'I just wonder if Jamie Joseph might be on the radar'
On Thursday evening, the Highlanders announced that head coach Aaron Mauger would be parting ways with the Super Rugby franchise.
The Highlanders achieved two quarter-final finishes in the first two years of Mauger’s regime but were hit hard in the latest off-season, losing the likes of Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo and Luke Whitelock overseas.
Those losses left Mauger with a massive rebuild on his hands and the early season results weren’t especially favourable, with the Highlanders booking a sole victory from four attempts. The former All Blacks midfielder appeared to turn things around before Super Rugby Aotearoa kicked off, however, and the Highlanders picked up three wins from their eight matches.
That evidently wasn’t a good enough turn around for the Highlanders powers that be, however, and New Zealand’s southernmost franchise is now on the lookout for a new head coach.
Assistants Clarke Dermody and Tony Brown will remain on the books, but former Highlanders coach Laurie Mains has suggested that the best man to take over the team could be the only man that’s ever led the team to a Super Rugby championship.
“It was a dud year really – in a whole lot of ways.”
Former #AllBlacks fullback and @Highlanders legend Ben Smith spoke candidly with @TomVinicombe about his final season in New Zealand.https://t.co/SaZqz502np
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 27, 2020
“I just wonder with Japan really winding back their activities in rugby, I just wonder if Jamie Joseph might be on the radar, given that him and Tony Brown have proved to be a formidable combination,” Mains said.
Mains coached the Highlanders for two years in the early 2000 – almost ten years after he’d last coached the New Zealand nation side.
Following last year’s incredibly successful Rugby World Cup, Japan’s Top League has attracted massive crowds. The season was called off earlier this year due to COVID-19 and the Sunwolves have also played their final Super Rugby season.
There are suggestions that even next year’s Top League competition could be threatened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Joseph has remained head coach of the Japanese national side following last year’s quarter-final finish at the World Cup and previously coached the Highlanders from 2011 until 2016, winning the Super Rugby title in 2015.
While the Highlanders would no doubt love to bring Joseph back to New Zealand, the coach has previously spoken of how much he enjoys taking charge of the Brave Blossoms – and turned down the opportunity to interview for the All Blacks coaching role due to his loyalties to Japan.
“The decision was really difficult,” Joseph told the Otago Daily Times earlier this year. “In hindsight, I feel that the landscape for coaches overseas has really changed, there’s a lot of New Zealand coaches that are coaching all over the world, and the process in New Zealand didn’t really allow me to consider it seriously enough.
“What I mean by that is, applying for a job and applying for a job at the same time you’re applying for another job doesn’t show much loyalty.
“I guess one of those values that we [Joseph and Tony Brown] learned at Otago back in the day when we were coming up through the ranks was loyalty is a big factor, just because it is professional, for me it’s really important.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Think it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
237 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to comments