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Hurricanes coach Mark Hammett - Source: Photosport
Talk of a rift between the Hurricanes' coach and captain have been laughed off today as the pair fronted media at training in Wellington.
Speculation has been rife all season about a rivalry between new coach Mark Hammett and captain Andrew Hore and eascalated after Hore was left out of the starting line-up for last Friday's win over the Force.
However Hammett flatly denied any disharmony within the camp.
"It's one of those things that when you know what's on the inside it doesn't hurt you so much because you know what's going on and they're just Sunday papers you know," Hammett told media today.
"It's a bit annoying because you know the truth but ultimately you've got to remember newspapers are entertainment.
"Supposedly we had a fight in Invercargill, so we had a good laugh about that."
Hammett maintains he has kept up a good relationship with all the senior players in his squad after countless media reports have claimed they have been unhappy with the techniques introduced by the rookie coach.
"I've had many discussions with the senior players, we have a strategy group meeting every single week and we talk together about that style and how we want to play and it's very inclusive and it's very important because you've got to use that experience, they've been there for a long time."
The decision to leave Hore out of the Hurricanes last-gasp win over the Force was not personal according to Hammett, but about building for the future.
"It's a balancing act because there's no doubt you need experience but you've also got to keep building for the future," Hammett said, "Our big thing with Hore is making sure he's in the best nick for the World Cup this year."
Hore himself also scoffed at allegations of a fight between the two hookers.
''I went back home to Maniototo and had a bit of a function down there and some of the rumours are that I had a fight with Mark, so that's reasonably entertaining," Hore laughed.
"I think I might have had a crack at him in 2002 when I was playing against him, but other than that we get on pretty good.''
The 50-Test All Black agreed there was a need to give younger players a chance to start.
"I think he's got to look at the bigger picture, Dane Coles has been playing some pretty good footy and I think he\'s been on the bench 30 odd times, so if you want a team to grow you've got to give people a go and he did pretty well on the weekend as well."
Hore believes the Hurricanes' 34-28 win in Palmerston North should have helped dispel any rumours of a rift.
''We are still trying pretty hard. You look at the pride we showed in the line to D up against the Force in the last couple of minutes. If a team in my opinion had a rift in it we would have rolled over up and let them scored and got on the bus and come home.
"The whole public are pretty frustrated with how the Hurricanes are going and so are the 22 guys who go out there each week. We've got some big names and obviously new coaches and if it's not going well it's not as simple as just saying, 'the boys aren't fronting up and playing as well as they could', but it has to go deeper."
