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Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger sheds light on Josh Ioane's shock switch
By Online Editors
By Christopher Reive, NZ Herald
Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger has explained the decision to play Josh Ioane in the midfield after the 23-year-old's shock positional switch for the Super Rugby season.
Just a year removed from his breakout campaign as the Highlanders' first-choice first five-eighth earned him a place in the All Blacks squad, Ioane has been wearing the No12 jersey for the entirety of the 2020 season so far.
Speaking to Radio Sport's D'Arcy Waldegrave, Mauger said that's where Ioane's future in the game could lie.
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"In terms of what he can do and his all-around game, I think he's a guy who can really push for higher honours in that role, being a genuine 12/10 option."
Ioane has ceded the No10 jersey to new recruit Mitch Hunt, who joined the club from the Crusaders following the 2019 campaign, while Josh McKay and Michael Collins have shared duties at fullback.
Running two playmakers in the starting XV allows the Highlanders to play at pace, which has shown promise through the opening rounds of the season.
"I think if you look at the two opportunities we finished last week (against the Crusaders), those guys were both in amongst it," Mauger pointed out.
"We want to play fast, there's no secret to it."
"freshen things up".
Prop Ayden Johnstone and hooker Liam Coltman swap places with Daniel Lienert-Brown and Ash Dixon, the latter moving into the starting side, while lock Jack Whetton replaces the injured Josh Dickson and Teariki Ben-Nicholas replaces Shannon Frizell who is observing his first All Blacks rest week.
In the back line, McKay earns a recall to the starting side on the wing, with Collins retaining the No15 jersey.
This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished with permission.
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Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
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