Monday 2 June 2014 09:25, UK
Chris Boyd is to replace Mark Hammett as coach of the Hurricanes next season.
New Zealand Under-20s coach Boyd will step up from his role with the Wellington Lions provincial side to take over from Hammett, who was announced as the new head coach of the Cardiff Blues last month.
Plumtree, Boyd’s former boss at provincial level in New Zealand and at the Sharks in South Africa, resigned from his position as Ireland’s forwards coach for “personal reasons” on Sunday.
"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," Boyd 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."
Hammett launched a controversial clear-out of stalwart players including Andrew Hore and Ma'a Nonu when he took over in 2011 and his time in New Zealand's capital was marked by under-performance with the occasional brilliant display.
Among those was the 45-8 defeat of the Chiefs in Wellington two weeks ago, which was followed last weekend by a 37-24 loss to the Blues which left the Hurricanes in the sixth and final play-off spot.
