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'We lost our identity': Tony Brown's subtle dig at sacked Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger
By Online Editors
New Highlanders coach Tony Brown has had a subtle dig at Aaron Mauger, saying the team lost their identity during his tenure.
Mauger was dumped as head coach of the Highlanders in September after three years in charge following an internal review at the end of this year's Super Rugby Aotearoa.
Brown, who served as attack coach under Mauger this year, says the Dunedin franchise needs to rediscover its "identity", something he believes they've lost in the last few years.
"I just think it's really important that we create an identity that's [the] Highlanders," Brown said.
"I think potentially we might have lost a little bit of that over the last few years.
"I want to take us back to that identity and make sure the players understand that, what the environment is about, play good footy and entertain the fans."
The Highlanders haven't managed to replicate the success under Jamie Joseph and Brown, when they took out the Super Rugby crown in 2015.
They've since also lost a host of experienced players like former All Blacks Ben Smith and Waisake Naholo.
Brown and Mauger will go head-to-head this weekend when the Moana Pasfika side take on the M?ori All Blacks.
Meanwhile, the Highlanders revealed their Super Rugby squad for 2021 headlined by the return of Liam Squire who is back from a brief stint playing in Japan.
There are six new faces and two returning players in the team co-captained by Ash Dixon and Aaron Smith.
Highlanders' 2021 Super Rugby squad
Props: Ayden Johnstone, Siate Tokolahi, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Jeff Thwaites, Ethan de Groot, Jermaine Ainsley, Josh Hohneck
Hookers: Ricky Jackson, Ash Dixon, Liam Coltman
Locks: Pari Pari Parkinson, Josh Dickson, Maanaki Selby-Rickit, Bryn Evans
Loose forwards: Billy Harmon, James Lentjes, Shannon Frizell, Marino Mikaele Tu'u, Sione Misiloi, Teariki Ben-Nicholas, Liam Squire, Kazuki Himeno
Halfbacks: Aaron Smith, Kayne Hammington, Folau Fakatava
First-fives: Josh Ioane, Mitchell Hunt
Midfield: Fetuli Paea, Sio Tomkinson, Thomas Umaga Jensen, Ngane Punivai
Outside backs: Nehe Milner Skudder, Connor Garden Bachop, Scott Gregory, Jona Nareki, Solomon Alaimalo, Michael Collins, Sam Gilbert, Vilimoni Koroi
Listen to the latest episode of the Aoteaora Rugby Pod below:
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Latest Comments
The England backs can't be that dumb, he has been playing on and off for the last couple of years. If they are too slow to keep up with him that's another matter.
He was the only thing stopping England from getting their arses handed to them in the Aussie game. If you can't fit a player with that skill set into an England team then they are stuffed.
Go to commentsSteve Borthwick appointment was misguided based on two flawed premises.
1. An overblown sense of the quality of the premiership rugby. The gap between the Premiership and Test rugby is enormous
2. England needed an English coach who understood English Rugby and it's traditional strengths.
SB won the premiership and was an England forward and did a great job with the Japanese forwards but neither of those qualify you as a tier 1 test manager.
Maybe Felix Jones and Aled Walter's departures are down to the fact that SB is a details man, which work at club level but at test level you need the manager to manage and let the coaches get on and do what they are employed for.
SB criticism of players is straight out of Eddie Jones playbook but his loyalty to keeping out of form players borne out of his perceived sense of betrayal as a player.
In all it doesn't stack up as the qualities needed to be a modern Test coach /Manager
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