The Hurricanes have lost key players Ma'a Nonu, Piri Weepu, Hosea Gear and Aaron Cruden after the troubled 2011 campaign which saw divisions between some players and new coach Mark Hammett. A new and younger team remains and Smith, one of the remaining...

Nonu, Piri Weepu, Aaron Cruden and Hosea Gear’s absence leaves significant holes in the Hurricanes back division, and the recruitment of the savvy Bateman ensures that coach Mark Hammett has some extra nous to call upon during the 2012 Investec Super...

Then and now: The Super Rugby season can’t come quickly enough for the Hurricanes after the Wellington-based franchise struggled through a disastrous 2011 campaign. Player unrest led to the off-season departures of All Blacks Ma’a Nonu, Piri Weepu,...

With Ma'a Nonu, Piri Weepu, Hosea Gear, Aaron Cruden, Andrew Hore, Neemia Tialata and John Schwalger having left the franchise, both Jane and Smith admit there is a different feel in and around the Hurricanes camp. "Maybe it is the challenge that we...

Highlanders import Hosea Gear is finding it easy to settle into the Super Rugby season, thanks to familiar environment under an old coach, and a star turn at the Wellington Sevens. Gear was the equal second highest try scorer for New Zealand in the...

The ex-pats making a quid in Hong Kong by rolling over the top of the locals in the banking and advertising industries did not take kindly to their men in rugby gear being similarly tramped and thrashed on the often muddy fields of the Sevens tournament.