Hurricanes coach Jason Holland says he was “obviously gutted” to see assistant coach Carlos Spencer became a casualty of the Covid-19 financial crisis.
The Hurricanes will miss a number of things about the former All Black, both personally and professionally, Holland said.
“We're obviously gutted to see Carlos go. He's a top man and a top coach - it's not the ideal situation,” Holland said.
“Like a lot of places around NZ at the moment, with Covid it's a necessity so unfortunately that's the way it is.
“We’ll be connecting a lot with Los over the next days and weeks. It’s a shame to see him go.”
Holland said he would personally pick up some of the slack after Spencer’s departure, particularly in being creative with the team’s attack.
“It's his overall [impact], role around our attack, things I'll pick up a bit now. We'll lose his imagination around things,” Holland said.
“He's awesome with his work ethic around helping the boys out with a lot of their skills. It's a big loss. You look around the country and there are a lot of people suffering big losses at the moment.
“We’d prefer him around, but that’s not the way it is.”
Holland said there is no certainty around whether someone will come in to fill Spencer’s role for the 2021 season.
"It's the unknown, a massive unknown, and that's a big part of it,” Holland said.
“We don't even know what the comp looks like, so we're just driving on, trying to get the job done week-to-week without worrying too much at the moment. But reality is we don't have too much certainty.”
In a much needed positive for the Hurricanes, Jordie Barrett has been deemed fit ahead of Sunday’s clash with the Chiefs - a battle between the two winless sides in Super Rugby Aotearoa.
“We had a little bit of time to get some work into him and make sure his shoulder is good to go, and he's passing everything with flying colours, so he's in good nick,” Holland said.
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