It takes more than a broken nose to keep Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby team's captain Mike Coman off the field.
As Magpies coach Craig Philpott pointed out yesterday: "Mike's nose gets broken in just about every game he plays."
Coman, the Hurricanes Development team's captain for the past two years, collected a broken nose as well as a suspected broken hand in Sunday's 35-7 loss to Southland in Invercargill. Philpott was thrilled to report the hand wasn't broken.
"It's still badly swollen and at this stage it's too early to say whether Mike will be available for Friday night. If he doesn't play it will be because of his hand rather than the nose," Philpott said, referring to the Magpies' sixth-round ITM Cup clash against the Bay of Plenty Steamers at Napier's McLean Park.
This match is a must-win one for the Magpies in their quest to get off the bottom of the premiership points table and avoid relegation.