The 41-year-old Hurricanes coach takes over at the Arms Park this summer when he swaps New Zealand for Wales, just as Graham Henry and Steve Hansen did previously.
John and McIntosh have been in interim charge of the team since Phil Davies resigned in March and they are being kept on as assistant coaches after steering the Blues to four wins in their last six matches of the campaign, including their Judgement Day victory over the Scarlets, a shock success against Ulster and away wins at Connacht and Edinburgh.
The string of positive results lifted the Arms Park region from 10th in the RaboDirect PRO12 standings to a final position of seventh, overtaking rivals Newport Gwent Dragons in the process.
John expects to meet the 29-times capped former hooker in June, when Hammett makes an initial visit to the Welsh capital, and he is keen to kick on from a promising end to the season.
“Me and ‘Chief’ (McIntosh) are looking forward to working with Mark and keeping on with the progress we’ve made,” said John.
“He’s a very, very experienced coach at the highest level and a former All Black, so it’s a going to be a positive him coming here.
“We’re meeting him, I think, in June, when he’ll be popping over to have a look at the environment and houses and everything. So we’ll meet him then and it will be good to have a chat with him and get pre-season organised.”
John, who also coaches SWALEC Cup and Principality Premiership Champions Pontypridd, is confident Hammett will quickly get a feel for the region and Welsh rugby and “get his principles in place”.
