Rugby: How coaching has helped injured All Blacks back Anton Lienert-Brown see rugby through new lens

Anton Lienert-Brown has been helping Waikato in a coaching role while he recovers from injury. Photo / Getty Images

Anton Lienert-Brown has learned to look at rugby through a different lens.

In early April, the All Blacks and Chiefs midfielder suffered a shoulder injury while playing in a Super Rugby match against the Blues. It was the second time in the space of six months that he dislocated his shoulder, and not something he was willing to risk taking a chance on.

"Once you've done it a couple of times it's best to get surgery, otherwise it will keep coming out, and if it does it gets more complicated every time," he explained to Newstalk ZB's Jason Pine.

He underwent surgery soon after the match against the Blues, ruling him out of action for six months.

It was a strange position to find himself in, as he was able to function normally in day-to-day life but because his job requires contact, surgery and a lengthy recovery period was required.

"The shoulder, before I went in, was feeling pretty good. It was just with contact it was vulnerable," he says. "It's sort of frustrating to go backwards."

The 27-year-old learned a little bit about himself in the early weeks of his recovery. He learned his job gave him a sense of purpose, structure, and connection being around teammates. Those were aspects of life he now needed to find a different way of filling, and says it took about three or four weeks to adjust to life on the mend.

For Lienert-Brown, dealing with a serious injury was something new. Beginning his professional career at 18, he had a nine-year cycle of "being available for most games" with a few niggles here and there.

While he was ruled out of the rest of the Super Rugby season as well as the All Blacks' Ireland series and Rugby Championship campaign, he was a familiar face around the Waikato camp for the National Provincial Championship season.

Lienert-Brown was approached by Waikato coach Ross Filipo about the potential for him to do some coaching while he was rehabilitating. Filipo initially offered Lienert-Brown the attacking portfolio, but the injured star was not in a position to take on such a big portfolio.

Instead, he worked with the backs unit in a role he believes will ultimately change the way he views the game.

"It's given me a different perspective to rugby," he says. "I've learned a lot and the hope is seeing rugby from a coach's point of view will help me as a player, and I think it really will.

"When I come back, I will analyse the game differently, so I'm excited to see the benefits of what I've got out of the last two or three months and implementing that into my game."

Lienert-Brown's long road to recovery could come to an end next week, as he is hopeful of returning for Waikato in the first round of the NPC playoffs, with an eye on being available for the All Blacks' end of year tour if selected.

While he has a sense of excitement to get back on the pitch, he admits there is some trepidation, too.

"I'm human and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't reluctancy going into contact," he admits.

"It's really the thoughts beforehand. Once you're out on the field it's sweet as. I'm really confident that I've done enough contact now.

"It's a funny one; for three or four months of the rehab period, you protect the shoulder, then the last couple of months you're doing the opposite so it does take a while for the mind to adjust. I've got enough training under my belt now, and enough contact to be confident I'll be sweet out there.

"There's a few things I've got to tick off first, but I'm hoping to be playing for Waikato next week all going well. I'm not really looking ahead to the [All Blacks' end of year] tour yet. I just want to play some good rugby and earn the right."