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Report: Ex-Highlanders head coach set for Moana Pasifika job
Former Highlanders boss Aaron Mauger is reportedly set to be confirmed as the inaugural Moana Pasifika head coach.
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According to RNZ, New Zealand Rugby [NZR] is set to announce the Super Rugby expansion franchise will be given the green light to compete in next year’s revamped edition of the competition on Monday.
The report comes three months after NZR granted conditional licences to Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua to join a 12-team version of Super Rugby, which will also feature 10 existing franchises from New Zealand and Australia.
The licences were issued to Moana Pasifika and the Fijian Drua provided that they prove their financial viability and Rugby Australia [RA] signs off of their addition to the competition.
It was expected both teams would be confirmed to compete in next year’s Super Rugby by the end of June, but complications over the tournament’s format has led to a delay of that announcement.
However, RNZ reports confirmation of Moana Pasifika’s inclusion is set to be announced on Monday, which will allow the franchise to begin player recruitment for its debut season in Super Rugby.
Moana Pasifika’s off-field recruitment drive has reportedly already begun, though, as, according to RNZ, Monday’s announcement will also unveil Mauger as the franchise’s first-ever full-time head coach.
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The former All Blacks five-eighth, who is of Samoan and Cook Islander descent, was part of the Moana Pasifika coaching set-up for last year’s one-off clash against the Maori All Blacks and has plenty of experience to his name.
After first entering the realm of professional coaching as Crusaders assistant coach in 2013, Mauger was appointed as Leicester Tigers head coach in 2015.
It was at Welford Road where the 40-year-old won the now-defunct Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2017, the same year of which he departed England to replace Tony Brown as Highlanders head coach ahead of the 2018 Super Rugby season.
Mauger struggled for results during his three-year tenure at the helm of the Dunedin-based franchise as he accrued just 20 wins from 48 matches between 2018 and 2020.
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The Highlanders opted against renewing the 46-test international’s contract beyond last year, leaving Mauger to take up coaching and mentoring roles at John McGlashan College.
All Blacks assistant coach Brad Mooar has hinted that another upheaval of players could be in the offing for a third straight week ahead of this Saturday’s clash with Fiji in Hamilton. #NZLvFIJ #AllBlacks https://t.co/WuLgd4bVJw
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 12, 2021
Mauger also acts as a coaching advisor to Kaikorai in the Dunedin club competition, while he also has international coaching experience as Manu Samoa assistant coach in 2017.
RNZ reports former All Blacks loose forward Filo Tiatia will also be announced as Mauger’s assistant coach on Monday.
It comes just months after Tiatia resigned from his role as Auckland assistant coach amid a breakdown of relationships between players and coaches at the provincial union.
Tiatia, the older brother of ex-Manu Samoa hooker Ace, has almost a decade-and-a-half of professional coaching experience in New Zealand, Japan and Wales.
In addition to his previous role with Auckland, the 50-year-old has also acted as an assistant coach for United Rugby Championship (formerly PRO14) club Ospreys, Top League side Toyota Verblitz, axed Super Rugby franchise, the Sunwolves, and the Japan national side.
As a head coach, Tiatia, who played two tests for the All Blacks in 2000, took charge of Toyota Verblitz between 2012 and 2015 and the Sunwolves in 2017.
It remains unclear whether Monday’s reported announcement will provide an update on the admission status of the Fijian Drua, which is in talks with numerous private investors and is receiving funds from the Australian government.
A decision on the format of next year’s Super Rugby, meanwhile, is expected in the near future as Stuff reports NZR is open to RA’s request for an eight-team play-offs structure, which would follow a singular round-robin regular season.
Such a set-up would ensure at least one Australian team will participate in the post-season, which would alleviate concerns from RA about a lopsided competition following New Zealand’s dominance in this year’s Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.
Comments on RugbyPass
Good on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
21 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
21 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
21 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
21 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
21 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
2 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
4 Go to commentshit on Lynagh was defo late and card-worthy. The other 2 are bang on OK. Hurts you at Test level if youre timing is off and the nostrils are flared. Jerry C knew when to lean in on one, Finau just needs to keep his discipline and head straight.
7 Go to commentsSlade was exceptional against Gloucester. Not only was he doing the classic Slade stuff of running amazing lines and timing passes to perfection to put his wingers into space, he was kicking goals, flying off the line smashing people and crashing into rucks like a flanker… his hair even looked on point. 😍
1 Go to commentsThat’s really sad, hope everyone involved is ok. At least he had pants on.
4 Go to commentsTo be fair it was nowhere bear the Leinster first team (for which, btw, Leinster copped nothing like the outrage that Jake White did for sending a rotated team to the UK). But it’s fun to watch the Stormers doing their thing. They are attracting big, diverse crowds of young fans, and deservedly so. Great to see.
1 Go to commentsIt might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
7 Go to commentsCan we also show some love for Tane Edmed’s fantastic draw and pass? Put his body on the line and committed the defender before letting go of that pass. Flawless skill.
7 Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
8 Go to commentsDanny don't care. He pretends to care but he don't. He says all this stuff to justify his reasoning but no one can claim that legitimately. He knew exactly what he was doing and wondered if his old team mate would overlook it, which he did. Ref has got to be sidelined or properly trained. It's one thing for refs to move up the ranks but if it was me I would require refs to either have played in different clubs or not at all having the temptation to bias in high stakes games like this. This has got to be stamped out. But then again World Rugby is so destroying the game of rugby in an attempt to be more “safe” and “concussion free”. What they are doing is making it more infuriating for the fans and more difficult for the refs to officiate evenly and consistently. It's fast become Australian Rules football. If guys don't want concussions, they should have played chess. Stop complaining you oldies of the game. When they played the game was vastly heavier hitting than it is now but of course they can't see that.
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