The next generation of Hurricanes are in safe hands after the appointment of Darren Larsen to the role of Recruitment and Development Manager.

After a year in charge of the Wellington Rugby Academy, Larsen will transfer his considerable skill and knowledge into the Hurricanes when he officially takes up his new job on January 24.

Though based in Wellington, Larsen will be oversee the Hurricanes youth development programmes throughout the region including from the Hurricanes age grade teams, regional academies, and apprentice programmes as well as assisting with the management of the club's relationships with its eight provincial unions.

Working under Hurricanes General Manager High Performance Chris Stirling, Larsen will effectively be charged with unearthing and nurturing the club's next generation of talent on their journey to the professional ranks.

"The key is building the matrix to see where we have gaps in the future and how we can track those players as they come through our system," he said. "From recruitment and retention we already identify and develop the talent when they are in the provincial unions, but as the Hurricanes club we need to make sure we are following up on them while they are with their provincial unions."

Larsen said the focus was to have a holistic approach that covered a player's well-being and provided them with a clear plan to achieve their goals.

"The proactive part is following through with the players who have been identified. We need to make sure we are plugged into where they are with strength and conditioning, mental skills and study. It's how are we going to get them to Mitre 10 Cup, then, when they get there, how do we get them to the Hurricanes?"

Working closely with provincial union coaches, who currently do a great job, and making sure player development guidelines are aligned would be a big focus, Larsen said

"Some go back to their provinces, some go off to play club rugby, but how do we manage that and track that, and give feedback to how that went for the Hurricanes coaches? Others are in rehab, or needing to work on individual skills and many of them are still very young.

"There are a lot of players from our youth development programmes who take part in Hurricanes training both pre-season and in-season. Part of my role is to coordinate their time while they are in the Hurricanes environment.

"When they arrive back at their provincial unions we want to make sure they turn up with a plan, and that it is followed up by the Hurricanes staff. We have an investment and we want to make sure that investment in players is being tracked right through."

Larsen's work will allow him to relay accurate and up to date information on player's diets, training, fitness, attitude and mental state to Stirling.

There will also be a coaching development element to the role with Larsen working alongside Stirling to plan and deliver the club's Regional Coaching Programme, which will include the 2017 Hurricanes coaching staff.

In addition, Larsen will also be the head coach of the Hurricanes U18s , U20s and Development teams.