Jury steps up to senior coaching staff

HIGHLANDERS development coach Kane Jury is to join the side’s coaching staff.

With Tony Brown heading off to coach Japan, Jury will move into the senior side’s coaching team after being involved in the Highlanders under20 team.

Jury has coached at a senior club level and was assistant coach of the Fijian national sevens side.

Jury will help skills coach Riki Flutey. Flutey will look after the attack side of the game.

Brown will still provide the game plan to the team while Clarke Dermody will continue coaching the forwards and set piece and Shane Christie will stay concentrating on defence.

Brown, who joked he would take a golf club, golf balls, squash racket and a squash ball into his four weeks of isolation, said Dermody understood the role of head coach.

‘‘With me being available to set up the campaign last year and him with Tasman, that was the reason I took up the job. For me, I am comfortable with him as head coach and me as an assistant. Not too concerned with the head role. I’m comfortable doing it [head coach] and so is he,’’ Brown said.

Dermody is lined up to take over from Brown in 2023.

The clash between his Highlanders and Japan coaching jobs was unlikely to happen next year, Brown said, as there would be clear international windows.

The Highlanders take on the Reds in the first match of the Super Rugby TransTasman competition next Friday. Brown said yesterday no injured players would come back into the side in the foreseeable future.