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How Tony Brown kept potential Highlanders bolter from leaving New Zealand for France

By Online Editors
New Highlanders recruit Tima Fainga'anuku. (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Returning Highlanders assistant coach Tony Brown is the reason that the club’s newest recruit Tima Fainga’anuku decided to stay in New Zealand rather than resume his playing career in France.

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The 22-year-old winger was drafted into Aaron Mauger’s squad last week as an injury replacement for youngster Connor Garden-Bachop, who will miss the entirety of next season after undergoing surgery to fix a troublesome back injury.

Fainga’anuku’s rise into the Dunedin-based franchise came after an impressive Mitre 10 Cup campaign with his native Tasman side, which went on an undefeated run to the Premiership title this year.

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His barnstorming form for the Mako came after he missed out on a Super Rugby contract this year, despite having made an appearance for the Crusaders during their title-winning season in 2018.

Fainga’anuku’s omission from Scott Robertson’s squad forced him to look at playing options abroad, and he surprised many by taking up an offer to move to France, where he joined Perpignan on a short-term deal for the 2018-19 European domestic campaign.

He returned to New Zealand this year, but despite his improved displays in the Mitre 10 Cup, another full-time Super Rugby contract went begging upon the announcements of next year’s squads last month.

That was until Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark called Fainga’anuku with an offer to replace Garden-Bachop, but with a return to France on the table – albeit in the Pro D2 following Perpignan’s relegation from the Top 14 last season – it was something the former New Zealand U20 representative took some time to consider.

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“It was a pretty tough decision [to stay in New Zealand],” he told Stuff. “I really enjoyed France. I really loved not just France but Europe.

“I enjoyed my time overseas. I learnt so much off the field. It’s just a good life experience.

“After the New Zealand U20s if you don’t get picked up [by Super Rugby teams] there is an in between.

“I felt like a good enough player to just be playing. I didn’t want to sit around. Rugby’s just a game for me. I just love playing it and meeting new people, I just wanted to play.”

However, Fainga’anuku revealed that the presence of Tony Brown in the Highlanders’ coaching ranks in 2020 was enough to persuade him to relocate to Dunedin rather than move back to Europe.

“Tony Brown is a legend,” he said. “When the opportunity came up I had a think about it but that motivated me, just to sponge up from him.”

After having taken charge of the Highlanders as both an assistant and head coach between 2014 and 2017, Brown established his coaching credentials on the global stage at the World Cup this year after helping Jamie Joseph take Japan to their maiden quarter-final appearance in compelling fashion.

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Brown was credited with formulating the Brave Blossoms’ scintillating attacking play and precise backline moves which captivated onlookers not just within Japan, but across the world.

Fainga’anuku was one of many admirers of Brown’s coaching exploits, and the 44-year-old’s return to Forsyth Barr Stadium on a three-year deal proved to be the clincher in securing the speedster’s services ahead of the 2020 Super Rugby season.

“He’s sort of like a guru,” Fainga’anuku said to Stuff of Brown. “A few of the boys kick with their dominant foot and struggle with their other foot.

“But we had one kicking session and most of the boys now feel comfortable kicking off their least dominant foot. I’m not sure how he does it.

“I think he just puts so much behind making people better that it works.”

After shedding eight kilos from his 115kg frame since linking up with his new teammates over pre-season, the explosive Fainga’anuku is eyeing up a match against his younger brother, Leicester, in the Highlanders’ pre-season fixture against the Crusaders in Wanaka on January 24.

After having grown up in the Crusaders’ region before being axed by the back-to-back-to-back reigning Super Rugby champions, there should be no lack of motivation for Fainga’anuku as he prepares to face his former side, although he bears no grudges.

“I didn’t really get an opportunity but I felt like I learnt a lot,” he said.

“When the Highlanders opportunity came up I looked as it as fresh start. It’s been a bit of a ride for me in my career.”

The Crusaders clash in Central Otago is one of two pre-season fixtures for the Highlanders, with the first of which coming against the Waratahs in Sydney a week beforehand.

The Highlanders will then get their regular season underway against the Sharks at Forsyth Barr Stadium on February 7.

In other news:

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J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 12 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

39 Go to comments
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