The 27 year-old is a big advocate for some of the new initiatives being used in Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa.
“I thought it was amazing running out of the tunnel alongside each other. You just take a moment to soak it all in and look around and it put a smile on my face.
“I’m a big fan of the afternoon game. Obviously, I’ve had a taste of it at Mitre 10 Cup level, but I absolutely love it. It’s awesome because families can get out there, kids can get out there and they can get home and it’s a normal bedtime routine. Certainly, from my point of view and most of the players, afternoon footy is awesome.”
Prinsep played a full 80 minutes in the Hurricanes loss to the Blues at Eden Park, and was the first to admit, he was feeling it on Monday.
“I was really sore. Rolling out of bed was hard work, but that’s to be expected in the first game effectively of the season. It usually takes a couple of weeks for your body to adjust to the contact, but other than that the body held up well.”
The Hurricanes will get their first taste of a home afternoon game this Sunday when they host the Crusaders at Sky Stadium. They had their review of the Blues game on Tuesday and it proved to be interesting viewing for forwards coach Chris Gibbes.
“There was some really good watching and really hard watching”, said Gibbes.
“If you focus up front, our line out didn’t function as well as we had planned for. We can fix it, we need to fix it and the boys are determined to get it right because we have to.”
Prinsep thought they had a solid first half, but the passage just after halftime, where the Blues kicked a couple of penalties and scored a try, let them down. He said they just need to adjust better to the referee’s calls.
“We had a fair idea about what was coming, but obviously the game situation is always a bit different. For me it’s making sure you come in at the right angles, square rather than the side and as a tackler making sure you are rolling out and getting out straight away. It’s something as a team we have a bit of work to do on.”
For Gibbes, the loss has given the Hurricanes a good wakeup call early in the competition.
“I think anytime you lose a game where you don’t really perform to your maximum, you are always going to be pretty grumpy. But the learnings we’ve taken out of that performance and that loss I think are genuinely going to help us. We have to learn and learn quickly because this competition is going to be over before we know it.”
Get your tickets to Sunday afternoon’s Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa match between the Hurricanes and Crusaders at Sky Stadium in Wellington HERE.