Mark Hammett – Profile
Mark Garry Hammett, more popularly known as just Mark Hammett, is a former New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) player and has also recently joined the union as a coach. He has played at the position of hooker for teams like Crusaders, Canterbury, New Zealand
and the All Blacks.
Hammett was born in July 1972 in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. He graduated from the St. Thomas of Canterbury College. While at school he was selected to play in the Under-17 team of New Zealand in 1989. He then went on to captain the Under-19 team
in 1991.
He was initially drafted to play in the Canterbury rugby union team in 1992, which was back then called the Canterbury Crusaders. He was just hired to play as another player’s replacement. His official stint with the Canterbury Crusaders started off in the
1993 season. He played seven games in this season as a hooker along with the team’s other hooker Matt Sexton.
Hammett joined the Crusaders when it broke away from the Canterbury Crusaders to be just the Crusaders in 1996. The Crusaders and Hammett had a bad debut season as they lost the Super 12 of that year, which for them drew to a close in last position. In 1997
Hammett helped the Crusaders win the National Provincial Championship (NPC), while also finishing Super Rugby at sixth place.
In 1998, Hammett and the Crusaders won the Super 12 title for the first time by winning against the then champions Blues by 20-13 victory. The year proved to be good for Hammett, as he was selected to play and captain a New Zealand team. His performance
during this trial captaincy helped him get into the New Zealand A team.
The year 1999 was extremely good for the player and the Crusaders. The Super Rugby title was once again won by the Crusaders. Another notch in the players’ belt was the team, Crusaders finishing fourth in the Round Robin tournament. This tournament makes
sure that all participants face each other in at least one match. Furthermore, Hammett’s feats during these championships won him a place with New Zealand’s national team, the All Blacks. With the All Blacks, he faced the New Zealand A in the first game and
then a Test against France, resulting in his selection for the Tri-Nations 1999.
Hammett was selected for Tri-Nations 2000 under the All Blacks. Before, he and the Crusaders won the 2000 Super Rugby as well. After returning from the Tri-Nations, Crusaders also won the Ranfurly Shield, but lost in the NPC. The 2001 season was not as good
for Hammett. The player experienced an injury and was unable to play with the All Blacks, but for one game. The Crusaders as a result also lost the Super 12 shield.
The NPC 2001 was won by the Crusaders, with Hammett showing excellent form. He was once again selected to play for the All Blacks in Tri-Nations 2002 and with the Crusaders he won the Ranfurly Shield. He played in NPC 2002, but the Crusaders lost.
He played his last NPC in 2002 and his last Super 12 in 2003. He went on to play the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in 2003. This tournament was not good for the player and he was asked to leave the All Blacks. He continued his 2003 season but after a serious injury,
he left professional rugby.
Finally after a hiatus of two years, he joined the Crusaders in the capacity of an advising coach in 2006. The Canterbury union’s team, the Crusaders then went on to face the Air New Zealand (ANZ) Cup. Hammett’s plays during the game earned him the position
of assistant coach in November of the same year. He was Robbie Dean’s assistant coach until 2010.
The player was capped with the Crusaders 76 times and 29 times with the All Blacks and finally made his cut as a coach for the Hurricanes in 2011. As a player he won the Super Rugby title four consecutive years.
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