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Tony Brown's rejection of All Blacks role solidifies future with Highlanders
The All Blacks‘ loss of Tony Brown as a potential coaching candidate has become the Highlanders’ gain.
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The Japan assistant coach was considered one of a few frontrunners who were in contention to replace Steve Hansen as All Blacks head coach following New Zealand’s World Cup semi-final exit, alongside the likes of long-term coaching partner Jamie Joseph, Ian Foster, Scott Robertson, Dave Rennie and Warren Gatland.
His decision to join Joseph in re-committing himself to the Brave Blossoms through to the 2023 World Cup in France following their maiden appearance in the tournament’s quarter-finals last month, though, has ruled the pair out of the running to become Hansen’s successor, which is good news for the Highlanders.
The Season: Hamilton Boys High School – Episode 2
The Dunedin-based Super Rugby franchise signed Brown as an assistant coach to Aaron Mauger on a three-year deal in May, but murmurings of the 44-year-old’s potential involvement with the All Blacks sparked concerns that that could have confined his agreement with the Highlanders to just one season.
However, his contract extension with Japan means he is fully available to stay with the Highlanders – the club of which he played for 91 times over 10 seasons and coached in various roles between 2014 and 2017 – through until 2022.
“It is a massive coup for us. Everybody wants him – the All Blacks wanted him and now we have got him for the next three years,” Highlanders chief executive Roger Clark told the Otago Daily Times.
“It’s incredibly exciting for our fans.”
Schoolboy sprint star Edward Osei-Nketia has left New Zealand Rugby bosses in awe during his first venture into rugby sevens at the Red Bull Ignite 7 camp in Auckland. #redbullignite7 https://t.co/2s1FiRhRtX
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Clark said the acquisition of Brown, who played in 18 tests for the All Blacks as a first-five between 1999 and 2001, would be a significant boost for the side’s young players given his renowned ability as an attack coach.
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It is in that role where Brown will be utilised during his second coaching stint with the franchise, while he will also be in charge of the team’s game plan.
His dual roles with Japan and the Highlanders will make his coaching schedule a challenging one over the next three years, but Clark said it would be manageable thanks to the contrasting international rugby and Super Rugby calendars.
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The revamped 2020 Super Rugby season will begin in January and conclude in June, while the test rugby windows are in July and November.
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From 2021, when the competition reverts to a round-robin format following as a result of the expulsion of the Sunwolves, Super Rugby will start in mid-February and finish in June.
After having previously juggled coaching roles with the Sunwolves and Japan, Clark told the ODT that he was confident that Brown will be capable of carrying out his duties with both the Highlanders and the Brave Blossoms simultaneously.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Ireland have played the ABs since the first game 1905 a total of 37 times. The ABs have won 32 and Ireland 5 times. If we look since the first WC, then they have played each other 28 times. All Ireland’s 5 wins have come since 2016. So the ABs won 23 games. Since Ireland won their first game in 2016, they have won 5 and the ABs 4 times. Fairly even. Whatever anyone says, beating ABs consistently is bloody difficult, and when you manage to win a few, show respect to them. Period.
175 Go to comments‘Mom'.
1 Go to commentsA specialist in hitting smaller guys hard and late. Serial cheap shot merchant who deserves more than the usual token sanction for such actions.
1 Go to commentsI like to see the Crusaders lose as much as the next non-Crusaders fan, but the fact that most of their best players have not been available this year is being hand waved away like it shouldn’t effect them. It’s no coincidence that their first dominant performance came when they had more of their best players back. This is not rocket science. If they can stay fit their team at the business end of the season will include Tamaiti Williams, Codie Taylor, Fletcher Newell, Scott Barrett, Quentin Strange, Ethan Blackadder and Cullen Grace in the forwards - most of whom have barely, or not played this year. That is an outstanding pack that have not played together this season. McLeod, Havili, Aumua, Reece, and Halfpenny will be a very different prospect behind their first choice pack as well. Having said all that Penney’s record is scratchy at best, but given the players that have left and their injury list I’m reserving judgement. Penney’s appointment, a bit like Foz, has a similar stench of the incumbent having too much say in his replacement. They are lacking a truly high quality and experienced 10 which will make it hard for them to go the whole way IMO, but the list of teams who would want to play them in the finals will be very short.
17 Go to commentsWhere’s this people's champion come from? Irish people yes….other people? Their arrogance has become breathtaking. Not tested? Oh dear.
175 Go to commentsIf a coach having Crusaders heritage is so sacrosanct, why did the Crusaders not pursue Vern Cotter as Scott Robertson’s replacement?
17 Go to commentsFinau is definitely operating on razor thin margins. He hasn’t done anything wrong… yet. But a player going into contact 6 inches lower than he is expecting, without him even knowing, will end in disaster. You can imagine a situation where the pass dies on Edmed and he has to bend down a little lower to catch it at the last second. Finau’s hit would have been catastrophic. The margins are just too fine. He needs to study how PSDT, at 6’7”, manages to drop his tackle height and exert just as much force with close zero danger of taking someone’s head off. Given how poorly NZ has adapted to lower their tackle height, and that this issue which has plagued the ABs for years and played a big part in them not winning the World Cup, I thought NZR and all SR coaches would be prioritising sorting this issue out. If I was Razor I would be on the phone to Clayton MacMillan and Samipeni Finau saying exactly that. Finau is a monster and shaping up to be the closest thing to Kaino since Kaino, but I wouldn’t risk selecting him for the ABs at the moment.
18 Go to commentsThe surprising stat I saw in the Blues game when showing Sotutu equaling the Blues forwards record was that Akira has not scored a try since 2019. Now my memory is pretty bad when it comes to those sorts of the things, I can remember his AB try though, but anyway I can’t see I can remember his last blues touchdown or any in recent years. Surely that still has to be a bogus stat. Maybe excludes SRA games?
3 Go to commentsDude to me looks pretty fast for a big man, nearly 2m and 130kg, in his workout vid he was signed off. Possibly a bit slow on his reads movement wise though, but I’ve not got anything to compare him to. Hope the dude nails it and finds his sport, could have been a devastating lock in rugby if he wasn’t a footballer growing up.
4 Go to commentsWell, does that make it every year Moana has lost it’s best player the following year? Normally it’s more immediate I guess, at least there best player had a follow up year this time.
1 Go to commentsFinally, an answer to Dan Carter.
1 Go to commentsNever read such tripe. He was hit just as he passed the ball which was reviewed and deemed legal by yes the Australian TMO and referee
18 Go to commentsTerrible idea…will be too hot, no one will travel, fan zones will be promised nice cold guinness and last minute will get water. Also how do you squeeze this into the already busy battle rhythm, Prem, summer series, 6 nations & world cup….if, and its a big IF you’re going to do this, do it in a rugby nation.
2 Go to commentsWell let’s hope world rugby doesn't read some of this nonsense, because next on the agenda will be…“players will only tackle other players deemed to be in their weight class, and only with moderate velocity”.
18 Go to commentsI was never allowed to adjust boots, or ever replaced, while I was playing and staying on the field. If I had issues, I had to go to the sideline and fix them myself. Then I would ask the ref to get back in. That would really make you deal with it FAST!
6 Go to commentsGreat point. It would be terrible to have a card for poor tackling cost the all blacks a world cup. Oh hi all blacks captain Sam Cane, how you going?
18 Go to commentsI like Andy’s critical approach to all hot issues especially when it comes to the rugby big “bosses”. However, sorry Andy, I don’t support your “we shouldn’t be questioning the integrity of Karl Dickson or any other official”. May I ask why? They do have a lot of responsibility, but they are people like us with all their sins and weaknesses. We have to respect their decision during the games, but why they became untouchable afterwards and people cannot even criticize them and the ones, who does express their concerns, got punished for publicly analyzing their mistakes and asking questions. If they believe they did right, there shouldn’t be a problem for any of the refs to answer these “questions” publicly. I don’t really remember such cases. However, I do remember how Craig Joubert shown his running skills in 2015 or Pascal Gauzere shined in Cardiff in 2021. I do believe that Rassie, as anybody else, had a full right to share his vision of Nic Berry’s performance the same year. I do not support the hate in any form especially in public one, but creating the cast of untouchable refs and rugby bosses is not for me. As for Karl, he had all means to question his appointment for the game and since I don’t now whether he did it, blaming just RFU wouldn’t be quite correct at this moment. I love the game of rugby and almost every time I watch it I don’t support any team, I just wanna see the good game and fair referring. Sorry, Karl. last Saturday you got my Craig Joubert”s award of the round. It is up to Karl to prove that I am wrong, not to Andy or RFU’s corporate bla-bla-bla. Something like that…
1 Go to commentswell remember the blues had a guy called jed rowlands for a season. remember scott took his coaching team with him give him time
17 Go to commentswell maybe he needs to be introduced to darcy swain then who never got anything much and put a cheifs ands allblack player out injured and made him miss a season recovering
18 Go to commentswell maybe the match offficals should sort it out if they are worried about it and stop the clock
6 Go to comments