Loose forward Gareth Evans has extended his stay at the Hurricanes until the end of the 2020 season.
Evans, who made his All Blacks debut off the bench against Japan in last night's test, was one of the stand-out players for the Hurricanes during the 2018 Investec Super Rugby season.
The 27-year-old has been released to take up a short two-month contract with Japanese club NTT Docomo.
Evans will assemble with the club today and play for the rest of the year before rejoining the Hurricanes in January for the remainder of the pre-season ahead of the 2019 Super Rugby competition.
Hurricanes General Manager of Rugby Ben Castle was delighted to have Evans commit to the club until at least the end of the 2020 season.
"We saw just how good Gareth was throughout last season and he certainly made his presence felt. It was good reward for all his hard work to see him playing for the All Blacks," Castle said.
"He is a player who will offer our club a lot over the next two seasons on and off the field."
NTT Docomo, known as the Red Hurricanes in Japan, is coached by former All Blacks captain Mike Brewer.
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