Morgans name mentioned as a first. Not a good start
I just hope Laidlaw and his team don't make idiotic selections like the last lot did. And also, the Lions did this year too under super coach Ellison. Captains a big decision too.
There's a huge difference between a head coach and assistant coach. Neither Holland nor Ellison had it. And both teams suffered as a result.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/133396015/new-hurricanes-coachs-first-big-challenge-remembering-the-names-of-50-players
The loss of their captain and star player is huge, but Laidlaw believed he had inherited a talented squad that was well-placed to combat the usual post-Rugby World Cup exodus.
The Hurricanes moved quickly to replace Savea by luring former captain Brad Shields back to Wellington, while Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai give them options across the experience spectrum at No 8.
“All the teams have lost experience, which is natural. It happens every four years, but in key positions we do have some experience and young talent that has had game time already.
“If you look at 9-10 we genuinely think we have some really good players there. BC [Brett Cameron] and Aidan [Morgan] started every week for their NPC sides and both played Super Rugby.
“We’ve got a couple of All Black halfbacks and we have two players backing them up who have started NPC
“In big positions it feels like we have got good experience and we’re still quite young, which is a nice balance. They’re young, hungry and on the way up with a bit of experience behind them.”
Once he has everyone’s names memorised, one of Laidlaw’s next jobs will be to appoint a new captain to replace Savea.