Holland fronted the media in the capital today and said he’s gutted to see Spencer go.
“He’s a top man and a top coach and it’s not the ideal situation, but like a lot of places around New Zealand at the moment with Covid, it’s a necessity. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is, and we’ll be connecting with Los a lot over the next few days and weeks.”
The Hurricanes said that due to the financial uncertainty created by Covid-19, they agreed Spencer’s contract would finish early, meaning his services are no longer required for Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Holland will have a bit more of a workload to pick up in Spencer’s absence.
“We’ll rejig a few things and I’ll get a bit more involved in the hands-on stuff with rugby and some of the stuff above me gets taken care of. It’s going to be a little bit of working through, but we’ll be fine.
“But we’ll lose his imagination around things, he’s awesome with his work ethic around helping the boys out with a lot of their skills, so it’s a big loss. But when you look around the country, there are a lot of people suffering big losses at the moment.”
The Hurricanes head coach said they are going into a massive unknown at the moment, not knowing whether they’ll be able to re-employ another coach again next year.
“We don’t even know what the comp will look like. We are just striving on looking to get the job done week to week without worrying too much about it at the moment. But the reality is we don’t have too much certainty.”
The Hurricanes are desperate for their first win of Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa, having lost to the Blues and Crusaders before their bye week. It’s a must-win clash for both the Hurricanes and the Chiefs, who they will face this Sunday afternoon in Hamilton.
It’s just the little things that need tidying up for Holland, and he’s confident they are close to clicking.
“It’s the little parts of our game which we’re not getting right. It’s all within our control which is the main thing. A lot of it’s around our retention of ball, getting rid of some of the errors, how we apply pressure and don’t put it on ourselves. That’s been the general mindset and we have reviewed it and all the things we can do, we can do really well, we just need to do it.”
Get your tickets to Sunday’s crucial fixture at FMG Stadium Waikato HERE. Kick off is at 3:35pm. It’s been a long time since the Chiefs hosted an afternoon kick off and it’s a chance for the whole family to get along. There is a Family Deal - $40 for 4 seats (2 Adults + 2 Kids) in select Fan Zone bays & the Family Uncovered zone.