Former All Black joins Auckland coaching staff

Filo Tiatia has joined former All Black teammate Alama Ieremia's Auckland coaching staff.

The two-cap All Black most recently coached the Sunwolves before being replaced by Jamie Joseph.

Tiatia adds to Auckland's already impressive coaching stable, where he will join Ieremia, Tai Lavea and Sir Graham Henry.

46-year-old Tiatia is excited to be involved with the famous province, who have won New Zealand's domestic competition a record 16 times.

“It’s always been a passion of mine to coach an established and proud province.

"I’ve been overseas for a long time growing, learning and shaping my craft for almost 17 years, so when the chance came up to apply it was an easy decision for me.”

Tiatia's primary role will be working with the forwards, where he plied his trade at the highest level for 19 years.

Head Coach Alama Ieremia is looking forward to seeing the impact Tiatia's energy and innovation has on the team.

“The forwards are the soul of your team, and the energy and experience Filo brings will reflect the character and desire of this Auckland side in the collision areas.”

“Filo has shown his innovation through his previous coaching work with the Sunwolves in Super Rugby.

"Their contact, lineout and set-piece showed how to work with the players you have to maximise their effectiveness on the field.”