Jamie Joseph will take over as Highlanders head coach again, replacing Clarke Dermody at the helm of the Super Rugby Pacific side from 2025.
Joseph, 54, led the Highlanders to their first, and so far only, Super Rugby title in 2015, before moving overseas to succeedEddie Jones as head coach of Japan.
But after leaving the Brave Blossoms following last year’s World Cup in France, Joseph spent this year’s Super campaign as the Highlanders’ head of rugby, in support of head coach Dermody.
And despite the Highlanders finishing sixth in the Super Rugby Pacific regular season, Dermody will step aside into an assistant role, with Joseph returning as head coach.
“I’m delighted to be back coaching and leading the Highlanders again,” the former All Blacks loose forward said.
“I am keen to get stuck in with Clarke and the rest of my coaching team next season. My goal is to take this team as far as it can go and to build a record of success that we can all be proud of.”
Joseph is arguably the Highlanders’ most successful coach, with 54 wins from 104 games in his first six-year spell in Dunedin.
As coach of Japan, Joseph led the Brave Blossoms in 51 tests, winning 23 of them with 27 defeats and one draw.
With the Māori All Blacks, Joseph boasts a winning record of more than 83%, coaching five victories from six matches.
Those results saw Joseph initially considered as a contender to replace Sir Steve Hansen after he left the All Blacks’ head coaching role in 2019, before withdrawing from the race alongside assistant Tony Brown.
Joseph also lost out in the race to succeed Ian Foster in 2023, as current coach Scott Robertson was named as All Blacks coach.
