Our main focus is to create a brand of football that people find attractive to watch, and develop a team that people want to get behind.

"The ultimate goal for us, the dream, is to fill that stadium again."