Mauger named new Highlanders Head Coach
Former All Black Aaron Mauger will be the Pulse Energy Highlanders’ Head Coach from 2018 after signing a three-year deal with the southern club, CEO Roger Clark announced today.
“We are very excited to welcome Aaron Mauger as our Head Coach for next three Investec Super Rugby campaigns. He is a high calibre coach and we are stoked to share this news with Highlanders fans,” Clark said.
Mauger’s appointment locks in an impressively experienced coaching team for 2018, with Mark Hammett, Clarke Dermody, and Jon Preston all confirmed to remain with the club. Recruitment for an additional assistant coach (defence) will commence over the next month.
“It’s been no secret we have been looking for a replacement for Tony Brown since he signalled his departure for Japan.
Mauger is excited by the challenge: “I feel very honoured to join the Highlanders family and to lead the Highlanders as Head Coach. The club has become a consistent performer at the top of the competition in recent years and we look forward to the challenge of growing our game and achieving great things as a club.
“The Highlanders have a solid foundation of good core values and a tight knit culture. It’s a credit to all those who have worked hard to establish an environment that allows people to express themselves and thrive as individuals.
“We have a strong squad, a quality group of coaches in Mark, Clarke and Jon as well as a very passionate management team and support staff – all of whom bring massive experience and quality to their respective roles.
“I am excited at the prospect of working with this team to help further the Highlanders and grow our connections with fans across the region, and around the globe. We want to deliver a type of rugby that makes them all proud to wear our colours,” Mauger said.
New Zealand Rugby Head of Rugby Neil Sorensen welcomed Mauger’s appointment as great news for Highlanders fans, and rugby fans in general.
“The Highlanders have done a fantastic job in securing Aaron to come home. His appointment is great news for Highlanders’, and New Zealand, rugby and we look forward to seeing him step up to this role,” Sorensen said.
Aaron Mauger
Mauger had a stellar career as a player appearing 89 times for the Crusaders and 46 games for the All Blacks in 2001-2007. He played three seasons for the Leicester Tigers before retiring due to back issues in 2010. Following his playing career, he had a brief stint coaching with the Crusaders before signing as Head Coach of the Leicester Tigers in 2015.
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Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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