Bleyendaal Departs for Leinster Opportunity

Hurricanes Assistant Coach Tyler Bleyendaal will be departing the club at the end of the 2024 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season and will take up a position as Assistant Coach with Leinster Rugby ahead of their 2024/25 season.
 
Bleyendaal admitted the decision to leave the Hurricanes was a difficult one but was excited about the new challenge ahead as well as the opportunity to return to a country he is no stranger too – having played 62 times with Munster, including captaining them on 11 occasions. 
 
“I’d like to thank Hurricanes CEO Avan Lee, Clark and the coaching team as well as all of the players and staff involved at the Hurricanes for a brilliant few years. I am very grateful for the opportunity they gave me as a young coach and the experiences we have shared together since then.
 
“The opportunity to test myself in another environment and in another competition was one that I was very keen to explore, and I am equally grateful to Leo Cullen (Leinster Head Coach) for the chance to continue my growth as a coach. I am looking forward to joining Leinster Rugby ahead of next season and my family and I are very excited for the adventure ahead in a country that we hold dear.
 
“Until then, all my focus will be on the Hurricanes and doing all we can to finish out the season strong.”
 
Hurricanes Head Coach Clark Laidlaw said Bleyendaal leaving would be a huge loss to the club but was supportive of his next move and wished him and his family all the best. 
 
“Tyler is an integral part of the coaching team we have here at the Hurricanes, and it will be sad to see him go. He’s done an amazing job with the players and team, and the players fully trust his coaching and attack ideas. 
 
“But I do wish him, his wife Laura and his two boys Bodhi and Riley all the best for their next chapter of their journey. I am excited to see what he does over in Ireland and look forward to staying connected in the future.
 
“We will now assess what we think the team and coaching group needs in regards of replacing Tyler, for us to continue to grow and improve as a team.”