Pleased Assistant: Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree is happy with his Magpies trio. Photo/File
Pleased Assistant: Hurricanes assistant coach John Plumtree is happy with his Magpies trio. Photo/File
Take a bow Mark Abbott, Ben May and Ricky Riccitelli!
The 2016 Magpies trio will all start for the Hurricanes in tonight's Super Rugby clash against the Brumbies at Napier's McLean Park. It's not a marketing ploy on the Hurricanes behalf to get bums on seats.
Lock Abbott, loosehead propMay and hooker Riccitelli have all made the most of their opportunities in the wake of injuries to regular first stringers and played significant roles as the defending champions have recorded six wins and one loss to date.
Here's what Hurricanes assistant coach and 1992 Magpies flanker John Plumtree said about the trio after the Canes Captain's Run yesterday:
Mark Abbott: It's pleasing to see how he has improved this year. His defence has improved a lot along with his workrate. His work ethic has always impressed me. He's not the biggest lock but he makes up for that with his workrate around the park and his big engine.
Ben May: He had a couple of years in Japan where you get lightly raced. He came back ready for some tough competition. Ben is a competitive character who always gives 100 per cent in a similar manner to Mark Abbott.
Ricky Riccitelli: He is just growing with his understanding of his role. He is really physical and his lineout throwing has improved. Ricky is more confident in his second year at this level and confidence is important for the younger players.
The trio will have to continue their impressive form if the Hurricanes engine room is going to get the upperhand against the much vaunted Brumbies engine room. The Wallabies trio of loosehead prop Scott Sio, blindside flanker Scott Fardy and lock Sam Carter can all be powerful figures if given too much freedom.
Until their shock 19-17 loss to the Rebels last weekend the Brumbies were a reasonably happy bunch. Their defence has been particularly impressive with an 88 per cent completion rate of tackles. They have also missed the least amount of tackles in the competition. However this is the first time this season they have taken on a side with as much attacking class as the Canes.
