Highlanders new coaching team revealed

Jason Oxenham/Fairfax NZ

NEW TEAM: Highlanders' coach Jamie Joseph will be joined by a trio of All Blacks - Jon Preston, Graham Purvis and Scott McLeod - at the franchise next season.

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The Highlanders will have two new assistant coaches and a new manager for the 2013 Super Rugby season.

Former All Blacks Scott McLeod, Jon Preston and Graham Purvis will join head coach Jamie Joseph - himself a former All Black - during the next few weeks and begin planning for next year's campaign.

McLeod and Preston will take over as assistant coaches from Southland's Simon Culhane and Kieran Keane, who have been involved with the Highlanders during the past two years.

Purvis replaces former Southland centurion and All Blacks flanker Leicester Rutledge as manager.

Highlanders general manager Roger Clark was excited by the makeup of the new coaching and management team for the Highlanders' next campaign.

"Having the coaching and management experience of Scott, Jon and Graham will add real value to our team. Graham has already spent a few days in Dunedin and will start permanently from September 10."

McLeod and Preston will link up with the franchise at the beginning of November.

McLeod has had a successful coaching stint with the Waikato national provincial championship team and the Chiefs franchise since 2009. He has a two-year contract with the Highlanders, through to the end of the 2014 season. He played 10 tests for the All Blacks between 1996 and 1998, 49 games for the Chiefs and represented Waikato 69 times.

Preston joins the coaching team and will build on a skills coaching role with the Hurricanes over the past three years. He also joins on a two-year contract. Preston turned out for the All Blacks 17 times and played the last of his 10 test matches against England in 1997. He also played for Canterbury and Wellington at provincial level and notched up 25 games for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition.

Purvis has been appointed as the Highlanders team manager, after a successful post-rugby business career. Purvis played 26 games for the All Blacks, including two tests between 1989 and 1993, and he also amassed 147 games for Waikato.

- © Fairfax NZ News