John Plumtree

Plumtree was born on 16 July 1965 in Hāwera, Taranaki. Plumtree and Lions coach John Mitchell were born and grew up in the same town, however, they only got to know one another later as players and coaches. Plumtree attended Hawera High School from 1976 to 1980. == Playing career ==

Playing as a flanker in his native New Zealand, Plumtree represented Taranaki in the NPC 40 times, debuting in 1985. In 1989 he was selected to participate in trials for the All Blacks team. Reflecting on this move he later told the New Zealand Herald: "I did not want to get caught being a young rugby player in a small town for a long time. I thought if I got out of Hāwera for a little while another door might open up." So he accepted the opportunity to play for Durban High School Old Boys RFC, home to quite a number of overseas players at the time. These included Murray Mexted, Mike Teague, Chris Butcher, Martin Whitcombe and Peter Winterbottom. In 1988 Plumtree was selected by the then coach, Ian McIntosh. == Coaching career ==

According to the BBC, Plumtree was an assistant coach with the College Rovers in North Durban, helping them win "three successive Natal titles and the South African club championship in 1994-95". After retiring as a player, Plumtree coached the Swansea Rugby Football Club in Wales for five seasons, winning the Welsh Cup (1999), the Welsh League (1998), and the Welsh-Scottish League (2001). Plumtree returned to South Africa after he found that he was not to be given a New Zealand side in the Super Rugby tournament. Despite his success with Wellington, he was not appointed to guide the Wellington-based Hurricanes, as had been expected Plumtree was appointed head coach of the Sharks in 2008. He successfully coached the Sharks to their first Currie Cup win since 1996, for which he was named the 2008 Absa Coach of the Year. Under Plumtree the Sharks had again reached the top of the Currie Cup log by September 2009. In August 2009 the Sharks' coach received the Coach of the Month award from Currie Cup sponsors Absa. The 2010 season was not off to a good start after a terrible Super 14 season for the Sharks however in the shadow of the abysmal performance, the 2010 Currie Cup season was highly successful for Plumtree as the Sharks won the 2010 ABSA Currie Cup. In 2013 he was confirmed as Forwards Coach for the Ireland national team, working alongside new head coach Joe Schmidt. In the 2015 season Plumtree became the assistant coach of the Hurricanes Super 15 franchise with Chris Boyd being the head coach. == Personal life ==

One of Plumtree's sons, Troy Plumtree, is a basketball player. Plumtree has another son, Taine Plumtree who is a professional rugby player for Scarlets and Wales. == References ==