Daniel Lienert-Brown

Daniel Lienert-Brown

Date of birth	(1993-02-09) 9 February 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Christchurch, New Zealand
Height	184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	109 kg (17 st 2 lb; 240 lb)
School	Christchurch Boys' High School
Notable relative(s)	Anton Lienert-Brown (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop Current team Canterbury, Highlanders Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2014 Crusaders 2 (0) 2014− Canterbury 56 (15) 2015− Highlanders 101 (25) Correct as of 5 June 2022 International career Years Team Apps (Points) 2013 New Zealand U20 2 (0) 2020 Moana Pasifika 1 (0) Correct as of 5 June 2022

Daniel Lienert-Brown (born 9 February 1993) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a loosehead prop for Canterbury in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Highlanders in the international Super Rugby competition. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Early career

Born and raised in Christchurch along with younger brother Anton who would go on to become an All Black, Daniel attended Christchurch Boys' High School and played for the school's first XV rugby team. His next step was to become a member of the Crusaders Knights development team in 2014 while at the same time turning out for High School Old Boys in Canterbury's local club rugby competition. ^[6]

Senior career

His first involvement with Canterbury's senior side came in 2014 when he played 4 times, twice from the start and twice as a replacement as the men from Christchurch reached the ITM Cup Premiership semi-finals before losing out to local rivals, Tasman. 2015 saw Canterbury back to winning ways, lifting the ITM Cup title after a narrow victory over Auckland. Despite facing a fierce battle for game time from fellow looseheads; Joe Moody and Alex Hodgman, Lienert-Brown asserted himself well and started 6 times during the season and also managed to net his first provincial try. With Moody spending the entire 2016 Mitre 10 Cup campaign with the All Blacks, Lienert-Brown saw his opportunities for playing time increase and he played in 10 of Canterbury's 12 games throughout a year which culminated in them winning the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership once more, this time with a comprehensive 43–27 win over Tasman which made it 8 provincial titles in 9 years for the red and blacks. ^[2]

Super Rugby

Despite only being aged 21 and having no provincial experience, a front-row injury crisis for Christchurch-based Super Rugby franchise, the Crusaders midway through the 2014 season saw him receive an unexpected call up. He was an unused substitute for the Crusaders home match against the Hurricanes on 28 April, but made his Super Rugby debut the following week as his side defeated the Lions 28–7 in Johannesburg. ^{[7] [8]} He made 2 substitute appearances in total throughout the year, but was unable to secure a contract with any of New Zealand's 5 Super Rugby franchises for 2015, however, injuries once more provided him an opportunity and this time it was one he would take. He was called into the Dunedin-based Highlanders squad early in the 2015 season and ended up playing 12 times in a fairytale season for them finished with them being crowned Super Rugby champions for the first time after a 21–14 victory away to the Hurricanes in the final. A full squad member for 2016, he featured in 14 games and scored 2 tries as the men from Dunedin were eliminated by the Lions at the semi-final stage. ^[2]

Tony Brown replaced the Japan bound Jamie Joseph as the Highlanders head coach ahead of the 2017 Super Rugby season and he retained Lienert-Brown in the squad for his first campaign in charge. ^[5]

International

Lienert-Brown was a member of the New Zealand Under 20 team which finished 4th in the 2013 IRB Junior World Championship in France. Not originally named in the squad, he was called up as an injury replacement for future Canterbury teammate, Alex Hodgman and went on to make 2 substitute appearances. ^{[6] [9] [10]}

Career Honours

Highlanders

• Super Rugby - 2015

Canterbury

• National Provincial Championship - 2015, 2016

Super Rugby Statistics

As of 23 December 2016 ^[2]

Season	Team	Games	Starts	Sub	Mins	Tries	Cons	Pens	Drops	Points	Yel	Red
2014	Crusaders	2	0	2	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2015	Highlanders	12	1	11	252	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2016	Highlanders	14	10	4	764	2	0	0	0	10	0	0
Total		28	11	17	1027	2	0	0	0	10	0	0

References

1. "Daniel Lienert-Brown Ultimate Rugby Player Profile". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
2. "Daniel Lienert-Brown Player Statistics". itsrugby. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
3. "Daniel Lienert-Brown ESPN Scrum Player Statistics". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
4. "Daniel Lienert-Brown Highlanders Player Profile". Highlanders Rugby. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
5. "Highlanders 2017 Squad Guide" (PDF). All Blacks.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
6. "Daniel Lienert-Brown Canterbury Player Profile". Canterbury Rugby. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
7. "Crusaders vs Hurricanes 28 March 2014 Match Breakdown". SA Rugby. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
8. "Lions vs Crusaders 5 April 2014 Match Breakdown". SA Rugby. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
9. "Daniel Lienert-Brown IRB JWC Player Profile". IRB.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
10. "NZU20 named to play Ireland in JWC2013". All Blacks. 14 June 2013. Archived from the original on 8 January 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2017.